Liv-ex Fine Wine Market Blog

Calon Segur 2011 finds a market

With the Bordelais retiring for another long weekend in France, fewer leading properties released their 2011s this morning. The day's key releases included Haut Bailly at €54 per bottle ex-negociant (down 39% on 2010) and Domaine de Chevalier Blanc at €58 per bottle (down 7% on 2010). Visit the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for comprehensive coverage of 2011 prices and scores.

Despite the dozens of releases that we have seen since Monday, only two 2011s traded on the secondary market today: Calon Segur and Pontet Canet. As we highlighted last week, Pontet Canet seems to offer relatively good value for money. The wine continues to generate strong volumes of trade on Liv-ex, although prices are beginning to edge lower. 

Calon Segur (released yesterday) also appears to be well priced. The table below compares the trading price of its 2011 to the current prices of other available vintages. Trading members of Liv-ex can view live markets here. 

Bordeaux 2011 release recap

The last two days have seen a flurry of 2011 releases, including First Growths Margaux and Haut Brion. But while the En Primeur campaign has finally picked up the pace, high release prices provide little incentive to buy the 2011s. 

Some of the week's key releases are shown below. (Visit the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for full coverage of the 2011 campaign.) In most cases, older vintages are currently trading at more attractive prices. As such, demand for the newcomers has been subdued and they have yet to find a market on Liv-ex.  

May Market Report released

The May Market Report includes:  

• Trading Activity – Biding time

• Liv-ex Fine Wine Indices fall 

• Major Movers – The ripple effect     

• Bordeaux 2011 – A Right Bank vintage? 

• Final Thought – Latour quits En Primeur, but to what gain?

Please log in and find the full report under the Analysis menu. Those who have not yet subscribed can view the first page of the report here.

Critics favour top Right Bank 2011s

As with last year, Liv-ex has calculated the mean average scores of 40 leading En Primeur reds. Each Liv-ex Total Score is based on the opinions of several key critics, among them Jancis Robinson, Decanter, Neal Martin, the Wine Spectator, and many more. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest 2011 coverage.) 

Stephen Tanzer and World of Fine Wine Magazine have yet to publish their reviews, but the table below shows the top-scoring 2011s as it stands today. Right Banks Vieux Chateau Certan and Cheval Blanc nudge just ahead of the Premiers Crus to claim first and second place. Latour comes in third, though it was recently named "wine of the vintage" by the Liv-ex membership.  

Pontet Canet 2011 well received by market

Pontet Canet brightened the mood this morning with the release of its 2011 at €66 per bottle ex-negociant. The vintage has been well received so far and has traded on Liv-ex several times today at £689 per case, making it one of only two wines to have found a secondary market above its release price. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest prices and scores.) As you can see from the chart below, the 2011 is slightly more expensive than the 2007 and the 2004. 

In the last few years, the quality of Pontet Canet's wines has risen sharply, with the 2009 and 2010 vintages both receiving perfect (or potentially perfect) scores from Parker. And although 2011 is by no means as exceptional as its immediate predecessors, several critics have suggested that it is a candidate for "wine of the vintage". With this in mind, the new release seems to offer relatively good value for money. But at £57 per bottle (and around £75 on the table), is it affordable enough to appeal to those who consider 2011 to be a "drinking vintage"?

Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 continues downward trend

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 reached a 13-week low on Friday. Concerns over the Bordeaux 2011 campaign continue to weigh on fine wine prices and the index has fallen rapidly since mid-April. As can be seen from the chart below, the benchmark failed to sustain its March breakout and the trendlines are currently forming a downward channel.

Friday roundup

With just a handful of Crus Classes out of the blocks, the 2011 vintage accounted for less than 1% of exchange turnover in the week to Friday. Lafite 2011 prices edged below £5,000 per case, while Rieussec - the only other new release to have traded on Liv-ex - held steady at £260. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest news, scores and release prices.)

The 2011s have not sparked much excitement, but the 2009s continue to see strong demand. Boosted by their exceptional Parker scores, and the fact that they are now becoming physically available, the vintage accounted for 16% of turnover. Latour was the most heavily traded 2009 by value, and the brand as a whole generated more than a third of turnover. 

Outside Bordeaux, interest in Super Tuscans Sassicaia and Solaia lifted Italy's share of trading activity to 4%. 

The week's most traded fine wine brands are shown in the table below.

Beychevelle released in London at £495

Chateau Beychevelle broke the silence this morning with the release of its 2011 at €45.50 per bottle ex-negociant. This represents a reduction of 15% on 2010 and translates to a London release price of £495 per case. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for full coverage of the 2011 campaign.) 

At first glance, a cut of 15% seems conservative - particularly when the market is calling for First Growth reductions of up to 60%. But Beychevelle prices have risen so rapidly in the last three years that the new release is at least £50 cheaper than all other recent vintages, suggesting it is well priced. 

Despite the 2011's positioning, demand so far appears to have been muted. The brand is particularly popular in China, but it would seem that the Chinese market has yet to swing into action. 

Champagne and Burgundy prices hold firm

The 2011 campaign continues to unfold at a wearyingly slow pace. All was quiet on the EP front this morning, save for the release of Du Tertre. At €20.9 per bottle (ex-negociant), the new vintage is down 12 per cent on 2010. (See the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages for the latest news, prices and scores.) 

As outlined in yesterday's index update, high 2011 prices have knocked the market's confidence. As a result, fine wine prices edged lower in April and the Liv-ex Indices posted losses. Burgundy and Champagne, however, fared better than Bordeaux. 

The Liv-ex Champagne 25 Index measures the performance of 25 of the world's most sought-after Champagnes. As the chart below shows, the benchmark barely moved last month and is up 2% year to date. The Liv-ex DRC Index, which tracks the price movement of Domaine Romanee Conti's leading crus, also outperformed the rest of the market. Buoyed by strong demand for Richebourg and Echezeaux, the index rose 2% in April and has gained 4% since the start of the year. 

Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 falls 1.24%

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 retreated in April. High 2011 release prices had a negative effect on broader market sentiment and the index fell 1.24% to 289.92. (Full coverage of the 2011 campaign is available on the Liv-ex En Primeur Pages.) 

Although, in general, prices edged lower, buyers cherry picked top-quality Left and Right Bank wines. This can be seen from the table below, which shows the month's top risers and fallers. 

The premium that Lafite commands continues to decline and several vintages of the First Growth make an appearance in the bottom half of the table - including the 2004. Until recently, the '04 (£5,700) was the cheapest young vintage of Lafite on the market. But demand for the vintage cooled rapidly after the 2011 was released in London at a more attractive £5,200. 

The current levels of the Liv-ex Indices are provided below.