Wine investment: The signs of a fine wine market reawakening

Fine wine prices were set to end 2025 slightly below the levels of 12 months ago, amid ongoing tricky conditions that emerged in late 2022 following a bullish market upturn. Yet, average prices have stabilised on Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne since hitting low-points earlier in the year, said international merchant Bordeaux Index and its LiveTrade online trading platform (see table below). It also reported higher year-on-year turnover on some producers’ wines in the first three-quarters of 2025, excluding en primeur sales. Top-traded producers were: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, up 35%; Château Lafite Rothschild, up 55%; and Château Latour, up 34%. Geraint Carter, of Bordeaux Index, reported signs of a market reawakening for Bordeaux in general, citing ‘increasingly healthy’ interest in older vintages from the 1990s and 2000s. [subscriber-content]Miles Davis, market expert at Vinum Fine Wines, also reported good interest in ready-to-drink, older Bordeaux, contrasted by sluggish demand for younger wines. Bordeaux 2024-vintage en primeur sales were disappointing, although Latour 2016 – a 100-point wine – sold well on release in March. At Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, key price indices rose slightly in October. The Fine Wine 50, tracking Bordeaux first growths, edged up 0.6% for a second consecutive month of growth. It was still down 6% year-to-date and 19% over two years. ‘The market is beginning to show signs of stabilisation following a period of sustained price correction,’ said Romain Grudzinski, head of European markets at Liv-ex. ‘Bordeaux indices are improving and bid-offer ratios are moving in the right direction.’ Nick Pegna, global head of wine and spirits at Sotheby’s auction house, said key metrics, such as bids per lot and sell-through rates, notably improved in the second half of 2025. He said it remained a ‘buyer’s market’, with interest focused on top names and rarity a strong factor. Provenance, too, is increasingly important, said Pegna, as Sotheby’s prepared to auction ex-chȃteau Lafite Rothschild wines, including the lauded 1870 vintage, plus bottles from a Rothschild family member’s private cellar. Fine wine & spirits specialist Bordeaux Index kindly sponsors this section of Decanter , and provides its view on the market here every issue. It can be found at bordeauxindex.com . Mind the gap... There was something simple, even liberating, about the market when prices were sliding and everyone knew it. Buyers held the upper hand and if you wanted to get a deal done, it was ultimately up to the seller to acquiesce with as much grace as they could muster. As summer receded, however, activity began to stir and, with it, some prices nudged up for the first time in more than three years. With this came ambiguity over who now holds the advantage. Sellers, buoyed by talk of improved trading, have grown markedly less willing to capitulate. Buyers, meanwhile, are convinced that talk of recovery is premature and that their supremacy has longer to unfold. The result is a widening gap in expectations between the two camps. In truth, the market is moving at different speeds. Mature Bordeaux from the 1990s and early 2000s continues to find support from drinkers, while landmark vintages such as 2016 remain stable. Perhaps more surprisingly, certain younger years, notably 2019 and 2021, now attractively priced, are enjoying renewed interest. Large swathes in the middle, however, remain listless, and the 2022–2024 releases are still more threat than opportunity. After the 2008 post-crisis low, recovery took a few months. The 2011 correction, by contrast, saw prices drift for more than 18 months before finally finding direction. A similar period of recalibration now seems inevitable. How long it lasts, and how far sentiment diverges, will likely define the rhythm of the market for the foreseeable future. Epic US auction features legendary wines [caption id="attachment_572280" align="alignnone" width="696"] Credit: Cult Wine[/caption] A large single-owner collection spanning vaunted wine world creations has been sold in the US, amid a busy auction scene. US auction house Hart Davis Hart offered the Bowen Collection in early November, describing it as one of the greatest cellars its team has encountered. Legendary wines were part of the sale. Highlights included six magnums of Napa Valley’s Heitz Cellar, Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1974, which sold for an aggregate price of $77,675, including buyer’s premium (hammer price $65,000; high estimate $55,000). From Bordeaux, six magnums of Haut-Brion 1989 sold for $47,800 (hammer $40,000; high e $32,000); six bottles of Lafite Rothschild 1959 sold for $33,460 (hammer $28,000; high e $26,000); one jeroboam (five litres) of Pichon Comtesse 1982 sold for $10,755 (hammer $9,000; high e $7,500); and a magnum of Mouton Rothschild 1945 sold for $38,240 (hammer and high e $32,000). Merchant Berry Bros & Rudd, meanwhile, auctioned Pomerol stars from Bordeaux’s Right Bank in late October. It reported hammer prices, excluding a 20% buyer’s premium, and highlights included six bottles of Le Pin 2000, which fetched £18,200 (high e £18,000), plus 12 bottles of Lafleur 1982, which fetched £45,000 (high e £40,000). As Decanter went to press, French auction house Daguerre was preparing to offer the cellar of Alexandre de Lur-Saluces, ex-Chȃteau d’Yquem chairman, in Paris. [/subscriber-content] [breakout] Disclaimer: Decanter's Market Watch pages are published for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Wine prices may vary and they can go down as well as up. Seek independent advice where necessary and be aware that wine investment is unregulated in several markets, including the UK. [/breakout] Related articles Wine investment: Tough trading for California's blue-chip labels Wine investment: Why the Super Tuscans are bucking the trend in a week market Wine investment: Fine wine prices continue to fall

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