Fine wine indices gain ground

Market volatility in the fine wine world showed signs of calming this week and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti rose above them all.

The market’s ups and downs have been noticeable since June 2010, according to Liv-ex, with the Fine Wine 50 fluctuating between 0.26% and 1.48% in the first half of this year.

Based on a 20 day mean, the index has continued to perform better than the FTSE 100 for the most part but there was a spike in October when the index hit a 2% deviation due to “heightened uncertainty”.

Since then the index has slipped back to normal levels of volatility, often ascribed to a more positive market place. The index rose 0.22 points on Tuesday (13 December), bringing it to 345.94.

Meanwhile, Liv-ex’s DRC Index was shown to have risen in November and it now outperforms the Fine Wine 50 at 361.36, a year-to-date rise of 33% compared to the Fine Wine 50 which has fallen 12.3% this year.

Liv-ex stated on its blog that trading for DRC’s flagship Romanée-Conti was leading the surge for the Burgundian property, with vintages such as 2006, 2002 and 2000 all increasing by 40% in value.

The continuing demand for top Burgundy in China is the likeliest cause for this growth, as demonstrated by a further sale in Hong Kong last weekend by Acker Merrall.