By
Tom Gearing
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The week to 1 November was the busiest since April. Across the market we see, the number of trades came in 24% above the average week since late April, and value 21% above. The week before had been quiet, so this is a rebound, not a run. Bordeaux and Italy each logged more trades than in any week since April.
Six Pauillac wines were among the busiest of the week across the market we see, from Lafite down to the fifth growths. In the last issue I wrote that gains got patchier below the best-known names. In Pauillac this week, the top is steady and the more interesting moves are lower down.
Lafite is the anchor. The 2010 has traded between £2,850 and £3,150 a case of six in every quarter since July 2025, far below its £4,570 high in February 2023, but no lower. The 2018 is edging up: its lowest quarterly trade has risen from £2,215 in early 2025 to £2,500 this summer. October’s typical trade, £2,550, sat just above market price, though one dipped to £2,414. The book is wide: best bid £2,500, lowest offer £3,450.
Lynch-Bages 2009 is the standout. Two trades on 27 October, £1,601 and £1,685 a dozen, cleared 18% and 24% above its market price. Only one trade in the last two years has been higher, £1,700 in spring 2025. In every other quarter since mid-2024 the top trade was £1,450 or lower, and the typical trade sat between £1,217 and £1,380. Sellers have noticed: the lowest offer is now £1,600, against a best bid of £1,275, a gap of 25%.
The 2018 is quieter but steadier. Its typical trade has risen from £385 in summer 2025 to £415 in October, and nothing traded below £403 during the month. Clerc Milon 2019 has a market price up 10% in a year, though one October trade at £268 says its floor is not yet firm.
The exception is d’Armailhac 2016. It traded at £454 to £490 a dozen in mid-2025 and fell to £347 in September. October’s £410 to £432 is a recovery, not a new high.
My read: Pauillac buyers are paying up for the right vintage, not just the label. Two dozen of Lynch-Bages is not a re-rating. A third trade above £1,500 would start to look like one.
Rare 2006 traded 14 times on CultX in October. Busier, but not at higher prices. Its typical trade for three bottles fell from £350 in mid-2024 to £222 this summer, and its market price is down 14% in a year, to £247.
What has changed is the bottom. The lowest trade has sat between £199 and £211 in every quarter since late 2025, and October’s typical trade, £240, is its first quarterly rise since early 2025. Lowest offer £240, best bid £220. In the last issue I wrote that mature Champagne’s floor keeps rising. Rare 2006 is a reminder that a floor can hold a long way below where a wine used to trade.
It is also the cheapest way into Rare on CultX. At a market price of £82 a bottle, and £80 on the lowest offer, the 2006 is the lowest-priced Rare vintage on the platform, just under the 2008 at £87 and about half the price of the 2002 at £162. The scores are close: the Wine Advocate rates the 2006 93 to 94 and the 2002 95. For a vintage that well regarded, £80 a bottle looks like good value to me.
I said that if Burgundy was back above 20% of value within three weeks, its dip was a pause. In the week to 1 November it took 23%, up from 16% the week before. A pass, with an asterisk.
Much of the jump came from a few grand cru trades at the very top. One was a single bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Romanée-Conti 2018, which traded on CultX at £14,600 on 28 October, its first trade on the platform and 8% under its £15,828 market price. Take out the week’s three largest Burgundy trades and its share would have been about 17%. The number of Burgundy trades was close to its average.
Two trades are not a trend, and the lowest offer, £1,600, now sits where they did. My test: if the next three trades clear above £1,500 a dozen, its £1,358 market price is behind the market. If they slip back towards £1,300, the 27 October trades were two keen buyers. See the chart on CultX.
Another positive week for the market we see, with value, trades and bottles all up on the week before. The clearest sign is in Bordeaux, where Lynch-Bages 2009 printed its highest trades in more than a year. That fits the direction I see across Bordeaux now: more competition, and buyers willing to pay a premium, for the best wines in the best vintages. If you are seeing something on the platform that I have missed, tell us. The best stories usually start with one odd trade.
Tom Gearing is co-founder and CEO of CultX.
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This article is market commentary. It is not investment advice or a personal recommendation. All prices are CultX in-bond prices for the case size stated, as shown on the platform on 2 November 2026, and exclude fees, storage, duty and VAT. Auction prices include the buyer’s premium. Past prices are not a guide to future prices, and fine wine can be slow to sell. CultX earns fees when wines trade on the platform. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of wine investments can rise or fall. This analysis is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute personalised investment advice. Wines referenced may not be available for purchase on the CultX marketplace at all times.
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