Performance
The numbers behind the strategy.
WHY OWN FINE WINE
The asset class that complements your portfolio.
Fine wine is not a replacement for equities. It is what equities cannot be: low-correlation, tangibly-owned and finite. The two can sit side by side in a portfolio.
Twenty-two years of the Liv-ex 1000 against the FTSE 100 and S&P 500, with the Burgundy 150 from 2010. Each series is rebased to 100 at its first data point: January 2004, or January 2010 for the Burgundy 150. Price return only.
Sources: Liv-ex, FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones Indices. Index values anchored to published Liv-ex figures; intermediate points illustrative. Updated periodically. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
CORRELATION TO FTSE 100
0.12
Liv-ex 1000 against the FTSE 100, from annual returns 2014 to 2026. Near zero means fine wine moves largely independently of equities: exactly what a diversifier should do. Monthly data would refine this marginally.
YEARS OF INDEX DATA
22
Fine wine has navigated the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, inflation shocks, geopolitical crises, and a sustained market correction, with lower volatility than gold over the same period. Twenty-two years of Liv-ex index data, including the falls.
CGT ON QUALIFYING WINES
0%
Most fine wine qualifies as a wasting asset under UK Capital Gains Tax rules, meaning gains are generally exempt from CGT. This is not tax advice; always confirm with a tax adviser.
How performance is measured.
The Liv-ex 1000 is the broadest measure of the investment-grade fine wine market, tracking the mid-market prices of 1,000 wines across all major regions: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Italy, and beyond. Sub-indices such as the Burgundy 150 provide regional depth within the same framework. Prices are derived from live trade data on the Liv-ex exchange.
The chart indexes the Liv-ex 1000 against the FTSE 100 and the S&P 500, rebased to 2004 = 100. All three series use price return only; dividends are excluded from FTSE 100 and S&P 500 figures, making the comparison conservative for fine wine relative to a total-return equity investor.
Fine wine prices fell meaningfully between January 2023 and early 2026 following a correction in Bordeaux and softness in Asian demand. The chart reflects this accurately. Individual holdings can do better or worse than the index.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Fine wine is an illiquid asset relative to publicly traded securities. This data is provided for educational purposes only.
CLIENT OUTCOMES
Recent client examples, anonymised.
Client names and identifiable details have been removed.
Bordeaux First Growth exit
Client instructed sale of 12 bottles Lafite 2010 acquired in 2016. Sold after a seven-year hold, with our 2% commission deducted from the proceeds.
Burgundy re-entry timing
Portfolio held 6 bottles Rousseau Chambertin 2015. Held through the 2023 correction and revalued at Liv-ex mid-prices. No sale advised.
En primeur campaign, 2019
2019 Bordeaux en primeur at release pricing. The client's 12-bottle allocation of Château Léoville Poyferré 2019 is held in the client's name and valued at Liv-ex mid-prices.
Diversified cellar, 5-year hold
Client's £85,000 portfolio across Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, held for five years and reviewed against the Liv-ex 1000.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance. These are individual client results, not a forecast. The value of fine wine can fall as well as rise. Capital at risk.
What moves wine prices.
Physical consumption
Unlike equities, wine is consumed. Every bottle opened permanently reduces the global supply of that vintage. This built-in scarcity driver is unique among asset classes. No new 2005 Pétrus will ever be produced.
Critic scores and reassessment
Major tastings by Robert Parker, Neal Martin, and Jancis Robinson move markets. A vertical reassessment that changes a wine's score by a point or two can move its price significantly, up or down. Our advisors monitor these reassessments closely.
Currency and geography
Most first-growth Bordeaux prices are denominated in EUR. Movements in sterling against the euro move these prices up or down for UK investors; AED and USD clients operate in a different currency context. We account for this in portfolio structuring.
Vintage quality and release pricing
A highly rated vintage released at fair pricing (the 2016 Bordeaux campaign being one example) can attract strong secondary market demand, but this is not guaranteed and prices can fall below release levels. Release price discipline by châteaux is the variable we watch most closely.
FEATURED REPORT
Cellar Advisor En Primeur Report 2026
Our analysis of the latest Bordeaux en primeur campaign: vintages, producers, and value opportunities.
Download the 2026 outlook
Talk to us about building a fine wine portfolio.