Index spotlight

by cescriva

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2014-08-14

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Unsurprisingly, given the continuing market morosité over classed growth Bordeaux, the index plumbed fresh 2014 lows last week, down -3.83% since January, and -6.8% from this time a year ago. The right bank fared marginally better with the Libournais Index year to date (-2.68%) whilst year to date it was down -4.61%.

 

 

 

Year on year fallers (Libournais Index):

Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A AOC	2000	-16.15%	£475.00
Chateau Beausejour Becot Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B AOC	2000	-16.19%	£41.31
Chateau Belair-Monange Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B AOC	2010	-16.55%	£81.66
Chateau La Fleur Petrus Pomerol AOC	2001	-16.78%	£93.70
Chateau Latour a Pomerol Pomerol AOC	2005	-17.02%	£48.71
Chateau Le Tertre Roteboeuf Saint Emilion Grand Cru AOC	2001	-17.63%	£100.72
Chateau Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B AOC	2005	-17.90%	£48.33
Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A AOC	2005	-18.70%	£325.00
Chateau Figeac Saint Emilion Grand Cru AOC	2009	-18.99%	£120.83
Chateau Clos L'Eglise Pomerol AOC	2001	-19.55%	£71.46
Chateau Beausejour Becot Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B AOC	1998	-19.82%	£32.89
Chateau Latour a Pomerol Pomerol AOC	2001	-20.04%	£32.36
Chateau Ausone Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A AOC	2005	-21.21%	£802.05
Chateau Moulin Saint-Georges Saint Emilion Grand Cru AOC	2000	-21.74%	£34.45
Chateau Hosanna Pomerol AOC	2000	-21.79%	£111.60
Chateau Clos L'Eglise Pomerol AOC	2009	-24.12%	£98.24
Chateau Ausone Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A AOC	2000	-25.02%	£750.00
Chateau Larcis Ducasse Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B AOC	2000	-26.15%	£26.77
Le Dome Saint Emilion Grand Cru AOC	2000	-40.75%	£76.41

 

The First Growth Index is down -10% year to date and -27.9% since summer 2011 highs. However, there are some surprisingly low prices on back vintages being seen on the fine wine exchange. How about Latour 2004 at £3,050 IB per 12x75cl excluding buyer’s commission? Or Margaux 1996 at £3,500 IB per 12x75cl - one of their great vintages, drinking beautifully now. Frankly, with pretty good to excellent back vintages fetching these kind of prices, no wonder there are no takers for the recent string of Bordeaux off-vintages. The risk to discount ratio is simply not compelling enough. No doubt the market will sort that out over the next couple of years. Contrarily, good to great vintages with 6-10+ years under their belts are starting to look very attractive in places, at least in our eyes, and there’s a trend towards restocking within the fine wine trade - a positive sign.

Looking at constituents of the Wine Owners 150 (which comprises 150 Investment Grade Wines across the top 40 performers of the last 10 years), the leaderboard is topped by Monfortino 2002, up 39% in the last 12 months. This is a romantic, if not heroic performance, from one of the greatest wines in the world defying the miserable conditions of the vintage with its superlative microclimate and the producer’s belief in the intrinsic quality of the wine.

 

Year on year top performers (Wine Owners 150):

Giacomo Conterno Monfortino Barolo Riserva DOCG	2002	39.06%	£338.62
Screaming Eagle Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley AVA	1995	28.99%	£3,135.00
Domaine Jean-Francois Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru AOC	2005	28.50%	£2,015.74
Tenuta dell' Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT	1998	20.66%	£454.00
Petrus Pomerol AOC	2001	18.28%	£1,400.00
Tenuta dell' Ornellaia Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC	2004	16.53%	£133.33
Tenuta dell' Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT	1997	15.94%	£516.67
Chateau Le Pin Pomerol AOC	2009	14.92%	£2,291.67
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru AOC	2002	12.08%	£1,130.35
Dominus Estate Bordeaux Red Blend Napa Valley AVA	1997	10.66%	£107.27
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee Conti Monopole Grand Cru AOC	2001	9.62%	£7,353.97
Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Bolgheri DOC	2006	9.36%	£137.50
Joseph Phelps Winery Insignia	1997	9.19%	£163.90

By the way, not one Medoc classed growth made it into the top 20 of the Wine Owners 150, with the best performing representative of the region being Pichon Baron 2000.

Chateau Pichon Baron Pauillac Deuxieme Cru Classe AOC

2000

2.47%

£125.00

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Posted in: Fine wine analysis, Fine wine pricing and valuations,
Tags: Bordeaux wines, index analysis, wine analysis, wine index, Wine Owners wine index, WO Libournais index, WO Medoc Classed Growth Index,

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