What Happened In Fine Wine This Week: Burgundy and Bordeaux lead; Asian buyers claim 18% of purchasing
One of the week’s more notable trends was the strength of the ‘Others’ category, which captured an unusually large share of traded value.
Bordeaux and Burgundy once again set the pace this week, together accounting for more than half of all traded value. The two regions were almost evenly matched, highlighting continued demand for the market’s most established and liquid wines.
In Bordeaux, Château Beychevelle 2023 and Château Mouton Rothschild 1996 ranked among the week’s top-traded wines by value. Buyers also showed strong appetite for mature blue-chip vintages, with 1996 First Growths continuing to attract attention.
Burgundy’s trade was similarly concentrated around its leading producers. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti led the region, while Jean-Claude Ramonet and Domaine d’Auvenay also featured prominently.
Champagne gains momentum
Champagne claimed a 14.5% share of traded value, making it the third-largest market segment this week. Much of that activity centred on Salon, which comfortably outperformed all other Champagne brands.
Salon 2008 emerged as this week’s top-traded wine by value. The 2008 was also its top-traded vintage by value, claiming first place across all regions
Italy takes a breather
After several weeks of strong performance, Italy’s share of trade eased, with both Tuscany and Piedmont accounting for a smaller proportion of market activity.
Trading was spread across four Italian wines, including Marroneto’s Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie, Ornellaia, Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Riserva and Cervaro della Sala. Notably, Sassicaia, which regularly ranks among Italy’s most-traded wines, slipped to 11th place, illustrating the breadth of demand across the category this week.
US buying softens
The US was one of the few regions to lose ground week-on-week, with its share of traded value falling from 6.9% to 4.9%.
Despite the decline, activity remained heavily concentrated around Screaming Eagle, which accounted for more than half of US trade. Recent vintages of both its Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc were actively traded, showing continued demand for top-end Californian wines.
Buyers look beyond the traditional regions
One of the week’s more notable trends was the strength of the ‘Others’ category, which captured an unusually large share of traded value.
Trading activity extended beyond the market’s core regions to wines and spirits such as Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt 40YO, Penfolds Grange 2017 and several recent Crystallum releases, all of which featured among the week’s notable trades. The breadth of activity highlights continued trading across a range of categories beyond the market’s traditional leaders.
If you missed last week’s post, read here.
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