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Talking Trade – Lafite Rothschild 2018 leads trade in the first half of 2021

  • June saw Bordeaux climb back to almost 50% of trade by value.
  • Burgundy and Italy took equal amounts of trade in June to cap off best ever H1 for the two regions.
  • Rhone distinct LWINs neraly double that of same time last year

The first half of 2021 closed with far less drama than last year. The 25% tariffs on wine have been dropped due to a truce between the US and EU, En Primeur released with most of the major critics having tasted and scored the wines, and the on-trade has picked up as cities open and consumers start spending again.

In the secondary market, Château Lafite Rothschild 2018 was the most traded wine by value in the first half of 2021. The 2017 vintage took fifth spot.

Sassicaia 2018 was the second most traded wine by value and the most traded by volume in the equivalent period.

Last major En Primeur releases

The last few wines from the 2020 En Primeur campaign released early this week. Full coverage of each wine can be reached at the links below:

Bordeaux reigns in June

Bordeaux trade share by value was 46.8% this week, well above the 39.4% average seen in the first half of the year.

Burgundy and Italy had their best first halves of a year – ever. Both regions scooped a 16% share of trade by value in June.

The Rhône had its best week of the year so far, reaching a 9.1% share of trade by value. The secondary market for the Rhône has expanded substantially this year.

Distinct LWIN11s traded year-to-date is nearly double the equivalent period in 2020. Prices have also been on the move and Rhone 100 is the second-best performing Liv-ex 1000 sub-index year-to-date.

Lafite Rothschild 2015 was the top traded wine of the week. Its 2018 vintage also made the top five in the fifth spot.

Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse also had two vintages in the top five, its 2015 and 2016 vintage.

Its 2020 vintage was released last week for £1,080 per 12×75.