Tuscany Underpins Stability in the Italy 100 as Trade Focuses on Leading Wines
Before all wine news switches focus to Bordeaux En Primeur, Liv-ex reports on the resilience of the top 100 Italian wines traded on its Exchange. Amidst a declining fine…
Tuscany’s top and tail – which wines have buyers flocked to?
Before all wine news switches focus to Bordeaux En Primeur, Liv-ex reports on the resilience of the top 100 Italian wines traded on its Exchange. Amidst a declining fine wine market, which wines have remained resilient and which have a declining trade?
The Italy 100’s has remained fairly stable amidst the broader market’s three-year decline. This stability has been precipitated by the index’s Tuscan components; the Piedmontese, generally pricier and rarer, have fallen more sharply. Positive price performance of these wines has been backed by solid trade – Tuscany’s share of the market has grown as its representative index has stabilised. The dip at the peak of the market was not driven by a decline in purchasing of Tuscan wines, but rather by increased spending on (what was at the time) very high value Burgundy.
Though spared from the worst of the downturn, the Italy 100 has not been exempted from recovery. Of the index’s Tuscan components, Masseto has taken the lead, the 2020, 2022, 2016 and 2014 all up over 5% year to date. Of these, the 2020’s mid price (mid point between highest offer and lowest bid on a given wine) has risen most sharply, but the 2016 is better-backed with trade.
The tail end
Though we have seen Tuscany’s heavy hitters thrive, how have the rest fared? Super Tuscans may have succeeded in developing international brand image, and trade levels remained stable through the downturn and US tariffs, but the tail end has suffered more greatly.
157 Tuscan wines (multiple vintages of each) have changed hands so far this year. Despite this, 9 wines comprise over 80% of the region’s traded value. This has narrowed since last year – of the 282 Tuscan wines traded, 21 comprised 80% of the value. In 2024, 24 wines rose into this category.
In the early 2000s, it was not uncommon for the key Super Tuscans to comprise 100% of Tuscan trade. The share of the five Super Tuscan Italy 100 components (Soldera Case Basse not included) fell between 2013 and 2021, ceding ground to a wider pool of the region’s wines.
About Liv-ex
Founded in 2000, Liv-ex is the global exchange for the fine wine trade, providing market data and insight. Headquartered in the UK with operations in France and Belgium, Liv-ex connects more than 550 businesses across 42 countries through its trading platform.
