Fine wine trading tips of the week

Head of investment at Bordeaux Index, Matthew O’Connell, shares his fine wine trading tips of the week.

• Given the very marginal pricing on many en primeur releases, and indeed lower volumes of the well-priced wines, it is unsurprising that Bordeaux activity on our LiveTrade exchange is very prominent over recent weeks. There is very high activity in Lafite, particularly younger vintages, and we have seen substantial price moves (+15% area year to date) a portion of which has been post en primeur. There is not a particular focus vintage – rather vintages back to 2011 are all in play. Château Mouton Rothschild has also had good momentum and this may increase further if the relative value vs Lafite becomes more strained.
• Cheval Blanc is also seeing good volumes – something we ascribe to its compelling en primeur price, which can often catalyse broader trading in the back vintages of a wine.
• Elsewhere, older parcels of ‘Super Seconds’ are more prominent than usual on the exchange. This is unsurprising given that the EP wines looked generally expensive – why would one buy a new release rather than favour wines much closer to their drinking window at similar prices?