1 Wine prices since January 2023 105 100 95 85 80 75


Liv-ex 1000


Liv-ex 50


buying for more direct consumption.” Davis discusses motivations for some of the frantic pandemic purchasing, noting that “a lot of wines were sold to people who probably shouldn’t have bought them.” He refers to investment-focused vehicles, whose bid to capture swift value appreciation capsized at the first sign of rising interest rates as investors liquidated and stocks flooded back into the secondary market. If fine wine’s latest wounds are self-inflicted, licking them is doing the industry no favors. “We’re still in a place where everyone believes you need to be the cheapest on the market to get things done,” Davis comments. “There isn’t any confidence left [in the trade]—numbers are down, and people are struggling for turnover.” And while today’s macro environment—sticky interest rates and political uncertainty—provides a complex playing field, the negative sentiment is surely exacerbated by a trade spirit in the doldrums. It’s time for recovery’s next phase: action and concrete steps toward change.


The divergence Liv-ex’s regional indices largely match the picture painted by their parent indicators, but with one clear outlier— the Italy 100 showed negative growth of 4%, compared to an average 13% for all other Liv-ex regional indices combined (fig. 2). Driven by Super-Tuscans and one or two top Barolos, Italy’s strengths have been its lack of reliance on China and pricing policies that continue to offer collectors strong relative value. At the other end of the spectrum, Burgundy’s stiff correction continues, though Davis clarifies that there is still a trickling market for top-end Pinot if one knows where to find it: “Demand for names


Liv-ex 100


Source: Liv-ex


such as Rousseau in Singapore, the US, and emerging Asian markets like Thailand or Indonesia is still strong— and they do drink it.” On the subject of Burgundy’s latest vintage release, O’Connell has mixed feelings: “Burgundy 2023 has been reasonably predictable, with collectors mostly continuing to maintain allocations and wanting to keep access to the top-tier wines, even where pricing is not as rational or compelling as it might have been previously. But there have been examples of people stepping out, which has been much less common in previous years.” He adds that the second tier is where complications have arisen, with a wider choice of producers that ultimately appear overpriced when compared to their good-value neighbors, and without the renown of top-tier icons to merit the price tag. Jason Haynes, founding director


of Burgundy specialist Flint Wines, describes a more focused approach to this year’s campaign. “We cut out a few producers and recognize the need for a compelling reason to buy the wines right


2 Liv-ex regional indices since 2023


105 100 95 90 85 80 75 70


now,” he explains, “which ultimately just isn’t the case with some of the drinking wines, like Savigny-lès-Beaune.” As a supplier to restaurants, the off-trade, and private clients, he observes some interesting trends: “We’ve sold more en primeur to restaurants than ever before, probably because of the small back stocks of white Burgundy. It’s a staple that restaurants can’t afford not to have— recent vintages like 2021 have been small, and 2024 will be tiny, too.” While the analysis of Burgundy’s latest en primeur campaign is therefore generally positive, I’ll reserve the declaration that its prices are in remission for now. One Bordeaux négociant said to me, during Wine Paris in February, “I hope Burgundians have learned from Bordeaux’s mistakes.” Haynes seems to think they have, noting, “Producers have mostly put the brakes on [price increases] for the 2023 vintage.” Bordeaux’s health continues to


fade—an unsurprising direction following the messy en primeur pricing policies that have pushed the region out of favor with modern buyers for several years. Indeed, toward the end of 2024, Liv-ex reported that sales of 2021 Bordeaux on the exchange were going through at discounts to ex-château release prices of up to 15%. “There is nothing to be done but wait,” says a prominent négociant—not with an air of depression or complaint but simply the matter-of-factness that drives him and his team to offer out top-tier wines and vintages with significant age at very attractive prices. “We just have to make compromises to do business as long as we are still in this current market phase,” he explains.


Bordeaux 500 Italy 100


Bordeaux Legends 50 Rest of the World 50


Champagne 50 Burgundy 150


Rhône 100 California 50 Source: Liv-ex


THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025 | 37


Jan ’23 Feb ’23 Mar ’23 Apr ’23 May ’23 Jun ’23 Jul ’23 Aug ’23 Sep ’23 Oct ’23 Nov ’23 Dec ’23 Jan ’24 Feb ’24 Mar ’24 Apr ’24 May ’24 Jun ’24 Jul ’24 Aug ’24 Sep ’24 Oct ’24 Nov ’24 Dec ’24


Jan ’23 Feb ’23 Mar ’23 Apr ’23 May ’23 Jun ’23 Jul ’23 Aug ’23 Sep ’23 Oct ’23 Nov ’23 Dec ’23 Jan ’24 Feb ’24 Mar ’24 Apr ’24 May ’24 Jun ’24 Jul ’24 Aug ’24 Sep ’24 Oct ’24 Nov ’24 Dec ’24


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220