Fine wine from Bordeaux has been a more lucrative investment over the past 12 months than gold, crude oil or shares, according to the Liv-Ex Fine Wine Exchange.

Fine wine from Bordeaux has been a more lucrative investment over the past 12 months than gold, crude oil or shares, according to the Liv-Ex Fine Wine Exchange.

The index said its Liv-Ex Fine Wine 50 – which tracks the top five Bordeaux châteaux across ten different vintages – had risen by 57% during 2010, breaking through the 400-point barrier in December.

That compares to a 35% rise in the value of gold over the same period, while crude oil has risen by only 20%. Leading share indices the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 moved up by 13% and 11% respectively.

Liv-Ex said this year’s increases had been driven by ‘exceptionally strong’ demand from Asian markets, and China and Hong Kong in particular.

Director James Miles said Lafite-Rothschild continued to lead the market, with some vintages doubling in value over the past year.

He added: ‘Encouragingly, however, the market broadened considerably in the last few months of 2010 to encompass a number of its Bordeaux peers. We are also starting to see signs that demand is increasing for top Burgundy and Sauternes.’

Written by Richard Woodard

Richard Woodard
Richard Woodard
Decanter Magazine, Wine & Spirits Writer

Richard Woodard is a freelance wine and spirits writer based in the UK. Aside from Decanter, he writes for several wine trade and media outlets including Imbibe, The Drinks Business, Harpers and Drinks International.

Since 2015 he has been the magazine editor of Scotchwhisky.com. He has formerly worked as a wine news reporter at Imbibe and a feature writer for Halycon Magazine.