Latour 1865 and other wines in a Christie's hong kong auction, October 2024.
A recent Christie's auction of Château Latour wines sourced direct from estate owner Artémis Domaines has been a highlight.
(Image credit: Christie's Images Ltd. 2024)

Muted trading and a downward drift in prices have been key themes on the fine wine market in 2024, despite some exceptions among older vintages, suggests data in the Market Watch section of Decanter magazine’s December 2024 issue.

The monthly Market Watch pages are sponsored by international merchant Bordeaux Index, which includes the recently relaunched LiveTrade online trading platform.

Giving its view on the market situation in the current Decanter magazine issue, Bordeaux Index said: ‘As we come to the end of 2024, the fine wine market continues to see very muted enthusiasm from buyers, something which appears to us to be not specific to the wine market but rather luxury goods and discretionary spending more generally.’

Price indices for top Bordeaux, Burgundy, SuperTuscan and Champagne wines have all dropped during the year, shows Bordeaux Index data, but it also said that declines have not been dramatic.

Some individual wines have bucked the trend by rising in price this year, its data showed.

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of LiveTrade, said there were some signs of improving sentiment, although he cautioned that the timing of a market turnaround remained uncertain.

The section also features data from Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, as well as insight from Nick Pegna, global head of wine and spirits at Sotheby’s auction house.

Recent auction results have shown that there continues to be interest in rare bottles, such as Château Latour 1865 sourced direct from the estate and sold by Christie’s in Hong Kong.

However, Decanter.com also reported this month that an auction in Denmark saw no takers for bottles of lauded Cheval Blanc 1947.

See more upcoming events for the diary and read the fine wine market analysis on Decanter Premium, or in Decanter’s newly released December 2024 issue.

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.