- The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 and 1000 fell by 1.7% and 1.9% respectively in September, a much sharper decline than in August.
- The Rest of the World 60 was the worst-performing index, falling by 4.4%.
- The Port 50 was the best performing index, rising by 2.0%.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100, the industry leading benchmark, has fallen for the sixth month in a row. It fell by 1.7% — its sharpest month-on-month decline since October 2023. The index has recorded only one slight month-on-month rise over the past year (March 2024, 0.4%). Year-to-date, it is down 7.0%, but remains up 7.6% over a five-year period.
Looking at the wider market, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 (which tracks 1,000 wines from across the world) fell by 1.9% to close at 377.7. All of the sub-indices recorded declines. Of these, the Rest of the World 60 recorded the sharpest drop (4.4%).
The Liv-ex Fine Wine Investables fell by 0.8% and is now down by 0.6% over a five-year period.
September saw a slight month-on-month increase in the number of individual wines (LWIN11s) traded on the secondary market. While traded volume was higher in September than in August, traded value decreased – though prices are falling, market participants remain active.
First Growths reach 2020 lows
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which tracks the movement of the 10 most recent physical vintages of the Bordeaux First Growths) fell 2.1% in September, and has now fallen below its 2020 levels. As indicated by its Relative Strength Index (RSI), the Fine Wine 50 is in firmly oversold territory (below the 30 threshold). Technical analysis would suggest that, with the Bollinger Bands remaining wide, we may continue to see downward price swings.
Château Lafite Rothschild 2021 was the worst-performing wine of the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50, recording a month-on-month decline of 9.5%. Its Mid Price now sits just below its ex- château release price of € 390/btt.
Liv-ex trades of Château Lafite Rothschild 2021
Rest of the World 60 down 4.4%
The Rest of the World 60 has taken the largest hit over the past month. Of the 60 component wines, 40 fell, 5 remained flat and 15 rose. Screaming Eagle’s Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon and Opus One featured most heavily amongst the worst-performers, with eight of the ten most recent vintages of each recording falls. Prices have likely been negatively affected by the recent strengthening of Pound Sterling against the US Dollar. Screaming Eagle 2016 fell the furthest in September, its Mid Price down 21.2%.
Liv-ex trades of Screaming Eagle, Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Vega Sicilia’s Unico was the best-performing component wine, with six vintages recording rises. The 2008 vintage topped the list, its Mid Price increasing 10.0% month-on-month.
What are Liv-ex 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 the 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.
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.
