2012 has been a mixed barrel for wine collectors, as the market attempts to recover from the widely-publicised burst of the Bordeaux bubble in June 2011. Fine wine prices were subject to a sharp correction last year, following a two-year bull run, which left the Liv-Ex 100 Fine Wine Index reeling.
This year saw the continued rise of Burgundy wines, which took over from the dazzling successes of Bordeaux seen in previous years. The Liv-ex DRC Index, which tracks the price movement of the brand's leading crus, has shown an increase in value of 34.5% in the last two years, compared with the Bordeaux first growths-based Liv-ex 50's decrease of 24.2%.
A distinct rise in whisky investment has also been seen, with demand and subsequently prices increasing over the past four years. According to Whisky Highland, the top 250 bottles of investment-grade whisky have grown in value by 183% since 2008, with a 1.7% increase in the first quarter of 2012 alone.
Top sales
 A new auction record was set for the 2005 Romanee-Conti in November |
- DRC's Romanee-Conti is the bottle that has stood out from the crowd this year, taking over from where Bordeaux's Chateau Lafite left off.
- Bordeaux's Chateau Petrus deserves a special mention, having been named the "king of wine investments" by Christie's Charles Hanson, after it reportedly achieved an average annual return of 14% "all the way through bull and bear markets".
- Whisky was topped by the sale of a bottle of the 55 year old Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve, which sold for $94,000 in March 2012 to become the most valuable bottle of whisky ever sold at auction.
New records in 2012
- One auction in particular saw more records than any other - Acker, Merrall and Condit's May sale, which saw an extraordinary 64 new world records. 20 of these were set by wines from Italy and California, while 30 were from Burgundy and the remaining 14 from Bordeaux.
The rare Janet Sheed whisky was named after the Glenfiddich founder's grandaughter - As previously mentioned, the Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve was the biggest whisky sale of 2012. However, a bottle of Macallan 50 year old Anniversary Malt sold for £17,000 ($27,500) to become the most valuable bottle of its kind ever sold at auction.
It was a break out year for…
- Tuscan wine - The Liv-ex Super Tuscan Index has outperformed the Liv-ex 50 over a five year period, with the Masseto the top performer, showing a total price increase of 110%.
Tuscan wine is outperforming Bordeaux first growths
A year to forget for…
- Bowmore 1957 whisky - the much lauded tipple was expected to break the world record in two separate Bonhams auctions this year, but failed to meet its $162,000 reserve on both occasions.
One you may have missed…
- Cognac - the spirit has certainly provided some of the year's most exciting lots, with a bottle from the French revolution selling at Christie's and one hidden from the Nazis by Jean Godet offered at a charity auction.
