We are thrilled to offer you our final live auction for 2023. And what a year it has been!
We wish to thank all our vendors and buyers whose charm, discernment and loyalty continues to shape our business and we hope to share a glass or two with you over the festive season.
This sale starts with a selection of well represented New Zealand Bordeaux blends. There are the usual suspects with wines from Stonyridge and Destiny Bay from Waiheke along with Te Mata, Craggy Range (with wines from both Sophia and The Quarry scoring 19.5/20 or above) and the first two vintages of Villa Maria Ngakirikiri (2013 scored a perfect 20/20!) as well as Church Road Tom and the wonderful Puriri Hills from Clevedon. If you are looking for something a little bit special and incredibly rare check out the 1989 Matawhero Cabernet Sauvignon Sweet Reserve – an amazing vintage for Matawhero. They decided to leave some fruit out on the vines until they raisined producing a wine of intense flavours and richness.
Sub-regions for Pinot Noir are really coming to the fore and Bannockburn is well represented from Central Otago with Carrick, Mt Difficulty and Felton Road. And it’s not all about Bannockburn in Central Otago. Check out Valli with their wines from the sub-regions with the Waitaki example (a region close to my heart) scoring high with 19.5/20. Further north we come across Pyramid Valley and Bell Hill from Waikari and stellar Martinborough producers Devotus and Martinborough Vineyards with their Marie Zelie and the 30th Anniversary Pinot Noir.
New Zealand’s Syrah get a great deal of praise and rightly so. This auction presents a great selection including Trinity Hill Homage and Craggy Range Le Sol from Hawkes Bay – both with multiple vintages and high scoring wines. There are many wines from the awesome 2013 vintage including Mission Estate Huchot and Church Road Tom.
Our New Zealand selection of whites offers fantastic drinking over the summer months including crowd pleasers such as Bell Hill, Millton, Church Road, Villa Maria Reserve and Kidnapper Cliffs Chardonnays.
Not to be outdone, Australia puts its best foot forward with an amazing selection of Penfolds with Bin 707 along with St Henri, Grange and the only twice produced Block 42. Our selection from the West Island also inlcudes Cullen and Cape Mentelle from Margaret River, Jim Barry Armagh, Wynns John Riddoch from South Australia as well as Bass Philip Premium Pinot Noir from Gippsland.
For a while we have been very strong with fantastic Rieslings from Germany and this sale continues this offer with a couple of drop-dead gorgeous wines from Egon Muller.
Tuscany dominates the Italian section with Masseto, Sassicaia, Tignanello and Ornellaia. There is also the last of the Cordero di Montezemolo Barbera (a wine that has been gracing our table this year). Bellisimo!
Mrs Wine Auction Room is adamant that Champagne should be consumed at any time and especially during the Festive season. We have some beauties on offer with vintages of Dom Perignon including Rose and the 2008 expressions Lenny Kravitz Edition and the Chef de Cave Legacy. There is also Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame, the rarely seen Jacques Selosse and a still Chardonnay from Moet and Chandon.
Things really start fizzing once we get to the Rhone with no fewer than nine 100-point wines. We start in Cote Rotie with Guigal La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque all 100 pointers from the 2009 and 2010 vintages. The Northern Rhone selection is also studded with Chapoutier La Pavillon and Guigal Ex Voto (both 100 pointers) from Hermitage. The Southern Rhone, dominated by Chateauneufs, also gets the taste buds flying with Mordoree Enternite, Pegau Cuvee da Capo and Beaucastel Hommage.
Burgundy has been getting a lot of attention lately and we have some excellent examples with Grivot, de Vogue, Lucien le Moine, Georges Roumier, Meo-Camuzet and Armand Rousseau.
If white Burgundy is your tipple, feast your eyes on Albert Bichot wines or perhaps the Domaine Leflaives.
Sauternes is always a Christmas favourite and whether it is a 2010 Chateau Climens or the outstanding value of Chartreuse de Coutet or something in between, this sale has something for you.
Bordeaux is traditionally strong, and it is no different in this auction with great examples from both the Left and Right Banks from Cru Bourgeois through to Classed Growths. Whether it be a First Growth, a Super Second or a second wine there is something to whet your whistle. Check out the 99-point Montrose, Lafleur or Pavie or maybe the 100-point Pontet Canet. If you have a larger gathering on Christmas Day perhaps the 2009 magnum of Lynch-Bages.
The fortified selection features wines from the 1970s and the early 2000s but the undoubted star of the line-up is the 2003 Quinta do Noval Nacional - 20/20 from Jancis Robinson MW.
Please take your time to scroll through our final catalogue for 2023. We know that each lot offers great value and may even be that perfect gift for the holiday season. Buying wines from auction presents a great opportunity to attain mature wines or wines on their way to maturity and those rarely, if ever, found in retail. However, it is worth remembering that wine continues to age in the bottle and will eventually fade - for some wines this could be short term, for others long term.
As with buying any second-hand goods there can be risk. This risk can be mitigated through reviewing our provenance notes, widely available vintage reports and critic reviews and imposing realistic expectations. The reward however, of a fine wine at its absolute peak of maturity, offering its full range of primary, secondary and tertiary flavours should be significant enough for most to negate the occasional disappointment.
So, if the risk-reward scales are deemed favourable, we have a lovely selection of wines at various stages of maturity available in our current auction. Happy browsing and please bid responsibly.
All bids are binding.
