- Bordeaux and Burgundy continued to lead the market, with Champagne gaining back some strength and the USA faring well.
- The 2000 and 2015 vintages of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Opus One 2021 and Carmes Haut-Brion 2021 were amongst the top five wines by traded value.
- The May Market Report is now available to read for members on advanced-level packages. This week, Liv-ex published release analyses for 25 Bordeaux En Primeur wines. These are now available for all members to read here. Members were also sent a Market Update on the resilience of demand for Burgundy over the past two years.
After successive weeks of weakening trade – a product of tariffs, En Primeur and holidays — traded value increased this week, up 37.1% on last week.
Bordeaux strengthened its lead of the market, taking a 37.7% share of traded value, up on its close last week with 31.6%. The 2021 vintage – which looks, for many wines, to be well-priced relatively to quality – has continued to trade actively, accounting for 26.1% of the region’s traded volume this week.
Burgundy continues to hold steady around the 20-25% mark, taking a 22.4% share this week. Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Domaine Leroy and Domaine Leflaive were the region’s top-traded producers, each taking a c.10% share of purchased value.
Champagne’s standing in the market improved slightly, up from 9.3% last week to 11.3% this week. While Dom Perignon and Pol Roger (various cuvees) traded more frequently, the region also benefitted from high-value trades of Jacques Selosse.
While Tuscany’s share of the market fell to 8.8%, Soldera Case Basse traded more actively than usual, accounting for 26.9% of the region’s traded value.
The US had a strong week, taking 8.7% of traded value. Opus One (the 2021 vintage of which appeared amongst the week’s top-traded wines) led the market, but this week also saw less-often traded wines change hands – assortment cases of Bond, Quintessa and Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon.
Breakdown of buyer geography
US buying held at c.15% again this week (read more on effects of tariffs in the May Market Report).
For the first time in recent memory, Asian buyers’ share of the market has overtaken US buyers’. This week, Burgundy surpassed their Bordeaux buying, accounting for 36.4% of their purchased value. While UK buyers accounted for a larger share of Burgundy buying, there were more individual Asian buyers of Burgundy than any other region (equal number of EU buyers).
What were the week’s top-traded wines?
Thanks to trades of Methuselahs, Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 was the top-traded wine of the week by value. They changed hands around the £13,250/btl mark – a 32.7% premium (ml for ml) to the last 75cl format trade.
Opus One 2021 came in second place. While its price has undergone a small correction post it release at £3,000 per 12×75 in 2024, recent stability has been encouraging. Trade appears to have settled around the £2,700 per 12×75 mark.
Liv-ex trades of Opus One 2021
Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2021 was the top-traded wine by volume and fourth top-traded by value. Since March, when trade prices hit a low of £580, Carmes 2021 has made some gains. Traded volumes picked up significantly this week around the £700 mark. Earlier this week, the 2024 vintage was released at a similar price – a price that appears to have been successful in drawing En Primeur buyers.
Liv-ex trades of Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2021
Top-traded wines by volume
Weekly insights recap
The May Market Report is now available to read for members on advanced-level packages. This week, Liv-ex published release analyses for 25 Bordeaux En Primeur wines (for members on Advanced level packages), including Carmes Haut-Brion 2024, Cos d’Estournel 2024 and Beychevelle 2024. These are now available for all members to read here. Members were also sent a Market Update on the resilience of demand for Burgundy over the past two years.
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 £140m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
