It’s the first time a Spanish producer has ever secured high spot within the extremely anticipated Energy 100 rankings from Liv-ex, a worldwide market for superb wine merchants.
Burgundy usually reigns supreme on this checklist. Domaine Leroy took the crown in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and Domaine Leflaive then topped the checklist in 2023.
Nonetheless, it has been a ‘gruelling 12 months for the superb wine market’ and ‘Burgundy has fared badly’, in keeping with Liv-ex. Bordeaux has additionally struggled, and there aren’t any French producers on this 12 months’s high three.
Vega Sicilia leads the facility rankings after commerce volumes elevated by 324% and worth shot up by 310%. ‘With appreciable heritage – it was first produced in 1915 – and nonetheless representing good worth, it’s unlikely to be a flash within the pan,’ mentioned Liv-ex.
Italian producer Gaja took the runner-up spot. The model was thirty eighth within the 2022 checklist and seventh in 2023, so it has been increase momentum in recent times. Liv-ex mentioned that Gaja has been ‘rigorously and constantly constructed up over many years’ and ‘is well-known and trusted’.
One other Italian model, San Guido, climbed 54 locations to complete third on the checklist. ‘Produced in respectable volumes, with comparatively constant launch costs, and, within the scheme of issues, reasonably priced commerce costs, it represents a secure wager in a down market,’ mentioned Liv-ex. ‘It’s a wine that may be purchased in excessive volumes and, crucially, drunk with out an excessive amount of concern as as to whether one ought to look ahead to tomorrow.’
Burgundy producer Joseph Drouhin took fourth place, forward of Château d’Yquem, Henri Boillot, Château Mouton Rothschild, Australian producer Penfolds after which Domaine Leroy.
Cheval Blanc was eleventh, and E. Guigal, Domaine Leflaive, Latour, Dom Pérignon, Roagna, Margaux, Bouchard Père et Fils, Guiseppe Rinaldo, Faiveley and Giacomo Concerto rounded out the highest 20.
Liv-ex ranked every model in 4 key classes: year-on-year worth efficiency (12 months to 30 September 2024), buying and selling efficiency on Liv-ex, the variety of wines and vintages traded, and the common worth of the wines.
Simply 11 manufacturers throughout the high 100 managed to extend their common gross sales worth over the previous 12 months, as Liv-ex famous that the ‘may of many estates has been eroded for the reason that downturn started two years in the past’.
Burgundy stays one of the best represented area within the high 100, with 30 manufacturers. Nonetheless, that’s down from 37 final 12 months and 39 in 2022.
The variety of Bordeaux manufacturers fell from 30 final 12 months to 25 in 2024, with the likes of Le Pin and Léoville Poyferré dropping out.
The largest fallers all hailed from Burgundy and Bordeaux, with Pierre Girardin dropping 77 locations to No. 94.
In the meantime, Italy is snapping at their heels. The nation made the strongest good points on this 12 months’s high 100 checklist, filling 22 spots, up from simply 13 final 12 months.
‘Whereas Tuscany, and specifically Brunello, has made the best good points, a deeper look reveals a removed from homogenous set of Italian producers which have entered the checklist this 12 months,’ mentioned Liv-ex.
The corporate additionally mentioned that Spain is value keeping track of after Dominio de Pingus and R. López de Heredia joined Vega Sicilia within the Energy 100.
‘As confidence has dissipated from the market, contributors have gravitated in the direction of manufacturers that signify the least dangerous bets,’ mentioned Liv-ex. ‘Manufacturers which share many stereotypically Bordelais traits have risen to the highest.
‘Quantity, liquidity, heritage model and costs that invite the uncorking of bottles are their calling playing cards. With the market nonetheless on the lookout for a turning level [following two years of declining sales for fine wine], it’s unlikely contributors shall be altering tack simply but.’
See the complete Liv-ex Energy 100 rankings right here.
