The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 Index continued to firm this week. It closed at 309.78 on Thursday, up 0.6% on the previous week. It is now at its highest level since late September 2013.
This week Bordeaux activity picked up with the region taking a high percentage of trade, well above July’s average share. A variety of Bordeaux vintages caught the attention of buyers, with a focus on both high-value and low-value wines from the region.
Bordeaux trade hit its highest level since early June when it registered 87.8% by value. First Growth trade was also up at 32.6% from 26.8% last week. Latour was the most active, taking 32% of the First Growth’s share. Latour 1996 (WA 99) was the top traded wine by value this week.
Champagne was up on the previous week at 4.8%. There was good activity for Cristal 2007 after the release of Cristal 2009. The 2007 (AG 97+) is one the cheapest recent vintages available and was described by Anthony Galloni as one of the “very finest new releases of the year” when he reviewed it in 2015.
This week Liv-ex saw its first ever trade in English wine when one case of Nyetimber, Classic Cuvee, 2010 traded on the Exchange.
Like last week, high value and high scoring Bordeaux featured heavily among the top wines traded by value. Mission Haut Brion 2010 (WA 98+) was described by Robert Parker as “a strong candidate for a perfect score in about 15 years”. The wine was introduced to the Liv-ex 100 index last month. Haut Brion 2012 (WA 98) has been targeted by buyers recently as a wine that offers relative value against the lower-scoring Margaux 2012 (WA 95) that last traded at £3,105.
The top traded wines by volume were mostly lower-scoring Bordeaux. Duhart Milon 2012 (WA 89) was top of the table and was also in the top wines traded by value this week. It also featured in the top five wines traded by value earlier in July alongside its 2011 sibling.
