Once again it was a week in which low value wines traded. First Growth trade dropped to just 20% while Mouton Rothschild was the most traded First Growth by value for the fifth week in a row. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50, meanwhile, rose by 1%.
The number of wines traded remained strong, but with lower value wines such as Saint Pierre 1996 and Haut Marbuzet 2003 at the top of the volume chart it is unlikely to have much effect on the wider market. Bordeaux’s trade share dropped below 80% while the rest of the world category took an impressive 8.7% by value. This was largely due to good activity for Penfolds Grange, which once again is at the top of the value table.
Last Friday, Wine Spectator magazine revealed that Dow 2011 was the top wine of 2014 in its annual Top 100 countdown. Last week we saw increased activity for Leoville Las Cases 2011 after it was awarded tenth place, and Port also benefitted from the added exposure. Combined with rising Port sales in the run-up to Christmas, the region’s wines saw good activity on the Exchange and accounted for 2.7% of all trade by value.
