Liv-ex Fine Wine Market Blog

Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index falls 4.01%

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell steadily further in May and the index dropped by 4.01% to 278.28.

The Bordeaux market continues to soften. As shown in the table below, the majority of wines in this month’s risers were outside the region, with buyers choosing to look for wines elsewhere. The Petrus still remains a classic choice for investors, and the price of its vintages have not suffered in the same way as its Bordeaux siblings. Lack of confidence in the region’s wines – and the First Growths in particular – is evident in this month’s fallers.

The current levels of the Liv-ex Indices are provided below:

Super Solaia

This year's decidedly underwhelming En Primeur campaign appears to be prompting buyers to look elsewhere. Italy's share of monthly turnover rose from 1.1% in April to a nine-month high of 4.5% in May. Sassicaia (LWIN 1102037), Tignanello (LWIN 1095391) and Ornellaia (LWIN 1102024) all saw steady trade throughout the month, but it was Solaia (LWIN 1095388) that really lifted the region's share of turnover. 

Where the Bordeaux 2011 vintage offers buyers little incentive to part with their money, vintages of Solaia that have received 95 points or more from the Wine Spectator are available at £100 per bottle - or less. This can be seen from the table below. The 2003 (WS 95) in particular catches the eye at £950, as does the 97-point 2006, which is currently offered on Liv-ex at £1,100. Trading members of Liv-ex can view live markets here. 

*James Suckling
All prices are for 12x75cl cases stored in bond. 

Carruades 2011 released on day one of Vinexpo

Carruades de Lafite was quite likely the talk of the table at last night's Commanderie de Bordeaux dinner in Hong Kong. The 2011 was released yesterday evening at €108 per bottle ex-negociant. With an opening price of £1,290 per case in London, it is around £660 cheaper than the 2010 and less than half the price of most other recent vintages. Visit the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest Bordeaux 2011 prices and scores. 

In 2004 (before Lafite became the label of choice in Asia) the average ratio of Lafite to Carruades was 5:1. But by July 2011, the rise of the First Growths' second wines had reduced this ratio to 3:1. The price relationship between the wines has changed very little in the last ten months. Nonetheless, the pricing of Carruades 2011 (£1,290) and Lafite 2011 (£5,200) is an interesting move back towards the historical average. 

Initial reports suggest that Carruades is selling through. But with the trade (and many of their Asian-based customers) preoccupied with Vinexpo this week, demand has yet to spill over onto the secondary market. 

 

Introducing the Market Price and the improved trade ticker

Yesterday saw the launch of the new Liv-ex website. You will have noticed several major changes to the platform and we hope that you are as happy with the site as we are. Last week we touched on some of the most notable new features, including the "Market Price" and the improved trade ticker.  

The Market Price

The Market Price replaces the Liv-ex Best List Price as an indication of the price you are likely to pay for SIB-compliant stock, off the exchange. It is based on the cheapest 6 and 12-pack wholesale prices advertised by leading merchants in the EU over the last 14 days. If no price is found, the calculation is rolled back to the next price showing in our database. (Where appropriate, such as DRC, alternative unit sizes are used for the calculation.) 

The trade ticker

The trade ticker is designed to provide a snapshot of of live activity and market movements. The top row shows the most recent Liv-ex transactions. Green denotes that the wine has traded at a discount to the previous transaction and blue indicates that it has traded above the previous transaction. If there is no change in price, blue signifies that the bid has risen to match the offer, while green signifies that the offer has dropped to meet the bid. The second row shows firm bids (to buy) and offers (to sell). Bids are shown in green and offers are shown in blue. 

For more information on Liv-ex prices, contract types and trading, please visit the help section or email your contact at Liv-ex. 

New Liv-ex website launched today

The new and improved Liv-ex website, www.liv-ex.com, went live this morning. Liv-ex users should log in with their details as normal. Cellar Watch users should go to the new standalone website http://www.cellar-watch.com/.

The Liv-ex product tour video is below.  Please take a look to find out more about  Liv-ex’s trading, data and logistic services, and to see the new website’s improvements and features.

Over the next few months we will be working hard to optimise the site and to resolve any errors. In the meantime, if you notice any bugs or problems we would be grateful if you could let us know by either getting in touch with your contact at Liv-ex or Vine, or emailing info@liv-ex.com.

