Liv-ex 100 continues its negative trend also in August, losing 10.3% since the beginning of the year

The Liv-ex, the reference index of the secondary market for fine wines, shows no signs of recovery, and its now long downward trend continues in August 2023. Which concerns, first of all, Liv-ex 100, the index that monitors the performance of the 100 most traded labels - including the Barolo 2017 by Bartolo Mascarello, the Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016 by Bruno Giacosa, the Barbaresco 2018 by Gaja, the Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2013 and 2014 by Giacomo Conterno, the Masseto 2018 and 2019 and the Ornellaia 2018 by Frescobaldi, the Brunello di Montalcino 2017 by Poggio di Sotto, the Sassicaia 2017, 2018 and 2019 by Tenuta San Guido, the Solaia 2019 and Antinori’s Tignanello 2018 and 2019 and Tua Rita’s Redigaffi 2019 - which has lost 10.3% since the beginning of the year, dragged down by -1.3% in August 2023.
The Liv-ex 1000 is not doing better, the index that measures the performance of investment wines around the world, is down 9.5% since the beginning of 2023, with a further -0.8% in the month of August. The Liv-ex 50, which tracks Bordeaux’s Grands Crus, has also performed poorly, losing 9.9% since the beginning of the year, with a -1.4% drop in August. Looking at regional indices, the Italy 100, among the most relevant ones, is the one that has been able to respond best to the difficulties since the beginning of the year, limiting losses to -4.3%, with a drop in August of -0.6%. The Bordeaux 500, which has guaranteed rather limited margins in the long term (+8.6% in the last 5 years), has lost “only” 7.2% since the start of the year, with -0.8% in August 2023.
The California 50 fared worse, collapsing to -10.7% from -2.2% in August, while the Port 50, the most recent addition to the Liv-ex 1000 regional indices, fell to -3.3% from the start of the year and -1.4% in August. The only positive data for the month of August comes from the Bordeaux Legends 40, with a 0.3% monthly growth, slowing the year-to-date fall to -6.8%. The (even more) painful notes come from the Burgundy 150, the best-performing index in the last two years (+33.8%), but one of the worst since the beginning of the year: -10.9%, after the drop of -0, 6% in August 2023. The Champagne 50 is even worse, having lost up to 3% in the last month, exacerbating its crisis, as evidenced by the 13.1% drop since the beginning of the year. Finally, the Rhone 100, the worst regional index ever: beyond -16.7% since the beginning of the year, in fact, the fine wines of the Rhone are now experiencing a structural crisis, with a drop of 6.4% in the last two years, and a growth of just 5.3% in the last five years.
Only nine wines have performed well on the Liv-ex 100 since the beginning of the year: Domaine Jean Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge 2019 (+46.3%), Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2019 (+8, 4%), Ornellaia 2019 by Frescobaldi (+6.5%), Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Grand Cru Marquis de Laguiche 2019 (+6.2%), Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2013 (+5.8%), Opus One Napa Valley 2019 (+5.6%), Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2019 (+1.9%), Masseto 2018 by Frescobaldi (+0.6%) and Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2019 (+0.3 %). The worst performances, instead, are those of Krug Vintage Brut 2008 (-29.4%), Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2019 (-24.1%), Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2008 (-22.4%), Petrus 2019 (-21%), Dom Pérignon 2010 (-20.7%), Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016 (-20.5%), Chateau Figeac Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2018 (-20.5 %), Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2019 (-20.3%), Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Beze Grand Cru 2016 (-19.6%), Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clavoillon 2019 (-19.2 %).