Wine Auctions

I agree that wine auctions are perhaps the clearest indication of a wine's financial worth. Of course they are driven by rarity rather than objective quality, but nonetheless they represent a wide view of a wine's worth. However, auction indices, like any indices are sensitive to what is in the 'basket' to be indexed. Bordeaux in general has gone downwards in terms of price, while the top growths have gone upwards. So the index value depends on what is included. The Bordelais are about to pull out over 25% of their hectarage, so it is not surprising that overall the index is down.