Bordeaux led weekly trade, but a Macallan 81YO whisky changing hands was the most-traded wine by value this week.
- Bordeaux led weekly trade, followed by Burgundy and the ‘Others’ category.
- A bottle of Macallan 81YO whisky became the most expensive single bottle ever traded on Liv-ex.
- Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Tuscany and Provence were among the most-traded.
- This week, Liv-ex published En Primeur pricing analyses, its June Market Report, a Market Update looking into Tuscany’s stability in the Italy 100, and an analysis of the indices performance in May.
What’s happening in the secondary market?
Bordeaux was back at the top this week after a brief hiatus, rising from 26.7% of trade by value to 38.0% this week. The region accounted for 38.8% of trade in May, illustrating its continued prominence in the secondary market.
Burgundy followed but recorded a considerable dip from 29.2% to 18.5% this week. This comes despite one of its wines featuring among the most traded by value. Champagne suffered a similar fate, its trade share falling from 17.2% to just 8.0% this week. The ‘Others’ category overtook Champagne to take third place with 17.8% of trade, buoyed by a single bottle of Macallan whisky changing hands (more on this below).
Over in Italy, Tuscany’s trade share dipped from 11.9% to 8.5% of trade this week, despite a Super Tuscan appearing among the most-traded wines by volume. Piedmont, on the other hand, saw its trade share rise from 2.6% to 4.7% this week.
The USA continued its downward movement, its trade share more than halving week-on-week to close at 2.5%, as did the Rhône, which fell from 2.7% to 2.0% of trade this week.
What were this week’s top-traded wines?
Scotland was in the spotlight as a bottle of Macallan’s Highland Single Malt The Reach 81YO changed hands at £115,000 per 1×70. The whisky’s Market Price is high enough to dwarf even the likes of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s wines, one of which coincidentally came second on the list: Echezeaux Grand Cru 2020 traded at £22,000 per case.
Two recent vintages of First Growths appeared on the list of most-traded wines by value, namely Château Mouton Rothschild 2017 and Château Lafite Rothschild 2019. The former is trading around its July 2021 levels at £3,850 per case, below its release price of £4,320 per case. Château Lafite Rothschild 2019, on the other hand, has managed to retain an edge and last traded at £5,433 per 12×75 (packed as 1×300), above its release price of £5,112 per case. That said, the wine has retraced almost all of the growth it had recorded following its release in 2020.
Château Lafite Rothschild 2019 trades on Liv-ex
Last but not least on the list of most-traded wines by value this week was Champagne’s Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008. Despite high scores from Antonio Galloni (Vinous) and William Kelley (The Wine Advocate), the wine has seen its trade price tumble since its debut on the secondary market. Back in January 2023, it changed hands at £27,480 per case compared to just £17,424 this week.
Bordeaux was dominant among the most-traded wines by volume. Aside from Château Mouton Rothschild 2017, Château Pontet-Canet 2020 and Château Pichon Baron 2021 both featured on the list. Both of these wines are trading considerably below their release prices: the former was released at £890 per case and last traded 28.5% below that at £636 per 12×75, while Château Pichon Baron 2021 last traded 35.6% below its release price of £1,320 per case. These examples illustrate a wider picture of high release prices proving unsustainable on the open market.
While Sassicaia 2021 featured on the list of most-traded wines by volume last week, it was a different Super Tuscan wine this week, namely Antinori’s Tignanello 2021. Since its release at £1,300 per case earlier this year, the wine has been seeing mixed success in the secondary market. While it is actively trading, its trade price has consistently fallen below the £1,300 mark, most recently £1,242 per case.
Provence’s Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé 2023is still a fan favourite among buyers, the winemaking yet another appearance on the list.
The 2023 En Primeur campaign so far
Since last week’s update, the following wines covered by Liv-ex have been released:
- Château Beau-Séjour Bécot 2023, £516 per 12×75
- Château Lascombes 2023, £595 per 12×75
- Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2023, £1,188 per 12×75
- Château Haut-Bailly 2023, £1,080 per 12×75
- Château Montrose 2023, £1,428 per 12×75
- Vieux Château Certan, £2,220 per 12×75
- Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) 2023, £1,284 per 12×75
- Château Figeac 2023, £1,788 per 12×75
- Château La Conseillante 2023, £1,788 per 12×75
- Château Troplong Mondot 2023, £1,068 per 12×75
To get a day-by-day breakdown of releases, fill in this form to see our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 Key Prices.
Weekly insights recap
As well as exclusive En Primeur pricing analyses, Liv-ex members were sent a Market Update looking into Tuscany’s stability in the Italy 100. The June Market Report was also published for members on Silver packages and above, with a one-pager for Bronze members.
An update on major Liv-ex indices is available for all to read.
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 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
