With returns of 27% over the past 12 months, vintage champagne investment is not to be sniffed at. The Liv-ex Champagne 25 index to the end of June outperformed even the leading fine wine index, the Liv-ex 100, which returned 8.5%. Since January 2004, the champers index has returned 138%. The best-performing champagnes, such as Krug, Cristal and Dom Perignon from the acclaimed 1996 vintage, are up by as much as 56% since last June. The rise in price is attributed to new wealth and new markets.