What’s happening in the market?
After yesterday’s update, Burgundy is still ahead of Bordeaux in terms of trade by value since last Friday. Bordeaux wines such as Château Figeac 2020, Château Montrose 2009 and Château Lafite Rothschild 2010 have nonetheless been actively traded.
Champagne accounted for just over 12% of total trade by value, with Dom Pérignon 2008 particularly active. The most-traded wines by volume hailed from Italy, however, as Piedmont and Tuscany recorded a respectable 6.4% and 5.4% of trade respectively. Several Italian wines set all-time high trading prices since last Friday: Vietti Barolo Brunate 2019 last traded at £1,900 per 12×75, while the 2015 vintage of Ornellaia changed hands at £1,850 per case.
Today’s deep-dive: The wines that beat inflation
With rising inflation establishing itself as public enemy number one across most major economies in the last twelve months, asset classes returning real-term growth are worth their weight in gold (which incidentally is one of them).
*Made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool. Data taken on 25th October 2023.
As a combination of a luxury good and investment, fine wine is a unique asset which tends to show resilience in times of uncertainty. It generally benefits from wages rising to keep up with inflation (when wealth increases, so does luxury goods purchasing) and from a relative scarcity which increases over time. However, the last twelve months have marked a slowdown in the fine wine market, partly attributable to widespread monetary tightening and recession fears.
Year-on-year, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 (the industry benchmark), is down 11.3% and the Liv-ex 1000, the broadest measure of the market, is down 11.2% over the same period. It’s worth noting, however, that across two and five years, the Liv-ex 1000 is up 8.3% and 19.3% respectively, leaving fine wine’s reputation as a strong long-term investment intact.
By contrast, UK inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index including owner occupier’s housing costs (CPIH), rose to 6.3% in the 12 months to September 2023, down from its peak in October 2022, while the US’s CPI sat at 3.7% for the 12 months ended September 2023. The G20’s CPI also rose to 6.3% for the 12 months to July 2023.
While the picture isn’t rosy at the index-level, drilling down into their components reveals some wines which have shown remarkable resilience amid the market downturn. Inside the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100, which tracks the most sought-after wines on the exchange, two wines stand out as having ‘beaten’ UK inflation in the 12 months to September.
Surprisingly, Domaine de la Janasse, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2019 was the best performer in the index year-on-year, its Mid-Price rising by 7.9% in the 12 months ending September 2023. The Rhône 100, of which it is a component, has seen the biggest decline of all the sub-indices of the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 year-on-year, falling by 21.4%.
Domaine de la Janasse Vielles Vignes 2019 was scored 98+ by Joe Czerwinski of The Wine Advocate and 17.5+ from Alistair Cooper, writing for Jancis Robinson. It has a Market Price of £641 per case, and there are currently 14 live offers on the wine on Liv-ex.
The only other wine in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 to beat inflation in the last year was Joseph Drouhin, Montrachet Grand Cru, Marquis de Laguiche 2019. The wine recorded a 6.7% year-on-year increase in its Mid-Price, outperforming the Burgundy 150 which is down 13.4% year-on-year.
William Kelley (The Wine Advocate) scored the wine 94-96 points, while Jancis Robinson awarded it 17++. Neal Martin (Vinous) gave it an in-barrel range of 95-97 points.
Joseph Drouhin’s Marquis de Laguiche 2019 has seen its Market Price increase 62.7% since its release to reach £8,220 per case.
Joseph Drouhin, Montrachet Grand Cru, Marquis de Laguiche 2019 trades on Liv-ex
There are currently 12 LIVE bids and offers on Joseph Drouhin, Marquis de Laguiche 2019 on Liv-ex. Log in to the exchange to view them and trade.
In case you missed it
Here’s what we’ve been reading:
- Liv-ex: Which are the most sought-after Burgundy wines?
- The drinks business: Pernod Ricard reports soft Q1 but stays confident on annual growth
- Financial Times: China’s stock market drops to pre-pandemic low
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
