Fine wine news

The Liv-ex Claret Chip Index, which tracks the top-scoring Bordeaux first growths of the last 15 years, has ended the year 18 per cent down on January.

It closed last week at 339.64, a drop of 0.20 per cent over the week, ending a year of positive trading followed by steady decline.

Indeed, the index continued to grow after a strong 2010 until the beginning of March. During the en primeur season, trading was volatile and started to fall from mid June.

Liv-ex reported that over the year, 24 wines have fallen in value by more than ten per cent, while three have maintained positive growth, namely Mouton Rothschild 2000 and Haut Brion 2006 and 1998.

One of the reasons for Haut Brion's success this year has been due to Jancis Robinson scoring the wine 18.5 in 2010. The wine critic named Haut Brion 2006 one of her top labels of the vintage.

And according to Liv-ex, the wine is now a good post-Christmas bargain option for wine investors.

Lafite Rothschild has been the main victim in a year of decline. Its 1998 vintage has fallen by 23.94 per cent over the year, while the 2003 saw the biggest drop of 31.87 per cent.

On a positive note, many of the top-rated first growth wines have now fallen into a 'buy zone' for UK-based fine wine consumers, as they are that much cheaper. Priced at between £250 and £300, the fine wine exchange noted that this is the mark where interest rises among wine enthusiasts.

Examining the year before June 2011, just three of the 55 first growths from the 1995-2006 vintages were in this buy zone.

By the end of November, 24 wines could fit into this category and this is further boosted by the fact that a "significant number" of the wines are into, or about to hit, their drinking windows, making them a more attractive option to buyers.

Posted by Brian Hughes