Exceptional increases as wine trade grows

OTHER asset classes may have struggled, but fine wine prices continued to rise during December, with the Liv-ex 100 index increasing by 0.9 per cent, according to figures published yesterday.

The Liv-ex Claret Chip – which features wines from Bordeaux – rose by 0.7 per cent in December.

Over the course of the year, the Liv-ex 100 rose by 15.7 per cent, while the claret chip increased in value by 19.4 per cent.

Experts said there were some "exceptional" increases for fine Bordeaux vintages during 2009, with Chateau Lafite 1999 outperformed all wines and "virtually any asset class" with a spectacular rise of 125 per cent during the year, up from 2,000 a case to 4,500.

In December, the strongest performer was Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1996, with an increase of 9.5 per cent to 2,600 a case.

Andrew della Casa, director of the Wine Investment Fund, said: "Stocks of maturing wines like Mouton 1996 are becoming scarcer as they are drunk and appreciated by consumers around the world."

Demand in Asia for fine wines is continuing to grow and Hong Kong is now the second biggest wine auction market after New York, growing from a standing start in 2007, overtaking London in the process, della Casa added.