Looking at the performance of Bordeaux vintages from 2010 to 2018 over the last two and a half years, the headline figure is the 2018 vintage’s significant decline, dropping 12.4% since June 2021 and 18.4% since the market’s peak in September 2022. The excess volume of younger wines at high prices in the Bordeaux market as well as high release prices are contributing factors to its demise.
The best performer among these recent vintages may come as a surprise: the 2012 wines in the Bordeaux 500 have seen 12.1% increase in value since June 2021.
This surpasses the growth recorded by top vintages such as 2010 (3.2%), 2015 (3.2%), 2016 (1.5%) and 2018 (-12.4%). With an average Market Price of £2,917 per 12×75 (for the wines within the Bordeaux 500), the 2012 vintage holds a mid-range position among the nine vintages considered.
Despite its growth since June 2021, the 2012 vintage has nonetheless recorded a 9.4% decline from the market’s peak in September 2022. Only the 2013 vintage has outperformed it, as it is only 5.2% down during the same period.
Notably, the outstanding 2015 and 2016 vintages have seen a decline in their index levels by 10.7% and 12.3% respectively since September 2022. Their overall performance over the last two and a half years remains positive, however, with rises of 3.2% and 1.5% since June 2021 – though this still places them towards the bottom of the rankings among recent Bordeaux vintages.
Which Bordeaux vintages have the US been buying?
In 2023, Château Lafite Rothschild was the top bought producer by value by US merchants, who accounted for 8.9% of total Bordeaux buying, closely followed by Margaux.
y value, Château Lafite Rothschild 2010 was the most bought wine by US merchants in 2023, whereas by volume, Château Pontet-Canet 2010 took the top spot.
In 2023, the US made up 27% of all Bordeaux buying on Liv-ex. By vintage, US buyers focused their attention on the 2020 and 2018 vintages in 2023; these vintages accounted for 10% of Bordeaux buying from US buyers last year. It’s worth noting, however, that these more recent vintages benefit from more volume available, the 2020 having been released in bottle at the start of 2023.
Slightly older ‘outstanding’ vintages were also popular among US buyers, the 2015 and 2016 accounting for 9% each of their Bordeaux buying in 2023, and the 2009 and 2010 accounting for 7% and 8% respectively.
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