Fine wine drifts in October

The Liv-ex 100 and 1000 fine wine indices drifted a little in October although activity is at a new high.

Trading activity on the Liv-ex exchange reached its highest level since March but the Fine Wine 100 index went down 0.6%, following a flat August and September. Nonetheless, the index is still in positive territory on the year-to-date, up 0.7%.

Despite losing ground to Italy and Champagne recently, three Burgundian labels were among the month’s best performers: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 2009 and 2010 La Tâche rising 6.2% and 13.4% respectively to over £20,000 a case each and Ponsot’s 2012 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes was the month’s top mover up 23% to £3,937.

Also up were 2007 Yquem (7.3%) and 2010 Montrose which is back around the £1,600 a case mark – a barrier it appears to be struggling to break despite its ‘perfect’ Robert Parker score.

The month’s biggest losers were mainly Bordeaux: 2003 Margaux, 2009 Latour and 2000 Léoville Las Cases fell 4.9%, 4.9% and 5.7% respectively, while Opus One’s 2010 fell 6.2%.

If Burgundy dominated the top trades it also represented the biggest loss as well, Armand Rousseau’s 2012 Chambertin falling 11.6% to end the month at £9,555 per case.

The Liv-ex 1000 meanwhile sank 0.2% last month but, like the Fine Wine 100, still remains in positive territory so far this year.

Liv-ex noted that the decline in Burgundy’s share of the trade already mentioned has not hit its prices much and the Burgundy 150 was the best performer in October, gaining 2.3%.

All of the other indices fell a little except the Italy 100 which ran flat. The Champagne 50 was actually the weakest performer last month, dropping 1.1%.

The Rhône 100 meanwhile fell even further out of contention with a 0.4% dip. It is down a little over 4% on the year-to-date.