05 Sep August Post-Auction and Market Report
“The market is certainly heating up as we head into the warmer months. This is not only a great time to sell but also a great time to buy. Regardless of price there are always some bargains to be had in our auctions.” – Reece Warren, Managing Director, The Wine Auction Room
In August 2025, we hosted two wine auctions:
- Late Winter Rare and Fine Wine Live (5 August)
- The Italian Job – Vive la Révolution (13 – 17 August)
These closed on a total of 610 bottles across 355 lots.
Top Sellers
All top five sellers were from our August 5 Live Auction and represent a veritable trip around the wine world…
- Hennessy Paradis Rare Cognac ($1410)
- 2008 Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia Masseto, Tuscany ($1057.50)
- 12x 1996 Ch. Mouton Rothschild, ($11280 or $940 per bottle)
- 2x 2013 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia ($705)
- 1990 Penfolds Grange Bin 95 ($858)
Notably, 13.5% of our lots finished above our highest estimates; with two bottles, a 1750ml of Belvedere Vodka and a 1998 Leeuwin Prelude Cabernet Sauvignon selling for more than double our high estimate. This is extremely positive both for our sellers and for the climate of the market in general.
New Zealand
New Zealand wines represented just over 25% of our sales in August, in part because we had a specialist Italian sale. Our top sales included multiple vintages of Destiny Bay Magna Praemia, Bell Hill Chardonnay plus a bottle of 2021 Kusuda Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling and a six pack of 2020 Church Road Tom Syrah. Happily for collectors of New Zealand wine, a full 55% of our sales were over $100 per bottle with many more selling between $85 and $100.
Interestingly it was mid-tier Hawkes Bay wines from reputable producers (and excellent vintages) that really made waves, most notably three 2013 bottlings. Two bottles of Brookfields Hillside Syrah sold for $99.88 (for context, this wine originally retailed around $40), three bottles 2013 Church Road ‘Grand Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot sold for $76.38 (originally retailing for $45) and a bottle of 2013 Te Mata Bullnose sold for $105.75 (originally retailing for $55. This echoes trends we saw earlier in the year, if you have similar wines in your cellar it may be a good time to get in contact with us.
Italy
In part due to The Italian Job, Italian wines represented 31% of our August sales and we saw good sales from Piedmont and Tuscany especially but also from regions like Sicily. There was especially enthusiastic bidding for a bottle of 2017 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Pre-Phylloxera Nerello Masalese which ended up selling for $305.50, above our highest estimates. As was the case for Hawkes Bay, mid-tier Tuscans also performed well with three lots selling for over 50% more than our high estimates.
France
Our top 10 sales from France include First Growth Bordeaux, Premier & Grand Cru Red & White Burgundy, Prestige Cuvee Champagne and Chateauneuf du Pape. There was special interest in Chateauneuf sales with two wines from 2005 (right in their drinking window), an old vines bottling from Domaine de la Charbonniere and the estate wine from Domaine Du Vieux Lazaret selling for significantly over our highest estimates.
Australia
Our top three sales came from the usual suspects, Penfold (Grange and Bin 707) plus Torbrek RunRig; however these were followed up with strong bidding for a trio of wines from AP Birks Wendouree, wines that are rarely seen in the NZ market. We also saw good prices for top-flight Chardonnay, Riesling, Sémillon and Pinot Noir. Once again our top performers were well-cellared but overlooked wines from distinguished producers, as mentioned a bottle of 1998 Leeuwin Estate Prelude Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot sold for $141.00 (the current vintage retails for around $35 AUD), twice our high estimate. Likewise, there was strong bidding for 1995 Clarendon Hills Shiraz which sold for $94 (34% above high estimate).
Other Regions
We also saw good sales for wines from all over the wine world including Vega Sicilia (previously mentioned in our top sales), well-cellared Napa Cabernet including Dominus and Stag’s Leap Artemis, Rioja and dessert wine from both South Africa and Hungary.
When it comes to spirits we saw good prices for Hennessey Paradis and a large format bottle of Belvedere (both previously mentioned) and a 2024 bottling of Springbank 18 Year Old which sold for $470.
Market Climate
We can’t help but think things are heating up on the market front with 13.5% of sales over our high estimates (for context this number has averaged at under 10% in 2025). This said these tend to be focused toward either the super-rare and esoteric or toward mid-tier pre-cellared wines from trustworthy producers rather than prestige cuvees. Likewise our top sales (but especially those from NZ and France) show demand for great (and great value) wines across the spectrum of variety and region.
Takeaways and Investment Advice
- Have a cellar clean out. We are seeing strong demand and high prices for solid, well aged wine, especially in the $50 – $100 price category. Get in touch now.
- Think outside the box. If anything, the ‘classics’ are underperforming in the current market (in part because they already command high-prices on release) so look to other styles that are on the rise and / or offer value now.
- Be patient. There is a lot to be said for buying a case (or two) of a wine you love from a good vintage, drinking some over the next few years and then coming to us to sell the rest when it’s at its peak. There is strong demand for wines like this, inflation is on your side and the market is prepared to pay for them.
