The top five performing wines on Liv-ex for the first month of 2020 are Super Tuscans and iconic Champagne brands. The imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on all wines being imported into the US except for sparkling wines and Italian last Autumn has, not unsurprisingly, seen the highest gains in January 2020 being made in the leading wines in these categories. The impact of the US Tariffs couldn’t be more apparent than as revealed in Liv-ex’s ranking of the Top Five Risers on the exchange in January as can be seen in the table below.
Liv-ex’s Top 5 Risers January 2020:
| Region | Wine | Vintage | Dec ‘19 | Jan ‘20 | % growth |
| Italy | Sassicaia | 2013 | £1,475 | £1,651 | 11.9% |
| Champagne | Dom Perignon Rosé | 2013 | £1,559 | £1,700 | 9% |
| Italy | Masseto | 2010 | £5,450 | £5,850 | 7.3% |
| Champagne | Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé | 2007 | £3,480 | £3,675 | 5.6% |
| Italy | Ornellaia | 2000 | £1,450 | £1,530 | 5.5% |
Source: Liv-ex Market Report February 2020
Champagne’s performance in Q4 2019 was influenced by demand driven over the festive period and the region’s level of trade on Liv-ex reduced to a 3.5per cent share in the first month of the year, whilst Italy sustained a double digit performance at 11 per cent of all trade value on Liv-ex.
Key Italian and Champagne brands lead the way and three of the Super Tuscans saw strong demand in the month. This was a trend building late last year when Q4 2019 saw the top wines of Piedmont climbing at a faster pace than the Super Tuscans, with the exception of the lauded Sassicaia 2015. Since December 2017 the Liv-ex Piedmont index has made double digit growth and this can only be attributed to the quality of the wines.
Piedmont is often referred to as the ‘Burgundy of Italy’ as the wines are generally produced from a single grape variety from specialised vineyards in very small volumes. As a consequence, prices for the top Barolos and Barbarescos tend to be higher than the Super Tuscans, however both regions are considerably more affordable than the Grand Cru Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Regional ‘First Growth’ Average Market Price Growth 2017 – 2019
| Region | Av. Price 2017 | Av. Price 2017 | Change | No. of wines |
| Burgundy (Red) | £11,241 | £16,039 | 43% | 50 |
| California | £7,592 | £9,463 | 25% | 25 |
| Italy (North) | £3,283 | £4,003 | 22% | 20 |
| Champagne | £2,006 | £2,451 | 22% | 35 |
| Australia | £4,214 | £4,666 | 11% | 10 |
| North Rhone | £1,930 | £2,127 | 10% | 40 |
Source: Liv-ex.com
Piedmont’s wines average ‘First Growth price performance saw an uplift of 22 per cent over the last two years, trending on a par with the growth performance of Champagne and Californian top wines. The region is a relatively new market for investors and one we are looking at more closely right now and we will have more information for you soon.
Contact the Vin-X team for more information on current top performers and market trends on 0203 384 2262 and download our Guide to Investing and Collecting in Fine Wine.