Bordeaux’s Secondary Market, Regions & Price Performance, EP Critics

Bordeaux has long dominated the secondary market, but not to the degree it once did. Back in 2010, at the height of the China-led market boom, it accounted for 95.7% of trade by value. Since then, its trade share has fallen to 35.1% in 2022.

However, in absolute terms, volume of Bordeaux trade on the market has increased since 2010 (+47.5%). The reason its share by value and volume has declined is because the fine wine market has broadened considerably – more wines are being traded than ever before. The market has not fallen out of love with Bordeaux – far from it – it just has more choice than ever before

Bordeaux buying by region and country

When it comes to demand, Europe is the biggest buyer of Bordeaux. Year-to-date, the continent accounts for 46.8% of all Bordeaux trade (as a percentage of total value), up from 33.6% in 2020. North America has also been a growing region, with 21.4% (previously 15.5% in 2020).

As a result, traditional Bordeaux markets like Asia and the UK have seen their trade shares squeezed. The UK now sits at 20.8% (although it remains the single largest buyer of EP globally) while Asia is at 11.0%. In 2020, their shares accounted for 27.8% and 23.1% respectively.

When broken down by country, France is the biggest buyer of wines from the region, at 39.9% of total trade in 2023. The USA follows with 21.4%, then the UK with 20.8%.

The most notable rise is the increase in other countries buying Bordeaux). These countries have risen to account for 9.5% of Bordeaux trade in 2023.

This comprises trading activity from Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Korea, Norway, Malta, Ireland, Taiwan, Sweden, Japan, Canada, and more.

Bordeaux’s price performance

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index tracks 1,000 wines from across the world and is our broadest measure of the market. It comprises seven sub-indices which represent the most traded wines from regions around the world: the Bordeaux 500, the Bordeaux Legends 40, the Burgundy 150, the Champagne 50, the Rhone 100, the Italy 100 and the Rest of the World 60.

Compared to the wider market, Bordeaux has remained relatively stable in terms of price performance. Although the Burgundy 150 sub-index rose the most over the past year (8.8%), its performance is largely explained by a strong Q2 in 2022 (the index has fallen 3% since October 2022).

However, it is notable that the Bordeaux Legends 40 sub-index (which tracks a selection of 40 Bordeaux wines from exceptional older vintages), is the second-best performer over one year, up 5.4%. The Bordeaux 500 is also up 3.1% over the same period.

Like the Liv-ex 1000, the Bordeaux 500 index is also comprised of several sub-indices. Of these, the Right Bank 50 has been driving its performance over the past year and is up 6.8%. It is followed by the Left Bank 200, which rose 4.2% over the same period.

The most influential Bordeaux critics

Neal Martin (Vinous) topped the rankings as the most trusted Bordeaux En Primeur critic. The second spot was taken by William Kelley, who wrote his first Bordeaux En Primeur report for the Wine Advocate in 2022 after Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (the Wine Advocate’s previous Bordeaux reviewer and Editor-in-Chief) moved to her new venture, The Wine Independent.

Antonio Galloni (founder of Vinous and previously at the Wine Advocate) ranked third, while Lisa Perrotti Brown MW ranked fourth. Another newly-independent critic, Jane Anson (previously at Decanter), took the fifth spot.

Source: Liv-ex.com