Lafite tops new liquidity ranking

Liv-ex has launched the first of its quarterly liquidity rankings with Lafite 2014 topping the list at the end of Q3.

As posted on its blog, Liv-ex explained that it has used the simplest metric to measure the liquidity of the fine wine labels on its list – traded value.

The ranking is based on a 12-month moving average, so, it explains: “The ranking of Lafite 2014 for Q3 2017 is based on an average of the total traded value of the wine between the start of October 2016 and the end of September 2017.”

Liv-ex admits that traded value is hardly a “perfect measure of liquidity” as it tends to be biased towards wines with a high case price.

On the other hand, “as the liquidity rank is merely gauging the amount regularly turned into cash on the Exchange, this bias to high value wines is mitigated.”

In terms of what made the grade as the third quarter of the year comes to an end, the dominance of Bordeaux and its first growths in particular was clear.

Over 40% of the entire table is comprised of first growths, principally Lafite and Mouton Rothschild, with many of them posting strong gains in the last three months.

There are some high positions for Sassicaia as well with the 2014 rising a whopping 191 places from 201^st place to 10^th between July and the end of September, while the 2013 was in second place at the end of Q2 though it dropped two places in Q3.

Other non-Bordeaux labels in the top 50 on the list include: Ponsot’s 2014 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes; 2002 Salon; 2007 Cristal; 2002 Bollinger RD and 2014 Screaming Eagle.

As well as many now-physical wines from the 2014 Bordeaux vintage proving popular, the presence of a few 2015s shows, “that there can be a robust market for trading en primeur contracts,” noted Liv-ex.