This week, Liv-ex marks its 15th birthday – that is, exactly 15 years since the first trade occurred on the Exchange: five cases of Gruaud Larose 1982 at £920. Back then, Liv-ex had 12 members and resided in a small office above a pizza restaurant in Clapham Junction, London. Today, membership has expanded to encompass 440 merchant members from 35 countries across six continents.
Gruaud Larose, 1982
At the time of its first trade, Gruaud Larose 1982 had a market price of £964. Today, its market price is £2,950: an increase of 206%. Parker has described it as being “of first-growth quality” with “scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco, and underbrush” and most recently awarded it 98 points.
Fine Wine Indices
Liv-ex has developed a number of indices that track the price movements of the most sought after fine wines. The table below show how these indices have increased over time – compared to the FTSE 100, S&P 500 and Gold. All of the major Liv-ex indices are now in positive territory over one year.
Calculated from index levels at the end of June 2005, 2014 and 2015.
Active markets
While the number of Liv-ex members – who account for the vast majority of global fine wine turnover – has remained stable over the last couple of years, the number of active markets on the Exchange continues to grow. Last month, they reached above 5,000 for the first time. There are currently 5,175 active wines.
…And finally
Since it’s Thursday (which the Twitter users amongst you will know as Throwback Thursday – or #TBT), we hope that you will enjoy this image of Liv-ex co-founders Justin Gibbs and James Miles, taken back in the year 2005.
Thanks to all of our members and subscribers for their continued support.
Further reading: articles of interest
A changing market: the role of a fine wine exchange
James Miles on ‘Speculation is dead. Long live speculation.’
