Fine wine news

Lafite Rothschild 2008 could no longer be the wine of choice for consumers as figures show that its value has dropped 45 per cent over the past 12 months.

The wine, which included the Chinese symbol for number eight, a lucky charm for Chinese people, was hugely popular last year and the value of a single bottle soared as consumers flocked to buy the status symbol.

A case of Lafite 2008 reached its highest value of £14,043 in January 2011, but is now trading at £8,108.

Co-founder of the Liv-ex Fine Wine Exchange Justin Gibbs told Harpers Wine & Spirit that the wine is the "pin-up for what’s gone wrong in the market", which saw Bordeaux first growths trade for high values and the 2010 en primeur given high prices. Mr Gibbs also cited Chinese interest broadening into the wider market and problems with the Euro as reasons for the poor performance.

However, he stressed that wine investors will "start to dip their toes in the market again quite soon" as buying behaviour becomes more rational once again.

It was reported this week that the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100, the benchmark for the fine wine industry, fell by 3.9 per cent in December and of 14.85 per cent over 2011.

On average over all indices, prices for fine wine declined by an average of 15 per cent last year.

The Drinks Business cited WineSociete China, which claimed that the fall in value and trade from China is also down to a fall in growth of money supply and lending, leading fewer Chinese consumers to put their money into alternative investments like wine.

Second growths wines, the news provider stated, did fare well in 2011, most notably Leoville-Las-Cases and Cos d'Estournel. They have maintained their value during this tough economic climate.

Posted by Helen Jenkins