- Salon 2002 was the best price-performer in 2021.
- Three Burgundian wines were also in the top five movers.
- Their results helped make Burgundy and Champagne the year’s best-performing indices.
As can be seen in the above table, French wines dominated the best price performers in 2021.
Salon 2002 was the biggest price performer this year. It has led a near-universal set of rises across the Champagne 50 index and was up 80.1% year-to-date at the time of writing (now up 93.0%). The wine has been traded actively throughout the year. It has been sought after since its release in 2017, but, now approaching its 20th anniversary, it has found some extra impetus.
The positive performance of Salon and other Champagnes all contributed to the Champagne 50 index being the top-performing sub-index in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000. The Champagne index is up 33.8% year-to-date.
The rising price of Burgundy
Prices of DRC continue to climb though the biggest rises have been for its ‘other’ grands crus such as Grands Echézeaux and Richebourg, some of which have risen over 50% in price.
Domaine Leroy, not included in the Liv-ex 1000 due to its lack of liquidity, has likewise continued to see big rises across its range.
The rising demand and prices for these leading labels is continuing to have a knock-on effect for Burgundy’s remaining grands crus.
Indeed, Armand Rousseau’s 2012 Chambertin was the second-best price performer (+73.6%), followed by Georges Roumier’s 2013 Bonnes Mares (69.1%) and Leflaive’s 2013 Bâtard-Montrachet (66.6%).
Beyond the big names we continue to see solid performances from other grands crus appellations. The Corton-Charlemagne from Bonneau du Martray and wines of Clos de Tart have also had a very positive year.
There is also the significant problem of supply. Rising global demand has coincided with increasingly small vintages in Burgundy. The harder they become to obtain, the more expensive many of these wines become.
Rise of the Rhône
Jean-Louis Chave’s 2008 Hermitage also made the top five. The Rhône 100 has been making steady gains over the last five years.
Never a standout performer, it has nonetheless outperformed the Bordeaux 500, Bordeaux Legends 40 and Italy 100 indices year-to-date – rising 12.5%.
The article above is a preview of Liv-ex’s latest report, The Fine Wine Market in 2021. To download your copy of report, click here.
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.
