How Vega Sicilia got to the top of Liv-ex Power 100 list

The year 2024 marked a turning point for Vega Sicilia, both financially and in terms of international recognition. Founded in 1864 in Valbuena de Duero (Valladolid, Ribera del Duero), this iconic estate’s current wines date back to the 1910s.

Record breaking growth was driven by unprecedented volumes across the Tempos Vega Sicilia group, which includes the parent company and Alión in Ribera del Duero, Pintia in Toro, Oremus in Hungary and Benjamín de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia in Rioja, the group’s sole joint venture. In total, 1.44 million bottles were sold, up from 1.2 million the previous year. Turnover in 2024 is expected to surpass €80m, a significant increase from €65m in 2023, the group’s best year to date.

The surge is largely attributed to the greater availability of Único 2014, typically released a decade after the vintage date. “120,000 bottles is the the maximum possible for Único,” explains CEO Pablo Álvarez Mezquíriz. “Additionally, we had 200,000 bottles of Valbuena and good yields across our other wineries.” This contrasts with the very challenging 2013 vintage, which yielded just over 85,000 bottles of the group’s flagship red wine. 

Ignacio de Saralegui, the group's sales and marketing director, also highlighted the increased availability of Oremus’s sweet wines from Hungary’s Tokaj region, including batches of older vintages, as well as the sale of some vintage collections of Alión and Valbuena.

Of the 1.44 million bottles sold, 900,000 were purchased in international markets, reflecting a 10% growth rate. Domestic sales in Spain accounted for 500,000 bottles, with a small percentage sold locally in Hungary.

Winning the 2024 Golden Vines* World’s Best Fine Wine Producer Award  was probably the icing on the cake of a great year for the company. The accolade was presented at an exclusive gala dinner in Madrid last October, attended by the elite of the international wine industry.

An unexpected leader

But the most groundbreaking news arrived at the beginning of December, when Vega Sicilia became the first Spanish winery to top Liv-ex's** Power 100 list. All this in a context of an overall downturn in the fine wine market, with only 11 brands showing positive price performance, Burgundy in decline and many established Bordeaux brands dropping out of the Power 100, with recent vintages falling below their release prices.

The ranking, which takes into account price performance, average price and value and volume traded on Liv-ex, has been led in recent years by legendary Burgundy producers like Domaine Leflaive, which topped the list in 2023, and Domaine Leroy in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In both cases, their wines trade at much higher prices than Vega Sicilia.

“This is the first time for a brand whose flagship wine is relatively reasonably priced”, says Tom Burchfield, Head of Market Intelligence at Liv-ex. “For the period included in the Power 100 [1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024], trade count was up 193%, trade volumes were up 324%, and trade value rose 310%. Moreover, the increased demand has come predominantly from the US, where the fine wine market has been more stable than elsewhere.” 

For Pablo Álvarez, the increased demand for Único is the result of consistent quality over the years and a track record of reliability, sacrifice and customer loyalty. "We could taste 40 vintages of Vega Sicilia and we wouldn't find a bad one. This gives confidence to consumers of fine wines," he says. As for the United States, Álvarez is upbeat: "We have done a tremendous job there.: It is the biggest wine consumer in the world."

Vega Sicilia’s distinctive approach 

Vega Sicilia's appreciation in 2024 is not an isolated event. “Since January 2020, the price of  Único 2010 is up 27.3%, the 2009 is up 33.3%, and the 2005 is up 50%,” Burchfield points out.

Vega Sicilia is, however, cautious about speculative trading and of the secondary market in general. "There is a fine line that separates collectors from speculative investors who buy wine but don't drink it," warns Saralegui. 

But current market conditions have placed the Spanish winery in a prominent position. The Liv-ex report conclusions are clear in this sense. “As confidence has dissipated from the market, participants have gravitated towards brands that represent the least risky bets. While last year it looked like that meant Bordeaux, this year it means brands which share many stereotypically Bordelais traits – but not its terroir – that have risen to the top. Volume, liquidity, heritage brands, and prices that invite the uncorking of bottles are their calling cards. With the market still looking for a turning point, it is unlikely participants will be changing tack just yet.” 

This would explain, according to Burchfield, why, despite increased demand,  Vega Sicilia has avoided dramatic price spikes. “It remains to be seen what happens to prices when the next market cycle begins. We anticipate that the market will not experience a sharp bounce, but rather it will slowly tick up.” Yet he concedes that “the increased visibility could potentially lead to a more consistent demand from collectors.”

Pablo Álvarez doesn't want his wines to go up in price on the secondary market. "I want them to be drunk, enjoyed and bought back to be enjoyed again." The CEO of Vega Sicilia criticises the madness of unjustified price increases in recent years. "Consumers have made it clear that they are no longer willing to pay certain prices for certain wines. The luxury world is suffering and will have to rethink its future. I am convinced that the great wines of France will respond; they are great for a reason."

The Ribera del Duero winery is cautious about the current market conditions. "2024 was a bad sales year for Único in Germany, with fewer restocking on wine lists. Globally, there has been less euphoria surrounding the brand,” explains Ignacio de Saralegui. “This is despite the fact that we have sold all of Único 2014, with the consequent price increase - improvements typically translate into an annual 3-4%.” 

A rising tide effect

Will Vega Sicilia's top position stimulate investing interest in Spanish wines? This year the Liv-Ex Power 100 included two other Spanish brands: Ribera del Duero's Dominio de Pingus (34th), a long-time companion of Vega Sicilia in the fine wine market, and Rioja's R. López de Heredia, which entered the list for the first time at 97th, given the growing demand for its Gran Reserva wines.

According to Burchfield, “there is clearly great excitement surrounding Spanish wine, not just from classic regions such as Ribera del Duero and Rioja, but so too for Sierra de Gredos, Tenerife, Priorat..., yet Spain remains relatively undiscovered from a collector's point of view.” However, due to increased market share, Liv-ex started reporting on Spanish trade as a standalone country in autumn 2024 and will continue to monitor demand for the country's wines.

Despite these encouraging steps, Spain remains a marginal player in the fine wine secondary market, as this recent article by our London-based contributor Anna Harris-Noble showed. 

Aside from the strong position of French wines and its most prestigious regions (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne and, to a lesser extent, Rhône), the big star of the 2024 100 Power was Italy. The country had 22 wineries on the list, nine more than in 2023, and held prominent positions, with Gaja in second place and San Guido in third.

Looking ahead, Pablo Álvarez offers pragmatic advice: "Spain is producing better wines than ever before. But we must remain realistic about what we can achieve and at what price we can sell."

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* The Golden Vines Awards were launched in 2021 by Liquid Vins, a company focused on the world of fine wines, founded by beloved sommelier Gerard Basset, who died in 2019, and Lewis Chester. It aims to recognise leaders in the wine industry, based on the opinions of 1,000 wine professionals from 120 countries who contribute to The Golden Vines Report each year. Held in a different city each year, the awards ceremony is part of a three-day celebration that brings together the greatest brands on the international fine wine scene and offers exclusive tastings, gastronomic and touristic experiences to raise funds for the Gérard Basset Foundation.

** The London International Vintners Exchange, Liv-ex for short, is a business-to-business fine wine trading platform. Their over 600 members include wine merchants, wholesalers, importers, wine funds, wine investment businesses, producers, auction houses and logistics businesses.