Liv-ex 100 is still down: -3.1% in July. In 2023 only Ornellaia 2019 grew +6.5%

The negative trend of Liv-ex 100 has not turned around. The benchmark index monitoring prices of fine wines on the secondary market, of the 100 most traded wines - including, Bartolo Mascarello's Barolo 2017, Bruno Giacosa’s Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016, Gaja’s Barbaresco 2018, Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2013 and 2014, Frescobaldi’s Masseto 2018 and 2019 and Ornellaia 2018, Poggio di Sotto’s Brunello di Montalcino 2017, Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia 2017, 2018 and 2019, Antinori’s Solaia 2019 and Tignanello 2018 and 2019 and Tua Rita’s Redigaffi 2019 - lost - 3.1% in July 2023, causing the negative trend, from the beginning of 2023, to fall to -9.1%.
This is a moment of reflection for the entire market, for collectors and wine merchants alike, as all the major Liv-ex indices are negative, starting from Liv-ex 1000 which monitors the trends of 1.000 wines from all over the world, which is down - 2.1%. The Fine Wine 50 index, which monitors the last ten vintages of Bordeaux Premier Crus (Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, Latour and Mouton Rothschild), is also falling, at -3.1% (-8.7% since the beginning of the year), and the Bordeaux 500 has fallen to -3% (-6.5% since the beginning of the year). The Burgundy 150 is at - 2.2% but has fallen down to - 10.3% since the beginning of 2023, while Champagne 50 has fallen only slightly (-0.2%), however, it is down - 10.5% since the beginning of 2023, and Rhone 100 was down -1.6% in July, but - 16.4% since the beginning of the year. Finally, Italy 100, which has limited its losses to -0.4% monthly and -3.7% since the beginning of the year, making it by far the best performer of the main indices.
In spite of the market's downward tendency, trading activity registered an increase in July 2023, in value and volume as well, while the size of the market grew, as 1.865 different wines were traded on the Liv-ex in July. Out of the 100 wines on the index, 76 wines registered prices crashing, while 20 grew and 4 remained stable month-on-month. The best performance was a Rhône wine, despite the crash of the regional index: Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019 Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin (+8.2%). In second position, Dom Pérignon Rosé 2008 (+6.8%), and in third place Gaja’s Barbaresco 2018, which grew +5.3% in July, even though since the beginning of the year the trend has been less favourable, registering -9% decrease. In fourth place, Frescobaldi’s Ornellaia 2019, which stands out and is an exception among the top performers, because it is the only wine that has not fallen since the beginning of the year, and instead it registered + 6.5% growth, thanks also to the +4.3% growth in July. In fifth position, the king of Burgundy, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, with Richebourg Grand Cru 2018, marking +4.2% growth in July.
Observing the various territories, in Champagne, Louis Roederer’s Cristal 2008, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2013 and Dom Pérignon 2012 (+1.8%) stand out. Following eight months of a negative trend, for instance, the price of Krug 2008 crashed, which in May 2022 had reached 6.300 Sterling pounds per case, and is now trading at 4.000 Sterling pounds. Among the Bordeaux wines, the ones on a positive trend in July were Château Rauzan-Ségla 2ème Cru Classé and Margaux 2018 (+3.9%), and Château Léoville Poyferré 2ème Cru Classé 2009 (+1.2%), while Château Lafite Rothschild, 2016 and 2018 vintages, registered drops of -12.2% and -14.2% from the beginning of the year. Finally, Burgundy, which has registered some of the absolute worst performances, such as -16.5% since the beginning of the year for Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2019, or -20.7% for Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru 2019. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru 2018 and Coche-Dury 2019 are still positive, both up +3.7% in July.