Fine wines, after the good 2025 closing, positive signals at the beginning of 2026 for Liv-Ex

In a market phase (and geopolitical context) as complex as the current one, for wine and not only, it would be out of place to “sound the trumpets” and announce that the negative trend has reversed. However, looking at least at the secondary fine wine market monitored by the UK-based platform Liv-Ex, within the narrow niche of the most famous and sought-after wines among collectors worldwide, after the first positive signs at the end of 2025, 2026 has also opened under the banner of renewed confidence. All the main indices, updated and analyzed by WineNews, have returned to growth, even if modestly.
Thus, since the beginning of the year, the Liv-Ex 100, the platform benchmark index, has posted a +0.6% increase. Italy is currently represented in the index by Barolo 2019 by Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016 by Bruno Giacosa, Barbaresco 2019 by Gaja, il Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2015 and 2019 by Giacomo Conterno, Masseto 2021 and 2022 and Ornellaia 2021 by Frescobaldi, Sassicaia 2016, 2021 and 2022, Solaia 2021 and Tignanello 2021 and 2022 by Antinori, and 100% Sangiovese Igt Toscana 2020 by Soldera Case Basse. Italy has played a leading role in this growth, with no fewer than 4 labels among the top ten gainers in the index over the first two months of the year. While the best performer overall is Napa Valley 2018 by Promontory (+15.2%), No. 2 position goes to Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016 by Bruno Giacosa, at +14.3%, while 100% Sangiovese Igt Toscana 2020 by Soldera Case Basse marks +12%, Masseto 2022 +7.8% and Solaia 2021 +6.3%.
But, as mentioned, growth, even if modest, is broadly based. The Liv-Ex 1000, the broadest of the indexes, marks +0.4% since the start of the year. Particularly noteworthy is the Champagne 50, up +1.4%, while the Liv-Ex Bordeaux 500 (+0.5%), Bordeaux Legends 40 (+0.5%) and Burgundy 150 (+0.2%) have also edged higher, with the only negative exception being the Rhône 100 (-0.2%).
Italy 100, with a +0.7%, performs better than the average, and “worse” only than Champagne for the index currently composed of Barolo by Bruno Giacosa, with Barolo Falletto Le Rocche del Falletto Riserva 2007 and 2008, Barolo Falletto Le Rocche del Falletto by Serralunga d’Alba Riserva 2001 and 2004, and Barolo Falletto Vigna le Rocche Riserva 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2020, and still from Barbaresco di Gaja of vintages from 2013 to 2022, from Barolo Monfortino Riserva di Giacomo Conterno of vintages 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 e 2019, and still of all vintages from 2013 to 2022 of the most famous Supertuscans, Sassicaia, Solaia, Tignanello, Ornellaia e Masseto, and still of all vintages from 2011 to 2020 of 100% Sangiovese Igt Toscana by Soldera Case Basse. The standout performance by a wide margin is Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2005 by Giacomo Conterno, +21% in just two months.
As said, given the widely acknowledged difficulties facing the wine market as a whole, linked, as often reported, to general economic challenges, the spread of health-conscious lifestyles, and an increasingly bleak geopolitical backdrop, these signals concern a very small niche of labels and should be interpreted as such, without excessive enthusiasm. Nevertheless, they do represent small positive signs worth taking into consideration. According to Tom Burchfield, Head of Market Intelligence at Liv-ex, it has been clear since late January that “the outlook at the beginning of 2026 is decidedly more positive. European demand is strengthening, sentiment in Asia has improved, and although purchasing in the UK and the United States remains cautious, overall the market appears to be entering a recovery phase”. All of this, of course, against the backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical scenarios which, as we are seeing even in these days, can change radically from one hour to the next.