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An uncertain period for the fine wine market  
PREMIUM
CONTENT

The Liv-ex April  Market Report has been published exclusively for members on our Silver tier package or higher. The following is an extract.   

Liv-ex members on our Silver tier package or higher can access the full report  here. To upgrade your package click here or speak to your Account Manager.   

Trading activity dipped in April. Although fewer wines (LWIN11s) traded (-19.4%), the number with an active bid or offer against them remained stable (-1.9%), suggesting that buyers and sellers were at an impasse over price.  

Something had to give, and it was the sellers who proved the more flexible.  

All the major Liv-ex indices fell in April. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 (the industry benchmark) fell 0.5%, more than unwinding the small gain made in March, while the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (Bordeaux First Growths) and the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 (the market’s broadest measure) were down 0.7% and 1.0% respectively.  

The market’s increasingly reticent mood comes as the first Bordeaux 2022 En Primeur releases are announced. In our extended report on the region we look at the considerable challenges facing this year’s campaign. 

The one Liv-ex 1000 sub-index to hold its ground this month was the Bordeaux Legends 40 (0.0%), suggesting that buyers retain some confidence in the value of back-vintages. 

As the final section of our report highlights, the 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999 vintages are currently available for less than the 2021 (on average). While 2022 may well be considered one of the truly great vintages, the chateaux might wish to keep this fact and the broader economic picture in mind when pricing their wines. Most of the great vintages of recent years have yielded little to no return for collectors who are increasingly questioning the need to buy wines En Primeur.  

The full report contains additional Liv-ex research and analysis:    

  • Technical Analysis of the Left Bank 200 index confirms a long-term bullish trend but….. 
  • Potential 100-point Bordeaux 2022s  
  • Cos d’Estournel’s secondary market performance.
  • Final Thought – Finding value in Bordeaux back vintages 

Liv-ex members on our Silver tier package or higher can access the full report here. 

To upgrade your package click here or speak to your Account Manager.   

* All Liv-ex indices are calculated using our Mid Price; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620 of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.