First Growth performance in the second and third quarters

The Liv-ex Claret Chip Index, which tracks the price movement of top-scoring First Growths, fell 1.16 per cent last week to 412.12. High-scoring wines bore the brunt of downward pressure, though the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which follows the last ten physical vintages of the Firsts) also drifted lower, ending Friday at 409.19 - down 0.70 per cent on the previous week.

The 2002 and 2005 vintages of Lafite both saw marginal increases last week, though the 2008 (which forms part of both indices) was the most notable First Growth faller and descended just over seven per cent. Elsewhere, Mouton 2006 gained around six per cent, whilst Latour 1999 rose from £4,175 per 12-pack to £4,300.

The chart below shows the quarterly price performance of the Premiers Crus since the end of 2009 (based on the basket value of the last ten physical vintages of each brand). After finishing 2010 on a high - following the ex-cellars auction in Hong Kong - Lafite was the worst-performing First in the second quarter. And unless things change rapidly in the coming weeks, it seems likely to hold on to that position for the third quarter. Mouton has fared somewhat better than its siblings this year, though all of the Firsts have drifted in price since July.

 

Comments

[David]

Stare at that graph long enough and your head will spin! Poor Lafite

[Andrew Statezny]

Better late than never right!