04 Jun May 2026 Post Auction and Markets Report
Compared to April (and June, even though we have only had one auction so far) May was a quieter month with three very successful online wine auctions:
Late Autumn Fine & Rare Wine Auction (29 April – 4 May)
International Chardonnay Day Celebration Auction (13 May – 18 May)
A Curated Cellar Single Vendor Auction (20 May – 25 May)
These closed on a total of 553 bottles across 309 lots, with six lots selling over the $1000-a-bottle mark. Our “International Chardonnay Day Celebration” Auction was our very first auction exclusively featuring white wine (including Sparkling) while our “A Curated Cellar” Single Vendor Auction was a deep dive into older vintages of some of the most sought after wines in New Zealand including a treasure trove of wines from Devotus going back to their sophomore 2015 vintage.
Top Sellers
Our top five sales for May 2026 were:
2011 Domaine Vicomte Liger-Belair Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Aux Reignot ($2350)
2013 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières ($1410)
2014 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes ($1410)
2017 Etienne Sauzet Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru ($1292.50)
2013 Domain François Raveneau Les Clos Grand Cru ($1292.50)
New Zealand
With the inclusion of our “A Curated Cellar Single Vendor” Auction we had a strong showing of classic New Zealand wines in May 2026 representing about 45% of all sales. Our top five sales were all for large format bottles with the top sale being for Magnum of 2015 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir which sold for $305.50 and was joined by wines from Dry River, Craggy Range, Felton Road and Te Mata Estate. The top sale for a 750ml bottle was four bottles of 2019 Felton Road Pinot Noir which sold for $188 per bottle. We had 55 sales over $100 per bottle across 10 different producers (the five previously mentioned plus Devotus, Pyramid Valley, Stonyridge, The Antipodean and Trinity Hill).
We also saw strong results for New Zealand wines overall with 24 lots selling at or above our high estimates, Martinborough did exceptionally well with three producers (Ata Rangi, Devotus and Dry River) performing extremely well. While red wines performed well we also saw excellent results for Chardonnay from Dry River, Pyramid Valley, Church Road and Te Mata, carrying through a trend from April where NZ whites performed strongly. Looking at what is happening in the secondary market globally, we strongly believe it is time that collectors and investors start to take NZ Chardonnay (and Riesling) more seriously.
Other New World Wines
Representing about 7.5% of sales, wines from the rest of the New World were made up with bottlings from Australia, USA, Chile and South Africa. The top sale was for a 500ml bottle of 1995 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance, a highly collectable South African dessert wine, which sold for $258.50 per bottle (two other vintages of this wine also made our Other New World Top 5) and as followed by a bottle of 2019 Vina Almaviva (a Chilean Bordeaux Blend made as a collaboration between the Rothschild Family and Concha y Toro) which sold for $235.
Italy
Italy made up just under 7% of our sales however we did see some strong results with wines from Piedmont, Tuscany, Sicily and Friuli all performing well. Our top sale was a single bottle of 2008 Roberto Voerzio Brunate Barolo which sold for $411.25 and was followed by a 2002 Ornellaia which sold for $376.
France
Sales of French wine represented about 37% of all sales in May with all five of our top overall sales being from Burgundy, interesting while the top spot was taken by a Pinot Noir, the following four wines were all Chardonnay, all established names, three of which from the Cote de Beaune and the final from Chablis (this is not surprising given we hosted our very first auction dedicated to Chardonnay). The top 10 included other wines from Roulot and Raveneau alongside Bordeaux from Chateau Margaux and Lafleur and Champagne from Krug.
Looking out from the very top sales, we also saw Prestige Cuvée and Grower Champagne from Dom Perignon, Perrier-Jouet and Pierre Peters; mid-tier Premier Cru Burgundy from Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin and Louis Carillon; sub-$200 Cru Classé Bordeaux from Ch.Talbot, Lascombe and Giscours (the latter of two are also both from Margaux) all perform well. We also saw significant interest for a new producer to The Wine Auction Room, Domaine Jules Desjourney, an ambitious and respected Mâconnais producer of Chardonnay and Gamay.
Other Sales
Given the nature of our specialist and single vendor auctions spirits and fortifieds were light on the ground in May our focus was very much on wine however one highlight was the sale of a Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Brandy Cask Bourbon which sold for $329, 26% above high estimate.
Market News
White wines (and Champagne) are gaining ground on the secondary market…
A recent report from LivEx shows that since 2010 secondary market demand for white wines has increased by 650% and secondary demand for sparkling wine has increased by 1100%. In regards to sparkling wine, they note that there was “a sharp boom (and subsequent bust) during the Covid-era bull market.” This contrasts with a more stable increase in demand for white wine, led by White Burgundy (across the price spectrum), which they regard as, “a structural shift, not a seasonal trend.” We have definitely seen strong demand for White Burgundy over the last few months and are seeing growing demand for high end NZ whites as well, a segment of the market where there is significant room for growth.
Burgundy is not just about Grand Cru greats…
Staying on a theme here, as mentioned the LivEx report cites demand across the price spectrum and puts this down to the frequency of trading of lower-priced with and price stability* at the top of the market. Likewise, in their recent monthly market report, Vinum echo this sentiment saying that top producers “are consistently selling well… Interestingly, and against the norm, entry level wines from these domaines sell just as well as their trophy wines.” We too have seen this with continued strong demand for both red and white Burgundy in the sub-$500 category, despite it being a (relatively) niche market here in New Zealand.
Do consumers care about 100 Point Scores anymore?
WineSearcher is reporting a study that seeks to break down wine consumer archetypes (in part help the researcher Adrienne Smith gain more participants). One segment she identifies in her preliminary research is that of ‘deep knowledge buyers’ who feel like they have “seen behind the curtain” and distrust the industry, looking instead for up-and-coming winemakers whose wines are “authentic and fresh” (and we assume better value). She argues these consumers are jaded by the system of how high end wine works (recent commentary on the Bordeaux En Premieur suggests something similar). WineSearcher check these findings against their own market data (they have recently published their ‘Most Wanted Wines of 2026’ list) concluding that while searches for producers do increase when a wine gets a 100 Point review, this score “is no longer an immediate ticket to fortune for a small winery”.
Another interesting takeaway is that while many consumers buy wine specifically to on-sell, they do not see themselves as investors, identifying resounding as “drinkers or collectors”. These are consumers who have often spent a significant amount of time getting on allocation lists and who feel compelled to stay on those lists (just in case) so keep buying, making a profit by reselling these wines to consumers who can’t access them ex-winery. Smith describes these as ‘opportunistic collectors’.
Are you one of these opportunistic collectors? If so, we recommend taking a look at The Real Review’s recently released Top Wineries of New Zealand, Top Wineries of Australia and NZ Wineries to Watch.
* recent data from WineCap (it’s free but you need to create an account) suggests the number one motivator for investors diversifying into fine wine is the stability of the overall market, with the “lower volatility profile increasingly appears to resonate with investors seeking resilience over aggressive growth.”
Please note: all prices quoted include the Buyers Premium (ex-GST)
