Burgundy overtakes Bordeaux in weekly trade

Bottles of wine stood in a line
  • Burgundy was the most traded region by value this week, taking 31.7% of the market.
  • The USA, Italy and the Rhône also increased their share on last week.
  • Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 2018 was the most traded wine by value.

Regional trade share this week

Burgundy looks determined to dethrone Bordeaux as the fine wine market’s most-traded region.

The region, which has benefitted from an increased offering and rising prices in 2021, surpassed Bordeaux’s weekly share of trade in late March (and has come close in other occasions).

It happened again this week, with the region accounting for almost a third of the market by value (31.7%). The 2018 and 2019 were its most traded vintages, and the UK was the biggest buyer.

The US wines were also in demand, climbing from 4.9% to 9.2% of trade, led by activity for different Screaming Eagle vintages – 2012201820152016 and 2013.

Italy regained some of the market’s attention, with rising trade across its major regions. 2018 was the most active vintage from Tuscany (6.4%) and 2017 from Piedmont (5.5%).

This week’s most traded wines

The most traded wines this week were all Burgundians.

With a last trade price of £72,000 per case (12×75), Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 2018 topped the list. A DRC Assortment Case and Echezeaux from the same vintage also traded.

As recently highlighted, Burgundy also dominated the top 10 price performers from the Liv-ex 1000 index this year.

Weekly recap

The Liv-ex December Market Report was published exclusively for members (on Silver packages or higher) this week. It provided a detailed overview of Burgundy’s performance in 2021, and included Antonio Galloni’s recent Champagne scores, the ‘Wines of the Year’ that moved the market, and the latest industry news.

We also reported on the rising prices across all regions, and Liv-ex members received an update on Château Figeac’s secondary market performance in light of its anticipated promotion in the coming St-Émilion classification.

The fine wine market in 2021

All previous records set in 2020 have been broken and surpassed in 2021, marking the most successful year ever for the secondary fine wine market.