Liv-ex DRC Index up 9.1% in 12 months as Burgundy booms

With the Liv-ex 50 falling, the DRC Index shows an upward climb led by Romanee Conti

The respected Liv-ex DRC Index has consistently outperformed the Liv-ex 50 Bordeaux indexsince 2011, as Burgundy wines fast become the collector's favourite.

Bordeaux's fall is paving the way for wines from different regions

The DRC Index tracks the price movement of recent vintages of the estate's leading crus, and has increased in value by 9.1% since July 2011. The rise has been led by the auction favourite, Romanee Conti, whose 2003 vintage has shown a dramatic 24% increase within the year, while the 2008 is up by 15%. The impressive movement seen by the DRC wines stands in contrast to that of the Liv-ex 50 Index, which tracks the last 10 vintages of the five Bordeaux First Growths. The index has fallen by 30% in the same period, with its market share down to 85.7% - the lowest figure to date. Meanwhile, Burgundy now holds a 4.7% share in trade, up from just 0.8% in June 2011. As Bordeaux leaves space in the market, we are now seeing strongincreases for wines from different regions. Italy held a 2.7% market share in June 2012, with the Super Tuscan 50 Index - which is composed of the last 10 vintages of Masseto, Tignanello, Sassicaia, Ornellia and Solaia - outperforming the Liv-ex 50 since June 2007 and seeing a five-year return of 76%. The strong performance of the DRC Index re-affirms the first-half results posted by wine auction giant Acker, Merrall and Condit, where DRC wines represented less than 3% of all lots in its sales yet brought 15.5% of the overall total. Paul Fraser Collectibles continues to bring you the latest news and investment advice on wine collecting.