- Australia’s total trade so far in 2021 is 15% down on what it was at this point in 2020.
- Trade is down across all regions with the US showing the least decline.
- Henschke’s Hill of Grace has been quietly climbing the trade table since the spring.
Earlier this year we looked at the immediate impact of the severe tariffs China placed on Australian wines.
The impact of these was soon apparent, with the value of Australian trade by volume and value in the early 2021 dipping from the highs achieved in 2020.
Australia’s trade this year has continued to lag behind the pace it managed to set in 2020. Total Australian trade by value year to date is 15% down on where it was at this stage in 2020 and 19% behind 2020’s total.
Trade by volume meanwhile is 63% behind 2020’s total. Value and volume trade is down across all regions as well, not just Asia.
The least affected buying region seems to be the US, where trade value so far this year is just 2.3% behind trade in 2020.
Rising prices for Henschke’s Hill of Grace
*made with the Liv-ex charting tool
Against this backdrop, Henshcke’s Hill of Grace has quietly been climbing up the trade levels. Back in April when the tariff implementation was first discussed, it was just the fourth Australian label traded by value.
It is now the second most-traded Australian wine by value, having usurped Torbreck’s ‘The Laird’ in July.
Penfolds Grange remains very much the leading Australian label. Trade by value in Grange alone this year represents 50% of total Australian trade, while Hill of Grace’s trade value is just 10%.
Nonetheless, Hill of Grace’s trade value has grown by 932% from April to November (from a small base) compared to Grange’s 117% increase.
Best-performing vintages year-to-date
The five best-performing Hill of Grace wines from the last 20 vintages are also comfortably out-pacing the best-performing Grange vintages, year-to-date.
The top Grange for example is the 2001, up 5% this year. The top Hill of Grace is the 2007, up 79%.
The 2007 also has one of the weakest scores of the post-2000 Hill of Graces, just 93-points from The Wine Advocate.
The much better rated 2008 (96), 2009 (97+) and 2015 (98+) are also top-performers so far this year and are cheaper than the 2007.
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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 530+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £80m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines. Independent data, direct from the market.
