What’s happening in the market?
Burgundy has gained further market share after yesterday’s update, reaching 33.3% of total trade in the five days since last Friday. Wines from Domaine Armand Rousseau and Domaine du Comte Liger Belair changed hands, increasing Burgundy’s trade value, and wines from Domaine Leflaive were actively traded.
Champagne currently holds 7.5% of regional trade share since last Friday, buoyed by several Krug wines trading, as well as Louis Roederer, Cristal 2007 changing hands.
Château Lafleur is currently leading trade of Bordeaux wines, with multiple vintages such as the 2016, 2019, 2009 and 2020 trading on the exchange.
Today’s deep-dive: The most sought-after Italian wines
The Italy 100 index, the most stable of all the Liv-ex 1000 sub-indices in 2023, has recorded a 5.7% decline year-to-date. While the wines within this index continue to be actively traded, there are also noteworthy Italian wines outside of the index that have attracted significant attention. In this update, we explore the most sought-after Italian wines and identify where opportunities in the region might lie.
Which Italian wines were the most in-demand in Q3?
In the third quarter, the spotlight was on Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri Sassicaia. The label received the most number of bids, searches and recorded the highest trading activity by value and volume. Within it, the 2019, 2016 and 2017 vintages received the highest number of bids. However, it was Antinori, Toscana Tignanello 2017 and 2020 that secured the top two spots for the individual wines (LWIN11s) having received the most bids.
Interestingly, four labels outside of the Italy 100 index also saw significant demand, securing spots in the top ten most bid-on labels: Produttori del Barbaresco, Il Poggione, Brunello di Montalcino, Tenuta San Guido, Toscana Guidalberto and Caiarossa, Toscana.
Which Italian wines were the most searched-for on Liv-ex in Q3?
When it comes to searches on Liv-ex, the most sought-after Italian LWIN11s were Sassicaia 2016, 2020 and 2019. As shown in the graph below, the 2016 and 2020 vintages have some of the highest scores out of the back vintages of Sassicaia.
Three labels not included in the Italy 100 index also secured spots in the top ten most searched-for list: Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia, Antinori Bolgheri Guado Al Tasso and Giuseppe Rinaldi, Barolo Brunate.
Which Italian wines were the most traded in Q3?
In terms of trading volume, Sassicaia was the most traded label in Q3, followed closely by Tignanello. The only other label within the Italy 100 to make it into the top ten most traded list by volume was Ornellaia. Looking at individual wines, Fattoria le Pupille, Toscana Saffredi 2020 was the most traded wine by volume, followed by Sassicaia 2019 and Tignanello 2020.
When it comes to trading value, perhaps unsurprisingly, the list features more labels within the Italy 100 than the broader Italian market. Sassicaia 2019 took the top spot as the most traded LWIN11 by value, followed by Fattoria le Pupille, Toscana Saffredi 2020, Tignanello 2020 and Bartolo Mascarello 2019.
How are Italian wines trading in relation to their Market Price?
As shown in the graphs above, Italian wines in general were trading closer to their Market Price during Q3 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. However, they traded on average a few percentage points further below their Market Price than wines in the Italy 100 index. Wines within the Italy 100 index, in contrast, were trading at a greater discount to their Market Price in Q3 this year than in 2022.
There are currently 4,692 LIVE offers for Italian wines on Liv-ex. Log in to the exchange to view them and trade. Additionally, you can use the new ‘Save to List Studio‘ function to add these wines to a custom list (e.g. a ‘wish list’ or ‘watch list’) which you can return to at any time.
In case you missed it:
Here’s what we’ve been reading:
- Liv-ex: Liv-ex 100 falls 1.9% in October
- Forbes: Investing In Fine Wine: Stability, Sustainability And Profitability
- Decanter: World wine harvest 2023: Lowest volume in 60 years amid weather misery
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.
