- Bordeaux’s share of trade fell, while Spain, Languedoc, Umbria and the Rhone saw higher trade levels.
- Sassicaia 2021 was the top-traded wine of the week, followed by Vega Sicilia, Valbuena 5.° 2019 and Domaine de la Grange des Peres, Pays d’Herault Rouge.
- This week, an update to the movements of Liv-ex’s major indices in April was published for members. We also published real-time analyses for 18 Bordeaux En Primeur 2024 releases, now available for all members here. A synthesis of Neal Martin’s Bordeaux En Primeur report, ‘The Event Horizon’ and a look at his top-scoring wines was also published.
Bordeaux’s share of trade fell from 37.7% last week to 31.6% this week. The 2021 was the top traded vintage by value by a long stretch, with Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2021 and Chateau Lynch-Bages 2021 coming in first and second place (within the region).
Burgundy’s share of trade also fell – from 25.6% last week to 21.9% this week.
Champagne closed with a 9.3% share of traded value, just above its April share (9.1%). Salon 2012 was the region’s top-traded wine by value, changing hands between £6,800 and £7,200 per 12×75. Since July 2024, trade prices of Salon 2012 have generally remained within this band.
Spain had a strong week, closing with a 5.8% share of traded value. Alongside Vega Sicilia’s Valbuena 5.° 2019, several vintages of Unico and Marques de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2011 changed hands.
The US had a weak close, taking 3.1% of traded value, down from last week’s at 6.2%. Screaming Eagle was by far the top-traded producer, accounting for 44.0% of trade.
Tuscany and Piedmont both had strong weeks. Sassicaia and Roagna, Paje Crichet Barbaresco were the regions’ top-traded wines respectively.
The ‘others’ category took a notably high percentage of trade (9.2%). Encompassed are trades of Domaine de la Grange des Peres, Pays d’Herault Rouge and Blanc (Languedoc), Cervaro della Sala and several German wines, amongst others. While the market continues to decline, buyers are casting a broader net. This buying may be reactive (on behalf of private collector demands), however, rather than stock-building.
Breakdown of buyer geography
Having partially returned to the market last week, US buyers have again pulled back. Their share of purchasing fell from 29.2% to 14.9%. Even so, they make up a significant segment for less actively traded regions. They accounted for 47.0% of Piedmont’s traded value and 32.4% of the Rhone’s.
European buyers saw the sharpest increase in share of purchasing, up from 25.5% last week to 44.2% this week. The UK’s increase was milder, up from 28.0% to 31.8%, while Asian buying fell from 17.3% to 9.1%.
What were the week’s top-traded wines?
Sassicaia 2021 was the top-traded wine of the week, changing hands between £2,236 and £2,400 per 12×75. It was initially released in February 2024 at £2,500 per 12×75 – given that it received a perfect 100-point score from Monica Larner (Wine Advocate) and was priced similarly to lower-rated vintages on the market, we appraised the release as ‘Fair Value’.
N.B. This chart was published in February 2024. Since then, we have updated our ’Fair Value’ methodology (read more here). Market Prices have also shifted. Members on expert level packages can see where vintages now fall here.
Since release, while its price has fallen, Sassicaia has outperformed the Italy 100 over the same time frame (down c.5% vs. 7.5%). By comparison, the lower-rated 2022 was also released at £2,500 in February this year (a price we considered over Fair Value), and last traded at £2,092 per 12×75, 16.3% below release price.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2021 was the fourth top-traded wine by value. As noted in this month’s update on the indices, the 2021s, in many cases, look attractively priced relative to their quality. Lafite 2021 is such an example. It was initially released at £5,800 per 12×75 and faced a steep correction – falling 34.5% within the next two years. Since the start of the year, however, its price has stabilised. Having reached its floor, we are now seeing the start of a slow upwards recovery.
Liv-ex trades of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2021
Top-traded wines by volume
Weekly insights recap
This week, an update to the movements of Liv-ex’s major indices in April was published for members. We also published real-time analyses for 18 Bordeaux En Primeur 2024 releases (for members on Advanced level packages), including Cheval Blanc, Montrose, Lynch-Bages, Haut-Batailley, Haut-Bailly and Lafleur. All are now available for all members here. A synthesis of Neal Martin’s Bordeaux En Primeur report, ‘The Event Horizon’ and a look at his top-scoring wines was also published.
