Small gains again in March for fine wine

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index gained again in March, for the sixteenth consecutive month, but the rise was a slight 0.7%.

The small gain was in-line with what happened in February where the index rose, but only 0.4%. On the other hand, despite the small increments, the index is still up 2.3% so far in 2017.

The month’s top-risers were an eclectic mix with Paul Jaboulet Aîné’s 2012 Hermitage La Chapelle leading the way with a 7.3% price rise to £977 a case. Historically something of an underperforming fine wine region, Rhône wines finally seem to be getting some attention and the first few months of this year have seen wines from Jaboulet and Guigal in the monthly best performers.

In fact, the Rhône 100 index in general is on the up too. Having long lagged behind the Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy, Champagne and Rest of the World indices on the liv-ex 1000, the Rhône tracker is now up 2.3% month-on-month and 3.95% on the year to date, which is, in fact, a better performance than the Bordeaux 500 (+2.1%), Bordeaux Legends 50 (+0.2%), Burgundy 150 (+2.7%) and Rest of the World 50 (+1.3%).

Also up were Comte de Vogüé’s 2012 Musigny Vieilles Vignes (+6.5%) and the 2010 Masseto (+5.4%).

Latour’s ex-cellar release of its 2005 grand vin in mid-March led to a mixed reaction from merchants but clearly swung enough of a spotlight onto the wine to get it some activity and move it up 4.7% to £6,745 a dozen.

Cheval Blanc’s 2009 also made up for some losses in February and bounced back 4% to over £6,500.

As is often the way, one month’s top-performer often becomes the next’s worst-performer. So it was with Vieux Château Certan’s 2009 which rose over 10% in February and then sunk back 7.3% in March.

Other losers in March were: Ponsot’s 2012 Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes (-4%), 2010 Pichon Baron (-3.9%), Sassicaia 2010 (-2.8%) and Pontet Canet 2009 (-2.5%).