The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index lost four per cent in August – its third-most dramatic monthly fall since its inception in 2001. Though the majority of index constituents performed poorly - most notably the First Growths - the real millstone was Lafite Rothschild.
Recent vintages of Lafite were under acute pressure last month, so much so that all but the 2004 saw significant price slides. The 1998 and 2008 vintages declined by around ten per cent each, whilst the 2003 and 2005 both dropped by eight per cent.
Because the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index is production and scarcity weighted, and the First Growths are produced in sizeable quantities, recent vintages of Lafite have a profound effect on its monthly movements. The chart below compares the performance of the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index to that of Lafite since December 2010.
