French fine wine weakens as Italy rises in Q1

The first quarter of this year in the fine wine secondary market has seen the Bordelais and Burgundian powerhouses continue to take a step back while Italy and the Rest of the World have strengthened considerably.

The first three months of the year have seen a continuation of the trends that really took off last year with Bordeaux continuing to see its share of trade decline, Burgundy seeing its progress checked and Italy building in power.

Liv-ex reported that Bordeaux’s share of trade has fallen to a record low of 50.5% so far in 2020, though it’s interesting to note that the most actively traded vintages from the region so far have been the ‘great’ years of 2009, 2010 and 2016.

Burgundy, previously hitting greater and greater heights month after month, has seen its share of trade decline from 19% in 2019 to 17% so far this year. This ties in with a decline in its price performance as well, with the Burgundy 150 index down 2.5% on the year-to-date.

The other important French regions, Champagne and the Rhône have also seen a marginal drift in their trade share.

Building on its recent successes and on the back of strong campaigns for the 2015 Brunellos and 2016 Barolos, Italy has seen its share of trade by value rise from 9% in 2019 to 13% so far in 2020, while prices have risen 0.6% in the Italy 100 index.

The Rest of the World meanwhile has seen its share of trade double so far this year from 5% to 10% with wines from the US, especially Screaming Eagle and Harlan, being most prominent.