Most searched-for fine wines by market

Lafite and Mouton Rothschild remain the most searched-for fine wine labels on the Liv-ex Exchange across the world.

Source: Liv-ex

Having already examined the most searched-for wines by label and vintage, Liv-ex has now broken down what merchants in each major market have been looking for from January to July of this year.

Across the world, the 10 most searched-for wines are all Bordeaux and the first growths tend to dominate the first three to five top spots.

In Asia and the UK the first growths fill the top five spots though in slightly differing order.

In Asia Mouton is currently the most widely searched-for fine wine, followed by Lafite, Margaux, Latour and Haut-Brion.

In the UK meanwhile the top order is flipped around with Lafite leading the way, followed by Mouton and then Haut-Brion, Margaux and Latour.

In Mainland Europe, the order is a little different again with Lafite and Mouton on top, but then followed by Margaux and with Petrus in fourth place and Haut-Brion in fifth.

Bucking the trend is the US, where flying fifth Pontet Canet has been the fine wine label in the spotlight, then followed by the more usual first growth names of Mouton, Lafite, Haut-Brion and Margaux. Interestingly, in the US Latour did not make the top 10.

In looking for any other discernible trends, one sees that in Asia all the wines in the top 10 are Left Bank, Europe and the UK has a predominately Left Bank slant, both with merchants seeking out Petrus and Cheval Blanc and the US is likewise Left Bank heavy with the exception of Cheval Blanc, while the US is the only market to include a Sauternes in its top 10 – Yquem.

When changing the search to look for wines by vintage, there are some “interesting nuances”, noted Liv-ex.

For one, the lists are no longer Bordeaux-only, with Opus One 2014 being looked at in Asia, Cristal 2008 and Sassicaia 2015 appearing in Europe’s searches; Cristal 2008 in the UK searches and Salon 2006 in the US’s.

Margaux’s 2015 vintage is seen across al markets in the top five places (and number 1 in Europe) and in Europe and the UK there has generally been more trade in the 2015s which reflects the tendency for trade in more recent physical vintages while in Asia and the US there has been more interest in ‘drinking’ vintages such as the 2014s or those with a bit of age such as the 2009s and 2005s.

The US has a particular predilection for wines with high scores from The Wine Advocate such as the 100-point 2009 and 2010 vintages from Pontet Canet.