Liv-ex has reported today that its Fine Wine 50 Index – tracking the price movements of the ten most recently physical vintages of the Bordeaux First Growths – is currently up 19.3% year to date.
The index has seen some of the strongest upward movements in its history and has outperformed shares over the same period; FTSE is currently up 9.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.3% YTD.
Interestingly, the average values in wines by vintages illustrates market demand for “off” years in preference to the “great” vintages of 2005, 2009 and 2010 which have been the slowest to rise. This can of course be explained by the ongoing premium the wines of these outstanding vintages can command and investors seeking value elsewhere.
The vintages are ranked in figure 1 topped by the recently released 2013s (excluding Latour) which have climbed 32.7%. Each of the other recent vintages – excluding the “greats” – has gained over 20% on average.
Figure 1: FIRST GROWTHS: Average Performance by Vintage YTD:
| Vintage | Change |
| 2013 | 32.7% |
| 2006 | 26.0% |
| 2004 | 25.5% |
| 2007 | 25.4% |
| 2008 | 24.0% |
| 2011 | 23.1% |
| 2012 | 23.0% |
| 2010 | 17.4% |
| 2009 | 13.7% |
| 2005 | 10.4% |
Source: Liv-ex 30.08.2016
49 of the 50 wines, which comprise the index, have increased in value since the beginning of the year with Latour 2005 the only wine to take a backward step, dropping 1.5%. The top performing individual wine has been the most affordable Lafite Rothschild vintage, 2013.
Margaux and Haut Brion are both consistently well represented in the top ten wines, with three vintages each among the very top performers. Only one wine from the modern ‘great’ vintages, Lafite Rothschild 2005, ranked in the top 20 wines.
Liv-ex reports that “For Sterling buyers, this is an impressive picture. If a tracker fund had invested in one 12×75 case of each wine in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 at the end of December and sold it today, it would have made a profit of £38,538 in just eight months.”
Figure 2: Fine Wine 50: top performers YTD
| Wine | Vintage | December ‘15 | Current | Change |
| Lafite Rothschild | 2013 | £2,550 | £3,680 | 44.3% |
| Haut Brion | 2004 | £2,430 | £3,337 | 37.3% |
| Haut Brion | 2013 | £1,959 | £2,600 | 32.7% |
| Haut Brion | 2006 | £2,450 | £3,200 | 30.6% |
| Margaux | 2013 | £2,315 | £3,000 | 29.6% |
| Margaux | 2011 | £2,600 | £3,350 | 28.8% |
| Margaux | 2006 | £2,820 | £3,590 | 27.3% |
| Latour | 2008 | £3,300 | £4,200 | 27.3% |
| Lafite Rothschild | 2007 | £4,475 | £5,682 | 27.0% |
| Margaux | 2012 | £2,600 | £3,300 | 26.9% |
| Mouton Rothschild | 2007 | £2,875 | £3,649 | 26.9% |
| Lafite Rothschild | 2011 | £3,350 | £4,250 | 26.9% |
| Latour | 2011 | £3,350 | £4,250 | 26.9% |
| Margaux | 2004 | £2,700 | £3,400 | 25.9% |
| Margaux | 2007 | £2,700 | £3,400 | 25.9% |
| Haut Brion | 2008 | £2,550 | £3,200 | 25.5% |
| Latour | 2002 | £3,340 | £4,180 | 25.1% |
| Mouton Rothschild | 2006 | £3,200 | £4,000 | 25.0% |
| Latour | 2007 | £3,200 | £4,000 | 25.0% |
| Lafite Rothschild | 2005 | £5,700 | £7,100 | 24.6% |
Source: Liv-ex 30.08.2016
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