Left Bank continues to drive Bordeaux

Liv-ex’s Bordeaux indices are continuing to rise, especially on the Left Bank, driven by on-going demand for ‘good value’ claret.

For the first time since the market peaked in 2011, the Bordeaux 500 index – which tracks all of Liv-ex’s Bordeaux indices over the Left and Right Banks – is now the best-performing sub-index on the Fine Wine 1000 over the course of a year (February to February).

The two most successful and active indices on the Bordeaux 500 are the Second Wines 50 and Left Bank 200, the former having rise 8.8% since February 2015 and the latter 3.8%.

As Liv-ex explained on its blog: “Like the Second Wines, the wines within this [Left Bank] sub-index have strong brands, good-sized productions and are available at relatively accessible prices – the traditional hunting ground for UK, US and European buyers.”

Sixteen of the 20 wines in the Left Bank 200 have appreciated over the course of the year from February 2015 to February 2016, which is a continuation of the news from October last year which showed likewise that 16 of the 20 wines on the index had appreciated since the turn of the market in July 2014.

Unlike in that report however, when Haut Bailly was the top performer, since February 2015 it is Beychevelle which has forged ahead as the best outright label – up 13%.

The four labels that have declined over the last year are Cos d’Estournel, Smith Haut Lafitte, Montrose and Pontet Canet.