RUSSIANS AND CHINESE, OR THE “NEW RICH”, INCREASE THE PRICE OF VINTAGE WINES: A +45.7% GROWTH REGISTERED ON LIV-EX EXCHANGE (MADE UP OF 155 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WHOLESALE VENDORS WORLD WIDE). A LIST OF THE MOST COVETED LABELS ON INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

There have been many Asian investments in the acquisition of prestigious wine brands. The appearance on the world market of Russian and Chinese maxi-investors has lead private equity consultants and gurus to orient them towards the acquisition of bottles of wine, at least the top brand name labels.
To measure this newfound passion is Liv-Ex (London International Vintage Exchange Fine Wine Index; www.liv-ex.com), or rather, the “stock exchange” that reflects the average value of the top 100, and most coveted, wines on the planet. Total value this year has increased by 45.7%, the highest percentage ever reached since the beginning of Liv-Ex exchange in 1999. The 100 wines that make up the exchange can vary each month based on the eventual changes in the wine market, and even based on the indications of members of the directing “committee” of Liv-ex, which is made up of 155 of some of the most important wholesale retailers world wide (as well as the evaluations that are made by wine guru Robert Parker Jr.) The index, decidedly in favor of French production, is made up of 91.7% Bordeaux, 4% Champagne, 2.6% Bourgogne, 1.1% Italia, and 0.5% Rodano.
The protagonists of this boom are the “new rich”, or rather Chinese and Russian consumers, as well as the usual sports and movie stars who, with the latest status symbol being a bottle of wine, create a serious risk of making it almost impossible for the average consumer to taste the top wines in the world.
Below, are some of the numbers to better understand the affairs this entails: between March and June, the price of a case of Château Haut-Brion 2000 went from 4,200 Pounds to 5,000 (+19%); in six months a case of Château Lafite Rothschild 1996 increased from 4,200 Pounds to the current 7,000 (+72%), while a case of Lafite Rothschild 1998 has risen 91% and Haut Brion 1989 registered +64%.