Claret Kudos

The first of our montly reports on the fine wine world, including the exclusive drinks business Liv-ex 500 index.  This month, Bordeaux is mostly calling all the shots

BIGGEST MOVERS THIS MONTH

The major moves in the market this month were concentrated in Bordeaux 2000, on the back of the latest edition of Robert Parker’s "Wine Advocate" publication, in which various wines were upgraded after tasting them in bottle.

 In particular, Ausone, la Clusiére, Lafite, Lafleur, Margaux, la Mission Haut Brion, Pavie and Pétrus were awarded perfect 100 point scores.  This is the largest number of perfect scores that Robert Parker has ever awarded in one Bordeaux vintage.

While the market was widely anticipating perfect scores for many of these wines, la Clusiere and Pavie were surprise additions to the very top flight.  Scarce supply and better than expected scores also boosted prices (see below) in Lafleur and Pétrus.

Another wine from Bordeaux 2000, which has been very much in the spotlight, is Léoville Las Cases.  The wine was awarded 100 points by Wine Spectator in January and more recently received a big upgrade (from 93-95+ to 99 points) by Robert Parker. This wine has risen 25% in 2003.

Chart of the Month

The cumulative effect of this positive support from the major critics has been reflected in our Bordeaux 2000 index this month.

The index – which tracks the top wines of the vintage – has risen a further 9% reaching new highs.  This edition’s "chart of the month" (see below) compares the performance of the Liv-ex Bordeaux 2000 index with the FTSE 100 (the benchmark index for UK equities) since the summer 2001, when the vintage was released.

The period, which has been a poor one for equities, shows a remarkable 90% relative out-performance by Bordeaux 2000. In other words, a hypothetical £100 invested in Bordeaux 2000 two years ago would be worth 90% more today, than if the same amount had been invested in shares.