Lafite dominates first week of 2016

The first week of 2016 was all about Bordeaux on the Liv-ex marketplace, with Lafite in the spotlight.

Despite, as Liv-ex reported, “widespread macro-economic uncertainty”, the Fine Wine 50 index (which tracks the first growths) has started the year positively, up 0.9%.

Trade was “active” from 1-7 January, up 68.4% on the week before although this was from understandably low levels of trading at the very tail end of 2015.

The first growths took 34% of all trade by value, with the top five wines traded by value being: Lafite’s 2010, 2007 and 2005 vintages, Latour 2005 and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 2011 Romanée Saint-Vivant.

Lafite’s 2010 vintage took 9.6% of all trade by value, last trading for £5,050 per case. The residual interest in the 2005 is clear from the presence of that vintage from Lafite and Latour, while 2007 Lafite likely attracted interest due to its on-going position as the cheapest physical Lafite in the market.

In terms of wines traded by volume; an ex-château tranche of 2006 Pontet Canet put that wine under centre and gave it a 6.7% share of the weekly trade by volume.

However, it does not appear that it was the ex-estate wines that caught buyers’ interest. Released at €95 per bottle, or £850 a case, it was those cases already in the market at £590 apiece that unsurprisingly got more attention.

The last trade price recorded by Liv-ex was £565 p/cs.

It is, of course, only the first week of the New Year and January could take a very different trajectory as it goes on.

January of 2015 also began strongly and then fell away in the run-up to the en primeur campaign, that could happen again.

Nonetheless, positive news for now.