09 Dec November Online AND December Live Post-Auction Report

In November and December (so far) we’ve hosted two auctions plus the BUY NOW event that followed the December Live Auction:

• Late Spring Rare & Fine Wine Online Auction (5 – 11 November)
• Summer Rare & Fine Wine Live Auction (2 December)
• Summer Buy Now (3 December)
  

These closed on a total of 879 bottles across 471 lots and following on from a positive October once again, we saw extremely strong results in November and December.

Top Sellers

Our top five sales for September 2025 were:

• 2x 2016 Chateau Lafite Rothschild ($1292.50 each)
• 2x 2016 Chateau Mouton Rothschild ($1233.75 each)
• 2014 Pierre Yves Colin Morey Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru ($1175)
• 1997 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley ($893)
• 2001 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley ($775.50)
  

New Zealand
New Zealand wines represent 58% of our sales over this period, a significant increase on previous months, with our top sale being a magnum of 2013 Ata Rangi Pinot which sold for a truly amazing $587.50, almost double our highest estimate which is an amazing result for the vendor (and a truly fantastic wine for the buyer). This was followed by five separate lots, all from Waikari producer Bell Hill that came from a single collector, with great storage conditions, and sold for $387.50. These included the 2012, 2015 and 2016 vintages of Bell Hill Pinot Noir and the 2016 and 2020 vintages of Bell Hill Chardonnay. 

The two Chardonnay sales have set three records for us, the highest sale for a New Zealand Chardonnay, the highest sale price for a New Zealand white wine and the highest sale price achieved for a new world white wine. 

48% of our New Zealand Sales were for wines over $100 or more and as well as Ata Rangi and Bell Hill included bottlings from the following producers: Amisfield, Bilancia La Collina, Blake Family Vineyard, Burn Cottage, Church Road TOM, Craggy Range, Esk Valley, Felton Road, Kumeu River, Kusuda, Pegasus Bay, Prophet’s Rock, Rippon, Stonyridge, Te Mata, Trinity Hill and Valli.

New Zealand Wines to watch:
These are wines that, regardless of the dollar value achieved, warrant a special mention. As well as the previously mentioned Ata Rangi and Bell Hill (21 lots, all selling at $282 or over) wines, we saw particular interest in several vintages of Burn Cottage’s Sauvage Block Bannockburn Pinot Noir with the 2019 selling for $176.25 (for context, this wine retails around the $80 mark) and 2013 Valli Bannockburn Pinot Noir and 2018 Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir selling at $129.25 and $117 respectively (these too retail around the $80 mark). 

Australia
Australia represented around 9% of our sales in this period with top sales dominated by the previously mentioned Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz and multiple vintages of Penfolds Grange. 

France
French Wine made up around 20% of our sales and as you would have read, dominated our top sales. Our top 10 sales were made up of Red Bordeaux (5), White Burgundy (2), Champagne (2) and a Northern Rhone Red. This said, Champagne stole the show… not only were we able to feature an amazing selection of vintage and grower Champagne in our December Live Auction but we also saw strong demand for Champagne with five wines (including ‘04 and 08 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and ‘08 Roederer Cristal) selling well above our highest estimates. 

World Wine
The highlight of our international selection was a flight of four bottlings of wine from Bordeaux legend Christian Moueix’s Napa estate Dominus, with the 100 Point 2013 Vintage selling for $611. We also saw strong sales for wines from Tuscany (Ornellaia, Bibi Graetz Colore Anniversario and Le Macchiole Messorio), Germany (top bottlings from Egon Muller and Dr Loosen), Barolo (Pira & Figli) and especially strong interest in a 1982 Rioja from Bodegas Valoria which sold for $117.50.

Fortified Wines and Spirts
November and early December saw a limited selection of spirits and fortified wines (about 5% of total sales) with highlights being rare bottlings from Springbank and The Glenlivet alongside early 80’s bottlings of Quinta do Noval and Warre’s. 

Takeaways and Investment Advice

• It feels as if the market is heating up going into summer and we are seeing more interest in high-end New Zealand bottlings, especially from smaller allocated producers. 
• Likewise, there are more and more newer New Zealand producers worth taking seriously. Take Burn Cottage for example, after a pre-auction discussion about how much Steve and Jules personally enjoyed these wines, we were pleased to see extremely strong results for multiple bottlings from this producer… If you’re buying for a combination of investment and enjoyment, sometimes it pays to diversify your portfolio and support up-and-coming producers whose wines offer excellent value. 
• Those born in 1986 turn 40 next year… ‘86 was an especially good year in Bordeaux, the Douro and in both Piedmont and Tuscany so if you’re sitting on something that you think might be worth selling, get in touch.

And a reminder, it’s December and we’re already seeing record highs on the east coast, and with a La Niña summer forecast it is likely to get warmer. If you are sitting on valuable wine (either for investment, drinking or both) and don’t have it in temperature controlled storage it may be a good idea to transfer them to a facility like our Wine Storage Room – we’re currently offering one month free if you sign up for a year. 

Please note, unless specified all prices are for 750ml equivalent bottles and include buyer premium. Retail prices, where quoted come from The Real Review or producer websites.