Liv-ex new classification

Liv-ex trading house publishes a classification of top wines by trade prices.

The countries' share in Liv-ex' new classification
The countries' share in Liv-ex' new classification

The British fine wine trading house Liv-ex has released its price classification for 2021, of the most traded wines on the secondary market. The price ranking is compiled every two years and refers to the average trade prices achieved on the global market. 

The model for the classification process, which has been in place since 2009, is the Bordeaux classification of 1855, which ranked the wines of the top wineries based on their market price from fifth to first growth. 

According to Liv-ex, there were few surprises at the highest level of these classified wines. The world's top wines continued to dominate here: the leading Grand Crus Classés from Bordeaux, Grands Crus from Burgundy, Champagne, high-quality Shiraz from Australia and Californian "cult wines", which continue to fetch the highest prices on the market. 

Even though these lead the field, Bordeaux's share of the secondary market has been declining in recent years, he said. This has also been reflected in the composition of the classification, he said. 

In 2019, Bordeaux wines made up just over 37 percent of the classification list; this year, that figure is down to 28.6 percent. The number of Burgundian wines has also declined by 30 percent, according to Liv-ex. In 2019, there were 102 Burgundy wines; in 2021, there were only 71, he said. 

"However, the real winners of this year's classification are undoubtedly Italy and the United States. Italy recorded an increase of 112 percent over 2019, with 83 wines, while the U.S. (represented exclusively by California) increased by 120 percent, from 10 to 22 wines," the house said. Labels from the Rhône Valley, Champagne, and Chile also joined the list.  

In total, there were 120 new additions to the classification this year, it said. More than 70 percent of them came from wineries outside Bordeaux and Burgundy. 

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