The 2010 vintage of Bordeaux red wine dominates trade on the wine market

The Bordeaux 2010 saw strong activity on the Liv-ex last week. This vintage represented 42.8 % of all Bordeaux exchanges in value.

According to Liv-ex, for the week of October 9-15, Bordeaux accounted for 80.9 % of all trades by value and the 2010 vintage made up more than 40 % of them.

The five wines that sold best by value this week were Bordeaux red wines from 2010: Haut-Brion (6.1 % of the total market), Lafite (5.3 %), Lafleur (3 %), Margaux ( 2.6 %) and Montrose (2.5 %).

Interest in Bordeaux grew during the summer and was noticed in September, when the supply/demand ratio improved in its favour. The 2010 vintage has also been growing in interest for several months.

After the attention given to the 2005 vintage following the re-evaluation of its ratings by Robert Parker, the 2010 vintage seems to have inherited the role of buyers' favorite vintage.

And for good reason. The prices of wines from this vintage have plummeted since their release in 2011. Haut-Brion 2010, for example, is sold for £5,295 (€7,200) a case (latest market figures), i.e. 26 % less than its release price.

Some have recently been trying to find an explanation for the price difference between the 2010 vintage of Montrose, rated 100 points by Robert Parker, and the more expensive 2009 vintage, which received the same rating.

In summary, 2010 is a very good vintage, still very far from its peak, and very common in a market that seems to be picking up some speed. As buyers turn back to Bordeaux (something they were going to do at some point anyway), the 2010 Bordeaux reds look like a good option for those looking for some action. .

Liv-ex added that Italy had "another strong week" with a good share of volume trading, while Burgundy's share "continued to decline".

Rupert Millar, October 19, 2015

The Drinks Business