Scotland tops trade by value in August
The quiet month of August has historically been one of the most diverse trading periods; this year was no exception. Glenfarclas 1959 60-Year-Old Single Cask led trade by value, driving the UK’s trade share to a monthly record high of 2.6%.
Bordeaux took just over 40% of the market; Burgundy accounted for 18.4%; Italy 16.1%, Champagne 7.5%; the Rhône 4.9%; USA 6.2% and the Rest of the World (of which the UK is part) 6%.
The broadening of the market, even within leading categories such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, was reflected in the composition of the 2021 Liv-ex Classification. Ranking the wines of the world by average trade price into five tiers, DRC topped the list of 349 labels, followed by Screaming Eagle. As our most recent in-depth report on California highlighted, Californian estates have some of the highest average prices in the market and are taking an increased share of trade (See Final Thought below).
The market is now welcoming new releases from California and other parts of the world, as the autumn La Place de Bordeaux campaign gathers pace. We are covering the main New World, Italian and other European releases.
Fine wine prices continued their uptrend in August. Both the Liv-ex 100 and the Liv-ex 1000 rose 1.3%. The industry benchmark (the Liv-ex 100) has now enjoyed 16 consecutive months of gains, while the broadest measure (Liv-ex 1000) has hit another all-time high. The Rest of the World 60 was the best-performing regional index in August, up 2.5%.
The full report contains additional Liv-ex research and analysis:
- In the news – Becky Wasserman and JancisRobinson.com
- Major Market Movers – US and Italian wines
- Critical Corner – The Wine Advocate on the latest releases from SQN
- Final Thought – Liv-ex Classification 2021