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market report
Liv-ex is an electronic exchange for fine wine used by professional merchants and collectors. Market Report is part of a package of services offered to subscribers of Liv-ex, with subscriptions starting at £49.95 per year. Below is an extract from the latest Market Report. For the full report and to access Liv-Ex's services, sign-up with them at www.liv-ex.com
Liv-Ex Market Report
by Liv-ex.com, January 2012
Trading
2013 began on a bright note, as the Liv-ex indices posted clear gains. Demand broadened and trading increased, with both value and volume up on January 2012. The value of bids on Liv-ex reached an all time high, while the ratio of bids to offers on the exchange hit 75%— the highest since June 2011. Although Bordeaux trade was spread across a broad base in January, recent vintages dominated—in particular the 05s, 06s and 09s. Pavie and Pontet Canet proved popular for the 09s, while trade for Lafite—which at £7,000 per 12x75 is down 44% from its peak price—boosted the 05s. With the En Primeur 2011 tastings putting Burgundy in the spotlight, the region saw its share of trade rise to a record 14.5% in January. Trade in DRC dominated. Bordeaux’s share fell to 79.9%, its lowest level in four years. While trade for Italy and the Rhone was meagre, Champagne took 4%. Following six months of flatlining, the Liv-ex 100 rose 2.8% in January, its highest monthly increase since February 2011. Prices for the First Growths rose the most, with the Liv-ex 50 index gaining 3.5%. The Investables and Bordeaux 500 indices also edged up, rising 2.4% and 2.2% respectively.
(more analysis in the full report)
Major Movers
There was a trend for ‘off’-vintage’ First Growths in January, particularly Mouton and Margaux, with many seeing substantial price rises. The five wines in January’s Movers table are now all around £250 a bottle: clearly the point at which the market is finding value in First Growths. This represents a significant price reduction when compared to past prices: Haut-Brion 1995, for example, was trading in excess of £400 a bottle at peak.
(analysed in detail in full report)
Critical Corner
The 2011 Burgundy tastings took place throughout January, attended by a host of fine wine merchants, critics and traders. Burgundy critic Allen Meadows—aka the
Burghound—and Jancis Robinson have published a plethora of 2011 tasting notes on their websites. Both agreed that this was a vintage with huge variety between
the best and worst, with Meadows noting that ‘it was indeed possible to make stunningly attractive wines’ but Robinson observing that ‘there are many lesser wines that seem a
bit thin and weedy.’ Acknowledging that the 2011s are not as ‘classic’ as the 2010s, Meadows praised them for being ‘seductively delicious’, with an underlying terroir
expression that would ‘satisfy most burg geeks’. A selection of the critics’ most highly-rated wines is below.
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