Liv-ex Fine Wine 100

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 is the fine wine market's primary benchmark, officially launched in December 2003 and backdated to July 2001. It was created by Liv-ex, the London International Vintners Exchange, which was itself founded in 2000 by two stockbrokers, James Miles and Justin Gibbs, with the goal of bringing stock-market-style transparency to a historically fragmented wine trade. The index tracks 100 of the most sought-after fine wines for which a strong secondary market exists, and is calculated monthly using Liv-ex Mid Prices derived from real merchant transactions.

• Officially launched December 2003, backdated to July 2001 as the start of the index series
• Calculated monthly using Liv-ex Mid Prices, the midpoint between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the platform
• Reflects actual wholesale secondary market prices, not retail or advertised prices
• Listed on Bloomberg and Reuters and cited by the Financial Times as the industry standard

The Fine Wine 100 provides essential price discovery and market sentiment for collectors, merchants, and institutional investors allocating capital to fine wine as an alternative asset. Declared the fine wine industry's leading benchmark by Reuters, it functions as an objective reference point comparable in purpose to equity indices such as the FTSE 100. Its data is grounded in real transactions from Liv-ex's member network, whose activity accounts for an estimated 95% of fine wine turnover globally, giving the index exceptional representativeness.

• Enables collectors and funds to benchmark portfolio performance against a credible market reference
• Used by hedge funds, family offices, and wine investment funds evaluating fine wine as an alternative asset
• Informs insurance valuations, estate planning, and provenance discussions
• Demonstrates how fine wine pricing correlates with economic cycles, currency movements, and luxury market conditions

The Fine Wine 100 is price and scarcity weighted, meaning young, expensive wines produced in larger quantities carry the greatest index weight. To qualify for inclusion, a wine must have received a score of 95 points or above from a leading critic and must attract a regular market on Liv-ex. Wines are drawn from France, Italy, the USA, Australia, and Spain. Because Bordeaux has historically dominated secondary market trade on Liv-ex, French wines, and Bordeaux in particular, represent a large share of the index, though the composition has diversified as Burgundy, Champagne, and other regions have grown their market share.

• Weighted by original production levels and increasing scarcity as wines age, not purely by market capitalisation
• Qualification requires a minimum of 95 points from a recognised critic and demonstrated trading liquidity on Liv-ex
• Wines must be physically available in the secondary market; en primeur-only releases are ineligible
• Components reviewed regularly to keep the index representative of current market liquidity and trading volumes

The Fine Wine 100 has demonstrated significant long-term appreciation since its July 2001 base, punctuated by periods of sharp movement tied to macroeconomic events. The market experienced strong growth through the mid-2000s before contracting during the 2008 financial crisis, then rebounded dramatically as Asian collector demand surged in 2010 and 2011. The index has since tracked broader economic sentiment, including the impact of currency fluctuations and shifting regional demand patterns. More recently, the market underwent a correction from a peak in late 2022, with the Burgundy 150 sub-index dropping 27.8% from that peak to late 2024.

• Strong appreciation recorded from the July 2001 base through the mid-2000s, interrupted by the 2008 financial crisis
• A surge in Asian collector demand drove the market higher in 2010 and 2011 before a subsequent correction
• Experienced a notable bull run in 2021 and 2022, followed by a broad market correction in 2023 and 2024
• Serves as a leading indicator of fine wine market sentiment, often moving in line with luxury goods demand and currency trends

Wine professionals and investors access the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 through the Liv-ex platform, where historical pricing data, monthly performance figures, and component breakdowns are published. The index is also available through Bloomberg and Reuters terminals. It is best used as a monthly barometer of blue-chip fine wine market health, complemented by the daily Fine Wine 50 for a real-time read on Bordeaux First Growth pricing. For broader market analysis, the Fine Wine 1000 and its regional sub-indices provide more granular regional insight.

• Monitor monthly index movements to assess overall fine wine market health and sentiment
• Use the Fine Wine 50 for a daily Bordeaux First Growth temperature check alongside the monthly 100
• Compare individual wine holdings against the index to assess relative outperformance or underperformance
• Reference alongside regional sub-indices to identify rotation between Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and other regions

Liv-ex maintains an extensive family of indices beyond the Fine Wine 100. The Fine Wine 50 is the only daily benchmark in the industry, tracking the ten most recent vintages of the five Bordeaux First Growths. The Fine Wine 1000 is the broadest measure, calculated monthly and divided into seven sub-indices covering Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhone, Italy, and the Rest of the World. Specialist indices include the California 50, tracking Screaming Eagle, Opus One, Dominus, Harlan Estate, and Ridge Monte Bello, and the Port 50, tracking the five most actively traded Port houses.

• Fine Wine 50: the sole daily index, tracking the ten most recent vintages of the five Bordeaux First Growths
• Fine Wine 1000: broadest monthly measure, split into seven regional sub-indices including Burgundy 150 and Champagne 50
• Burgundy 150: tracks ten recent vintages across 15 white and red Burgundies, including six Domaine Romanee Conti labels
• California 50 and Port 50: specialist indices for tracking leading Napa producers and top Port houses respectively