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Hello to you, Mark Hall here with your fine wine investment market update today, Friday
14th March, 2013.
So, let’s have a look at what happened in the market in February.
Liv-ex have released their market report, and for investors it is much of the same I’m
afraid. By this I mean that the market, which has been in freefall now for over two years,
continued to drop in February. Indeed The Liv-ex 50 Index, which tracks the fortunes
of the Bordeaux first growths, closed February at its lowest level for three years. First
Growth turnover fell by 8% on January so clearly, the bottom has yet to be found in this market.
Bordeaux’s share of trade on the exchange hit a nine year low in February – taking
a mere 73.8% of trade by value. The First Growth’s took a paltry 26% of this trade
which is a very long way from the 65% these wines took at the peak of the market.
Unsurprisingly, the indices as a whole continued to fall in February: The figures against January
are,
Liv-ex 50: Down 1.7%
Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index: Down 0.9%
Liv-ex Bordeaux 500: Down 1.7%
Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000: Down 1.0%
Liv-ex Investables: Down 1.4%
But it’s not all bad news: The following were the highest risers in February, month-on-month;
Krug, Brut 1989: Up 10.8%
Evangile 1998: Up 10.2%
Guigal, Cote Rotie La Turque: Up 6.7%
Vieux Chateau Certan 2010: Up 5.7%
Opus One 2009: Up 5.5%
And talking of good news, Right Bank Bordeaux, along with Champagne, were on the up last
month. Both regions have been heavily bought by Aston Lovell over the last twelve months,
along with another riser last month, Opus One. The 2009 vintage of this Californian
wine did particularly well in February.
Rhone also performed well, taking a 10.6% share of trade – three times its typical
monthly average. Burgundy however was less impressive, along with Italy, which fell back
slightly from the country’s recent successes.
USA took a market share of 3% in February.
Finally, Liv ex have the following to say about the market in February, and I quote,
“Another month without direction saw prices rise for a variety of wines and vintages from
different regions. Although it was another month of Bordeaux price falls, right bank
wines remained well bid – as did Champagne, which also topped last month’s movers’
table. With the Guigal “La Las” in the spotlight due to the release of the 2010,
La Turque 2000 edged forward. Opus One 2009, one of the most affordable of the Nappa Valley
estate’s recent vintages, also rose.
“With the First Growth’s trade share at an eight year low, other Bordeaux have edged
forward. In February, only Lafite had a higher share of trade than Cheval Blanc, and top
Right Bank Bordeaux and super seconds dominated. The market is only likely to move higher once
buyers re-engage with the first growths, but traders are currently too busy looking for
deals elsewhere.”
So that’s it for this update, I’ll see you next time.