Fine wine climbs in July

July saw further progress for the fine wine market as the Liv-ex 100 climbed for the eighth consecutive month on the back of the weaker pound sterling.

The benchmark index – which tracks 100 of the most traded fine wine labels on the Liv-ex exchange – rose 3.6% in July, outstripping June’s 2.1% rise and bringing the index to its highest level since August 2013.

It was the biggest monthly gain since November 2011 and, like June, it was largely driven by Bordeaux labels, with buyers seeking out wines rated 100-points by Robert Parker such as the 2009 Leoville Poyferré and Cos d’Estournel (whose mid-price per case went up 10.7% and 8.7% respectively) and Latour 2003 (9.5%). Margaux 2010 (10.5%) and Opus One 2012 (9.9%) meanwhile were also on buyers’ radars.

Also like June, the biggest declines were seen outside of Bordeaux with Armand Rousseau’s 2010 Chambertin seeing the biggest drop in price over the course of the month, its mid-price down 9.8% per case.

Penfolds Grange 2009, Sassicaia 2010, Dromaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 2012 La Tâche and Ponsot’s 2012 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes all declined between 2% and 4% in price as well. All the data can be seen here.

The broader Liv-ex 1000 also continued its strong performance of recent months with a 3.4% rise which puts it back at its highest level since July 2011 when the market last peaked.

Liv-ex noted that: “The market has recently received a boost from weaker sterling in the wake of the Brexit vote with euro and dollar-based buyers taking advantage of the favourable currency situation.”

The biggest gains were made by the Bordeaux sub-indices, the Bordeaux Legends 50, the Bordeaux 500 and Burgundy 150 which all rose over 3% over the course of the month.

The Champagne 50, Rhône 100 and Italy 100 all gained over 2% while the Rest of the World 50 had the smallest rise of 1.7%. However, over the last five years overall it remains the best-performing sub-index of the Liv-ex 1000.