Provenance is something that is really close to our hearts when it comes to fine wine. So while we were initially sad to lose some of our first Wine Storage Room customers to a move overseas we were delighted that they wanted us to handle auctioning their well curated collection we were over joyed. Our medical couple, who are not from these shores, obviously had a wonderful time travelling our fair country and buying some fine wines along the way.
Their collection is one to bid on with confidence. Before storing with us all wines were stored with our friends up the road in their professional temperature and humidity-controlled facility.
While this well-curated collection is one of predominately New Zealand wines there is also some real gems from further afield and I, for one, will be very interested in some of the Canadian Rieslings. The New Zealand selection is choc full of rarely seen wineries and varietals.
The New Zealand Bordeaux blend section is strong with several great vintages on show. It is strongly represented by Waiheke and Hawkes Bay with a spattering of greater Tamaki Makaurau wines a well. Outside the usual suspects Hawkes Bay has some wonderful wines with Clearview, Paritua, Trinity Hill and Brookfields. Waiheke also has a few of the favs with Passage Rock, Te Motu, Te Whau and Frenchman’s Hill.
Pinot Noir showcases its wares with wines from all over the country. There are many highlights with favourites Ata Rangi, Dry River, Martinborough Vineyards, Pegasus Bay, Gibbston Valley and Felton Road but there are also many wines not seen so often with Devotus, Colombo and Cambridge Road from Martinborough, Schubert from Wairarapa, Neudorf from Nelson and Hans Herzog from Marlborough.
Waiheke and Hawkes Bay again come up trumps with their Syrah’s with some oft seen wines but again there is also some wineries that don’t come up in most auctions. The Mission Estate Huchet is always well sort but there are also wines from Stonecroft, Man O’War, Frenchman’s Hill and the seldom seen De La Terre from Hawkes Bay.
De la Terre features strongly in other red varieties with their Tannat. But there is also Dolcetto from Heron’s Flight, Montepulicano, Nebbiolo, Saperavi and Zweigelt from Hans Herzog all varieties we rarely see in the secondary market.
Felton Road, Neudorf and Kumeu River headline the Chardonnays with support from Herzog, Framingham, Escarpment and Martinborough Vineyards.
With an obvious love of the aromatics, one is spoilt for choice with Framingham, Felton Road, Pegasus Bay and Dry River all showing their wares. Herzog also features with viognier and their Mistral – a white Rhone look-a-like.
Australia too features many wines not normally seen in this environment but for me, the highlight, is the many examples from Tasmania with Pinots, Chardonnays and Rieslings all coming to the table.
We finish with more New World wines with Malbecs from Mendoza, Carmenere from Chile and Pinot Noir from South Africa. However, it is the seldom seen wines from Canada that are a real highlight for me.
Italy has some great value with wines from Piedmont and Tuscany. As does Spain with Riojas, Ribera del Duero and Priorat.
We finish with the small but perfectly formed French selection. Rhone has both red and whites wines on offer while the same can be said of Burgundy. All wines are very affordable and well within reach.
As with buying any second-hand goods there can be risk. This risk can be mitigated through reviewing 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.
