- The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell 0.3% in January, closing at 359.25. The decline was much milder than the one recorded in December. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000, on the other hand, was down 2.2% month-on-month.
- Among the top price performers in the Liv-ex 100 were wines from Bordeaux, Tuscany and the Rhône.
- The annual changes to Liv-ex indices are outlined below.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell by 0.3% in January, closing at 359.25. Although this is the 10th consecutive month of decline for the index, the fall was less steep than the month before and the Liv-ex 100 was the best performer of major Liv-ex indices.
Looking at the broader market, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 (which tracks 1,000 wines from around the world) declined by 2.2%, to close at 405.48. Among its sub-indices, the Rhône 100 recorded the most significant decline, dropping by 4.3%, while the Bordeaux Legends 40 and the Italy 100 fell by just 0.7%.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which tracks the movement of First Growths and is updated daily) dipped by 1.2% month-on-month, steeper than its 0.8% fall in December. The Bordeaux 500 (which tracks 500 leading Bordeaux wines) fell 1.4%, again steeper than the 1.1% decline recorded in the previous month.
The start of the year saw an increase in both the number of brands (LWIN7s) and individual wines (LWIN11s) traded on the secondary market. Both trade value and volume recorded an uptick, but exposure (the value of bids and offers on the exchange) took a slight dip.
The Liv-ex 100 begins 2024 with a milder decline
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool.
*prices shown are Liv-ex Mid Prices; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620+ of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.
Among the other top performers in the Liv-ex 100 in January was Château Margaux 2015. The wine last traded at £10,280 per case, up 137.1% since its release.
Château Margaux 2015 trades on Liv-ex
Champagne had a good month as most of its wines within the index recorded positive movements, including Bollinger R.D. 2008 (+5.3%), Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill 2015 (+5.1%), Louis Roederer Cristal 2008 (+3.9%), Dom Pérignon 2008 (+3.3%) and Dom Pérignon Rosé 2008 (+3.0%).
The Champagne 50 index, however, was down 1.8% month-on-month, dragged down by some of its components recording double-digit declines including Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2008, Dom Pérignon Rosé 2009 and Salon Le Mesnil Grand Cru 2012.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000’s fall deepens in January
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool.
All sub-indices of the Liv-ex 1000 fell month-on-month. These falls varied in severity, however: the Rhône 100 dipped 4.3% and the Burgundy 150 3.7%, despite the relative optimism surrounding the 2022 En Primeur campaign.
The Italy 100 and the Bordeaux Legends 40 recorded the mildest declines, each falling by 0.7% month-on-month. Among the best performers in the Italy 100 were the 2015, 2017 and 2018 vintages of Masseto, and the 2013 and 2020 vintages of Solaia.
As shown in the chart below, the sentiment surrounding the Liv-ex 1000 is deteriorating once more following an uptick in August and September 2023, when more of the index’s components rose than declined month-on-month. That said, it remains higher than it was May, June and July 2023, when only about 20% of components rose month-on-month.
Annual changes to Liv-ex indices
To ensure that the Liv-ex indices accurately reflect the fine wine market, their components are revised annually: older and low liquidity wines are pushed out to make room for more active ones.
The current component wines of each index can be downloaded here. They will be updated with new wines at the end of the month. In the meantime, a summary of the changes can be found below:
- There were no changes in the regional distribution of the wines in the Liv-ex 100. The full list of wines removed and added can be found in this sheet:
- In the Liv-ex 1000, Domaine du Pegau, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvée Réservée Rouge wines replaced Domaine de la Janasse, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vielles Vignes. In Burgundy, Domaine Leflaive’s Bâtard-Montrachet wines were replaced by the Domaine’s Chevalier-Montrachet. Other minor changes, including vintages updates, were conducted inside the index.
- In the California 50, the 2010 vintage of Dominus was replaced by the 2020, Harlan Estate 2009 was replaced by the 2019, the 2010 vintage of Ridge, California Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello was replaced by the 2020 and the 2010 vintage of Screaming Eagle made way for the 2020.
- There were no changes made to the Port 50.
What are Liv-ex fine wine indices?
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index is the industry leading benchmark. It represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines on the world’s most active and liquid marketplace from France, Italy, USA, Australia and Spain. Stretching back over 20 years, the Liv-ex 100 is quoted on Bloomberg and Reuters screens.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 Index is broadest measure of the market. It represents the price movement of 1,000 of the most sought-after fine wines on the world’s most active and liquid marketplace. Stretching back over 20 years, the Liv-ex 1000 is comprised of seven sub-indices from across the world: the Bordeaux 500, the Bordeaux Legends 40, the Burgundy 150, the Champagne 50, the Rhône 100, the Italy 100 and the Rest of the World 60.
All Liv-ex indices are calculated using our Mid Price; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620+ of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.
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