Acker Market Insights First Half 2023
ACKER MARKET INSIGHTS
FIRST HALF OF 2023
NEW YORK - July 11, 2023
INTRODUCTION
Financial Markets finished the first half of the year with extremely strong performances. The Nasdaq had its Artificial Intelligence moment which led to its best first half performance in four decades. The broader wine market increased as well with our Top 100 Index rising 6.18%, and our Liquid 30 increasing 4.19% highlighted by certain excellent performances within Bordeaux, which will be discussed in more detail. The Fine & Rare Index, dominated by Burgundy, stabilized in the second quarter with green shoots evident for fall prices.
FINE WINE INDEX PERFORMANCE
As a region, Bordeaux has dominated the top performers this year thus far, representing 16 of the Top 25 returns YTD, with California, Burgundy, and Italy representing the remaining nine. Right Bank Bordeaux indices made an impressive showing, accounting for 3 of the Top 10 performers with Historic, 2000s, and current Vintages (see Table 1, below).
Contributing to the striking dominance of Historic Indices (pre-2000 vintages) among the top performers were many wines brought to market from the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s vintages. These special gems can have a strong influence on indices’ performances within any set period. Similarly, the Cali Classic Index has been the star performer of the year with many older vintages of Heitz Cellars, Diamond Creek, Ridge, Chateau Montelena, Dominus, Dunn, and Mondavi coming to market. In Burgundy, index performance rose for producers Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey (21%), the 2010 Vintage (10%), and Leflaive (7%).
Right Bank Bordeaux Index Performance - 1 Year
Right Bank Bordeaux Index Performance - YTD 2023
Cali Classic Index Performance - 1 Year
Top 25 Indices - YTD 2023
*Historic indicates vintages (pre-2000)
THE SECONDARY MARKET
The secondary market continued to demonstrate strength in the first 6 months of 2023 with trade adding to their portfolios. Reignited activity from buyers in Hong Kong and China starting with their new year also impacted available supply, boding well for market resilience come fall.
EN PRIMEUR PRICES
Bordeaux’s upward trend can also be observed in En Primeur prices. Although 2022 is a much stronger vintage, the difference in prices between 2021 and 2022 was substantial. We highlight some of the larger ones below for the 2022 vintage, all of which increased from 2021 prices by the percentages indicated:
OUTLOOK FOR THE FALL
As mentioned in previous Market Insights, the Fine Wine Market tends to have a lagged directional correlation with global equity markets, usually with a 3-month lag. Given last quarter’s record-setting returns in some financial sectors, we believe the lagged impact of rising prices should occur in the wine market as we approach the fall. We have already seen signs of green shoots in demand in our retail business which portends well for this year’s upcoming auction season.
IRVIN GOLDMAN
Chief Executive Officer