15 Feb Report on Summer Live Auction & Announcing the Date of Next Online Auction

Thanks to all our bidders and wine friends who came to the salesroom and those who participated online in the first live auction of 2023, Summer Rare & Fine Wine Live auction last Tuesday, February 7.

When the unusual summer weather outside is rather wet and windy, nothing satisfies like a bottle of quality aged fine wine. When the macroeconomic environment is also bleak, fine wine can, again, provide needed respite. Pleasingly, fine wine markets ended last year in good form and kept performing well in the past two months despite ongoing volatility in other markets and economies.

Here at The Wine Auction Room, we had a swag of online bidders who helped us to reach another great sale. 2005 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru took the highest hammer win on the night at $5875, followed by 2006 Petrus at $4700.

Bordeaux has seen slightly subdued performance over the past year, shadowed by the rapid growth of Burgundy and Champagne regions, although it still has delivered the most stable growth in all fine wine over the last decade. Both 2004 & 2008 Chateau Margaux 1er Cru Classe sold for $775.50. 2010 Chateau Angelus sold for $587.50, while 2010 Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron de Pichon Longueville 2eme Cru Classe scored $470. And a bottle of 68-year-old Bordeaux, 1955 Chateau Rauzan-Gassies 2eme Cru Classe sold for $423.

We had a great selection of big formats in this auction. Both 2008 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia 3000ml and 2003 Chateau Montrose 2eme Cru Classe 3000ml achieved $1762.50. 2001 Penfolds Grange Bin 95 1500ml reached $1292.50, followed by 2002 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1500ml at $1175. 2009 Chateau Lynch Bages 5eme Cru Classe 1500ml achieved $728.50.  2006 Marchesi Antinori Tignanello 1500ml sold for $681.50. NV Chateau Gardet & Co Chigny les Roses 6000ml scored $587.50. And 2008 Chateau Gloria 1500ml sold for $235.

Penfolds outperformed all other brands across all categories. 6 bottle OWC 2008 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange scored $4935, also a 6-bottle OWC, its 2002 vintage sold for $4371. 1996 Penfolds Kalimna Block 42 got snapped at $705, and 2007 Penfolds Bin 707 sold for $305.50.

Other highlights worth mentioning are 2003 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional reached $1175; 1996 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux Grand Cru sold for $987; and 1993 Vega-Sicilia Valbuena 5° achieved $293.75. Great buys!

All prices include Buyers Premium excludes GST.

Thanks again to our loyal supporters and wine community who made this live auction another success. For those who just want to grab a few bottles of something nice on the go, don’t forget to check out the latest arrival to our everyday retail selection at www.wineretailroom.co.nz. Apart from our carefully curated wine selection, we also offer niche whisky, premium glassware and harder-to-find wines.  Our boutique selection offers items to suit all tastes, pockets and occasions.

Our next auction will be an online event from midday Wednesday, February 22 to 7pm Sunday, March 5. The full catalogue will be published soon, so be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and keep yourself in the loop.