Feb 15: If one goes by the quality of fine wines and the price factor, tracked annually by the Liv-Ex Power 100 Index, that ranks 100 top wines of the world, Italian wines are ascending, with 4 of the Top Ten in the List released recently-GAJA winery at no.3 making the top of the List, followed by Sassicaia (4), Ornellaia (6), and Masseto (9), writes Subhash Arora
While 17 wineries made it to the Top 100 List, The Top10 were even more impressive with 4 out of 10 wines being from Italy. GAJA was the top winery from Italy (Piedmont), securing the highest ever 3rd spot, edging past Sassicaia at no. 4, followed by the other two icons Ornellaia (6) and Masseto (9). All these 3 wines are from the Bolgheri area.
The list is headed by Leroy (1) and Leflaive (2) from France which also bagged 3 more spots with Dom Perignon (7) from LVMH, Chateau Haut Brion (8) and Louis Roederer (of Cristal Champagne fame) at no. 10. Penfolds is the only non-European Australian winery known for its Grange at No. 5.
In 2019, Sassicaia was on top from the Italian stable, at the 3rd spot. Gaja has managed to jump 34 slots to attain the top Italy Rank in 2020.
‘I am very happy that Italian wines have moved up the ladder with the GAJA winery ranked third. This result was achieved also thanks to the cooperation of restaurateurs, wine merchants and importers, who have been promoting our wines for a long time,’ says the patriarch of the Gaja family, Angelo Gaja clarifying it was not a definitive ranking and applied only to the year 2020. It was different in 2019 and it will vary in 2021. He adds, ‘France has always excelled within the premium wines range. In the future, gradually but constantly, excellent wines produced also in other countries will join this primacy; and Italy will be a favourite among them.’
The Liv-Ex 2020 Power 100 Index evinced the rise of Italy through the rankings with 66 Italian brands qualifying for inclusion in 2020 compared to 47 in 2019. Of those 66 brands, 17 made it into the 2020 Power 100 compared to just 8 in 2019. Tuscany (36), 26 Piedmont (26), 3 Veneto (3) and Abruzzo (1), made it to the List. Tuscany and Piedmont have always been leading in the fine wine market. Sorì San Lorenzo, Barbaresco and Sperss from Gaja are the 3 brands in this coveted List.
Price Performance
Price performance is a key metric for the Liv-Ex Power 100, that makes Italian the qualifiers. The 66 Italian qualifiers saw their prices rise by an average of 3.12% in 2020, while the 17 in the top 100 increased their price by an average of 6.01%.
The 2020 Power 100 reflects what has been observed in the broader market. Italy’s market share by- value increased from 8.8% in 2019 to 15.1% in 2020. In 2021, it has already grown to 17.2%. In that same time, distinct Italian wines traded increased from 344 in 2019 to 635 in 2020. When vintages are also factored in, there was a rise from 805 in 2019 to 1,546 in 2020.
Liv-Ex is the London-based publisher of the English exchange platform that tracks the global Fine Wine Market including En Primeur. Details are on https://www.liv-ex.com
Subhash Arora
Liv-Ex Power 100 Index (Italy)
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