Are today’s collectors cellaring more white wine?
It’s hard to say for sure, but recent data points to a gradual, if limited, challenge to reds’ fine wine market hegemony. Chardonnay, and specifically white Burgundy, is the spearhead.
Geraint Carter, of Bordeaux Index and the LiveTrade online trading platform, said: ‘The white Burgundy share of our [total] trading over the last decade has gone from about 2% to about 5%, by value.’
Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, said trading by value on still white wine rose 650% from 2010 to 2025, when it reached 10.5% of total trade value. Sparkling wine also jumped 1,100% in that period, while reds dropped 15%.
Carter said the trend should be seen within a wider context of Burgundy, Champagne and other regions diluting red Bordeaux’s dominance. ‘It’s a much more heterogeneous [market] picture than it was 15 years ago.’
Tom Burchfield, head of decision intelligence at Liv-ex, told Decanter: ‘Collectors’ cellars have undoubtedly become more diverse, and that will be a factor. It is perhaps reflective of a broader change in taste and consumption habits, but I don’t think you can underestimate the impact Burgundy has had. Interest in Burgundy (both red and white) has soared over the past decade.’
How far can this go? Carter said trading was focused on icons (see table below), yet it’s necessarily a thin market due to relatively tiny production volumes on individual wines.
Prices are correspondingly high. While it has been affected by the broader recent market downturn, there is some evidence that top white Burgundy has been relatively resilient.
‘White Burgundy didn’t rise [in price] to the same degree as red Burgundy between 2021 and 2022, and subsequently didn’t fall as far,’ said Burchfield.
US auction house Hart Davis Hart highlighted white Burgundy’s allure after its June fine wine sale, noting: ‘White Burgundy continued its skyward trajectory, with everything from 1980s [Domaines] Leflaive and Ramonet to 2020s Bernard-Bonin and Paul Pillot setting new record prices.
Geraint Carter’s standout trades on white Burgundy in the first half of 2026 have been grand cru wines from a handful of blue-chip producers
Data supplied by Bordeaux Index/LiveTrade
Wine Price bracket (per 75cl bottle)
Domaine d’Auvenay, Chevalier- and Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru £15,000-£20,000
Domaine Leflaive, Montrachet Grand Cru £10,000-£15,000
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Montrachet Grand Cru £5,000-£7,000
Domaine Coche-Dury, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru £3,000-£4,000
The Bordeaux Index view
Fine wine & spirits specialist Bordeaux Index kindly sponsors this section of Decanter, and provides its view on the market here every issue. It can be found at bordeauxindex.com
Back to the future
The fine wine market is often described as fragmented and lacking direction.
In reality, today’s landscape looks less like disorder and more like a return to historical norms.
The true anomaly was surely the 15-20 years of boom, bust and boom again, when Asia exerted an extraordinary influence, elevating Bordeaux to an unprecedented position of dominance.
That era has passed. Bordeaux remains the cornerstone of the fine wine market, but its decline from overwhelming supremacy is the single biggest structural shift of the past decade.
The beneficiaries are well documented: red Burgundy, Champagne and, on the white side, white Burgundy have all captured a greater share of collectors’ attention.
Fragmentation extends beyond buying preferences. The days when one critic could make or break a vintage are over, and wine styles are less uniform.
Climate change is demanding new approaches in both vineyard and cellar.
And at the same time, outstanding wine is now being made almost everywhere. Even the most historic domaines increasingly face competition from ambitious terrea novea.
Perhaps the greatest change, however, is cultural.
Fine wine now behaves more like other luxury markets: trends emerge faster, information travels instantly and fashion exerts a greater influence than ever before.
Today’s market may feel fragmented, but it’s also broader, more transparent and, arguably, far more interesting.
Auction highlights: Italy & rare Sherry
Italian fine wines have been a highlight of the auction scene in recent weeks, but rarely sighted 19th-century Sherry also commanded bidders’ attention.
Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino is a hallowed name for Barolo lovers and, in late June, US-based Hart Davis Hart (HDH) brought forth what it described as ‘the most comprehensive offering of Monfortino ever to appear at auction’.
Highlights included the superstar Barolo 2010 vintage. Six bottles of Monfortino Barolo Riserva 2010 sold for $11,950 (high estimate: $9,500), including buyer’s premium, while a single magnum of the same wine fetched $4,183 (high e: $3,200).
From Tuscany, six bottles of Soldera, Case Basse, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2004 sold for $17,925 (high e: $14,000). HDH’s June auction was 100% sold – its fifth consecutive ‘white glove’ result.
Elsewhere, Zachys offered Italian gems from New York’s legendary, now-shuttered Barbetta restaurant; the Rolling Stones and Al Pacino are listed among its past patrons.
A Delaware-based ‘live’ sale in late June featured several wines from the 1990s, including 12 bottles of Bruno Giacosa, Santo Stefano di Neive, Barbaresco 1995: sold for $3,750 (high e: $3,000), including buyer’s premium.
In a change of pace, a Christie’s online auction ending 19 June featured library wines direct from Sherry producer González Byass.
A lot containing a bottle each of Pio IX Moscatel 1846 and La Cuadrada Palo Cortado 1997 sold for £2,500, including buyer’s premium (e: £2,000 – £3,000).
LiveTrade and Wine Hub link up
Private collectors and merchants can benefit from a new partnership between the LiveTrade fine wine trading platform powered by Bordeaux Index and a leading business management system, Wine Hub, created by Wine Owners.
Both partners said their deal enhances access to global fine wine trading, such as by enabling businesses using Wine Hub to trade directly on LiveTrade, plus see real-time pricing and stock availability.
LiveTrade has nearly £50m of in-bond, pristine blue-chip stock readily available for trading at any one time.
On the benefit to collectors, Matthew O’Connell, co-CEO of Bordeaux Index, said: ‘Integrations such as Wine Hub make it easier for merchants to participate in the marketplace as part of their daily workflow.
‘Increased participation drives greater liquidity, and that means broader access to fine wine, improved pricing transparency and a stronger trading experience for private collectors using LiveTrade.’
Coming up
Burgundy charity sale
Christie’s will co-host a charity auction of rare Burgundy wines sourced directly from celebrated producers, plus exclusive experiences, from 4-19 September – in aid of restorations at the historic Cistercian Abbey of Cîteaux.
The sale’s conclusion will also coincide with a charity dinner at Chȃteau Clos du Vougeot.
Ex-Chȃteau Haut-Brion
August is broadly a quieter month for auctions, but autumn is hotting up. Sotheby’s announced in July that it will offer Château Haut-Brion wines sourced directly from the Bordeaux first growth’s cellars.
Bidding opens 17 September and concludes with a ‘live’ auction in Paris on 1 October. Stay tuned for more details.
The Golden Vines weekender
Philanthropy-focused fine wine and gastronomy event The Golden Vines returns to London in 2026, from 6-8 November, said organiser Liquid Icons in July.
Held in support of the Gérard Basset Foundation, the weekend includes The Golden Vines Awards Gala. Tickets are £10,000 per person. See liquidicons.com/london
Disclaimer
Decanter’s Market Watch pages are published for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Wine prices may vary and they can go down as well as up. Seek independent advice where necessary and be aware that wine investment is unregulated in several markets, including the UK.
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