All about Champagne in February

Prestige cuvée Champagnes were among the leading brands in February as the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index rose 1.2%, its biggest gain in over a year.

The positive movement in February follows on from an equally strong January which also saw a 1% gain over December 2015.

The index is now up 4.1% from its lowest point in July 2014 and the first growth index, the Fine Wine 50, also continues to gain ground, it rose 0.9% last month.

Most of the labels that performed either positively or negatively in February had gained or lost ground in the months before.

So, for example, the three Champagnes that showed increases had been among the worst performers in January, while February’s worst performing wine, 2000 Ausone, had been one of the best performers last December.

The month’s best performer was 2010 Pichon Baron. Holder of a 97-point score from Robert Parker who has described it as “sensational”, it rose 8.5% to £1,020 a case.

The other top-performing Bordeaux in February was Mouton Rothschild’s 2000 vintage. Mouton itself is the first growth of the moment and its 2000 one of the best-performing wines on the index.

Back in 2013 Liv-ex noted that the wine was re-approaching its 2011 high point of over £10,000 a case.

It has subsequently far surpassed that and having gained 7.7% in February is now £13,350 p/cs – a new record level.

As mentioned above, the three Champagnes in the best-performing category last month had been among the worst performers in January.

They are: the 2004 Comtes de Champagne from Taittinger and the 2002 and 2004 vintages of Dom Pérignon.

In January the Comtes went down 6% to £630 a case while the two Dom Pérignons declined to below £1,000 p/cs apiece.

The 2002 Dom Pérignon has rectified this and gained 8.1% in February to £1,050 p/cs.

The 2004 Comtes rose 7.9% to £680 p/cs while the ’04 Dom Pérignon gained 6.2% to £860 p/cs.

This extremely fluid fluctuation in price for prestige Champagne serves as a further example of how this category is now performing in the fine wine market as it becomes a more collectible and investible group of wines.

The month’s worst performers were a motley collection of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy and Rhône.

As referenced above, 2000 Ausone was the month’s worst performer, a 17% gain in December 2015 largely wiped out by an 11.5% tumble in February to £7,325 p/cs.

Sassicaia’s 2009 declined 9.1% and Yquem’s 2007 7.1%. Domaine Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 2012 which is a label that often seems to be up and down from month to month, was down in February 5.2% to £3,390 p/cs, while Clos des Papes’ 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape fell 4.9% to £808 p/cs.