Liv-ex will be unavailable this weekend

Please note that Liv-ex.com will be unavailable from Friday 25th May 6pm until Monday 28th May 8am (UK time). 

During this time, a new version of Liv-ex will be launched. Almost two years in development, this is a major update that will provide Liv-ex members with a faster and more flexible trading platform, designed to handle increased levels of trade. 

Improvements and changes to the current platform include: 

• Consolidated view of live markets across different pack sizes and contract types 

• Auto-updating of live markets (no more pressing refresh) 

• Improved pricing mechanisms (including a new "Market Price") and a new trade ticker

• An updated design and streamlined user experience 

• And many improvements to the Vine screens 

As part of the re-launch, our cellar valuation tool, Cellar Watch, will be moving to a stand-alone website. All cellars that have been uploaded on Liv-ex will be transferred over to www.cellar-watch.com, which will also be launching on Monday. 

We will be spending the upcoming months fixing, improving and optimising the site. Nevertheless, if you spot any bugs, or have any comments or questions, please discuss them with your contact at Liv-ex or Vine. 

Latour and Cheval release at €440

A late flurry of 2011s  were released today, among them the Bordeaux big guns Latour and Cheval Blanc.

Latour, in its last year of being sold en primeur, released without a recommended resale price, but its estimated  ex-negociant price is  €440 p/b. This seems reasonable (although volumes are again tiny). As such, Latour saw steady trade on the exchange at around £4,500 per case.

Cheval Blanc came to market at the same price, but this places the 2011 as the most expensive recent vintage outside of 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010. Unsurprisingly, Cheval failed to garner much demand on the exchange. 

In contrast, Eglise Clinet's release at €102 per bottle - a large reduction from 2010's price of €276 (-63%) - was greeted enthusuastically. It was  among many critics'  favourite wines of the vintage (including a score 96 from Tim Atkin MW) and as one merchant wrote: "Eglise Clinet is one of the very few 2011’s that we can wholeheartedly recommend." 

A selection or today's releases are listed below and can also be viewed on twitter or the Liv-ex 2011 En Primeur Pages. 

With Vinexpo commencing on Sunday it seems surprising that so many chateaux are yet  to release. With just one working day to go before many of the trade head to Hong Kong, we are still waiting on Ausone, Carruades de Lafite, Ducru Beaucaillou, Duhart Milon, Evangile, Gruaud Larose, Le Pin, Leoville Las Cases, Petrus, Talbot, Yquem and Vieux Chateau Certan.

Can we expect to see a last rush of releases tomorrow, or perhaps, as Las Cases has done before, might some chateaux elect to not release until after the campaign proper has ended?

First Growth releases fail to spark trade

Mouton 2011 was released this morning at €360 per bottle ex-negociant. This translates to a London release of £3,800 per case, making the wine £1,100 more than the 2001 and around £1,000 more than the 2004. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest prices and scores.)

Though four of the five First Growths have been released, Lafite is the only Premier Cru that has seen active trade on Liv-ex. With an opening price of £5,300 per case, the estate's 2011 replaced the 2004 as the most affordable vintage available. But the other First Growths have not followed Lafite's lead. Their 2011s are considerably more expensive than other recent vintages and seem to offer limited value for money. Will Latour provide some much-needed respite?

Pichon Baron closes the gap

Pichon Baron and Pichon Lalande were among the plethora of 2011s that were released yesterday. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest prices, scores and news coverage.) Both wines came to market at €72 per bottle ex-negociant. Compared to last year's opening prices, this represents a 46% reduction for Pichon Baron and a 48% reduction for Pichon Lalande. 

Historically, Pichon Lalande has been more expensive than its fraternal neighbour. This can be seen from the chart below, which shows each label's release price history from 1997 onwards. From 2000 to 2004, the price difference between the estates ranged from 20% to 54%. For three of the last four vintages, however, it has been no more than 10%. 

Pontet Canet 2010 hits 11-month high

While prices for leading Crus Classes have fallen this month, some wines are beating the Bordeaux blues. Pontet Canet 2010 reached an 11-month high of £1,295 per case today - up from £1,075 in January.

The Fifth Growth's 2009 was among the 19 wines that received 100 points from Robert Parker in March. This has no doubt added to the appeal of the potentially perfect 2010, which is £350 cheaper.

The chart below shows the wine's price development since its release and is taken straight from the pages of Cellar Watch.