26 Jun Report on June Auctions & Announcing Next Online Auction

In the first three weeks of June, we hosted two successful auctions: Early Winter Live Auction and Mid-Year Festive Online Auction.

The Early Winter Live Auction was streamed from our Eden Terrace office, where we welcomed some familiar faces from our lovely wine community in the sale room and hundreds more online. 

While others say there’s currently a lack of interest in the market, we saw a good amount of online interaction and absentee bids that inspired us to share some thoughts with you. 

The impact of increased interest rates and a generally cautious economic environment has contributed to a slight decline in wine prices commanded on the secondary market in past year. However, the leading wine index’s recent performance suggests a stabilisation. 

The relationship between lower interest rates and increased investment in alternatives hinges on the reduced returns of more traditional and less risky assets, making alternatives like wine more attractive.

Equities markets often react quickly to forecast changes in interest rates, sometimes adjusting prices to reflect anticipated future conditions. However, alternative investments, like wine, typically lag these adjustments. This delay presents a unique opportunity for investors to capitalise on potential upsides that have not yet been fully priced into the market.

In other words, it seems to be a great time to buy wines for investment purposes now.  And equally attractive for those that want to enjoy the experience of rare and fine wine in its perfect drinking plain.  Many of our seasoned bidders are seeing this opportunity, by stretching their budget to fine wines with a solid Return on Investment (ROI), e.g. Cru Classe Bordeaux.  Our reduced buyer fees sale helped these investors stretch their investment even further, offering great returns for both vendor and buyer.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from June.  1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1er Cru Classe took the highest hammer win at $1703.35, closely followed by 1990 Chateau Haut Brion 1er Cru Classe at $1410. 1945 Chateau Palmer 3eme Cru Classe scored $940 while 2005 Chateau Angelus sold for $752, and 1971 Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2eme Cru Classe sold for $611. Both 1971 Chateau Margaux 1er Cru Classe and 1982 Chateau Laville Haut Brion Blanc Magnum sold for $587.50 while both 1970 Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2eme Cru Classe and 1970 Chateau CantenacBrown 3eme Cru Classe sold for 117.50.

Italian wines have been offering steadily increasing ROI for three years in a row. When we look at what Italian wines are achieving in offshore markets, New Zealand represents fantastic value. In this auction, 2004 Masseto Tenuta dell’Ornellaia sold for $1410, and 2008 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia sold for $470.

It’s worth to mention that 2001 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz sold for $893, followed by 2015 Penfolds Grange Bin 95 at $728.50. 2010 Dom Perignon Lady Gaga Edition Vintage reached $376, while 2003 Dom Perignon Vintage Brut sold for $364.25.

Some other highlights including Blandy’s Malmsey Solera 1808 scored $1233.75, 1942 da Silva’s Quinta de Noval Vintage Port sold for $763.75 while 1955 W & J Graham & Co. Vintage Port followed at $611. 2015 Dominus Estate Christian Moueix from Napa sold for $528.75, and 2007/2010/2015 Destiny Bay Magna Praemia all sold for $376.

We had many multi-bottle lots in the reduced fee mid-winter auction. 3-bottle-lot of 2010 Chateau Lafleur scored $5805 while 3-bottle-lot of 2006 Masseto Tenuta dell’Ornellaiareached $3870 and 3-bottle-lot of 2007 Chateau Lafleur sold for $2580.

3-bottle-lot of 2009 Church Road Tom sold for $516 while 3-bottle-lot of 2012 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz sold for $419.25. Both 6-bottle-lot of 2005 and 2010 Providence Private Reserve sold for $774, while both 3-bottle-lot of 2015 Pyramid Valley Vineyards Earth Smoke and 3-bottle-lot of 2010 Pyramid Valley Vineyards Lion’s Tooth sold for $290.25.

Some other highlights are 1967 Gelas Bas Armagnac scored $1075, 2007 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin sold for $860 and 2010 Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Les Preuses Grand Cru sold for $645.

Our next auction will be a 5-day online only auction from 3rd to 7th of July. Full Catalogue will be published soon, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep yourself in the loop.