With the crunch of Autumn leaves underfoot, and slightly cooler nights comes our new season Live auction. It is easy to be excited when you see the calibre of wines that we have the privilege to present, with some of the world’s greatest vineyards on offer from well cellared collections.
We start strongly with some exquisite Cabernet Merlot blends from these fine shores, led ably by Waiheke with multiple vintages of Te Whau and Stonyridge Larose (in both bottle and magnum) and well partnered with Obsidian, Passage Rock, Goldwater and Te Motu. Hawkes Bay then hits back with some great names of its own; Trinity Hill, Vidal, Villa Maria, Church Road Tom, Newton Forrest, Craggy Range and multiple vintages of Te Mata Coleraine. There are many OWCs and magnums in this well cellared collection.
The Pinot Noir selection is equally desirable with an early Felton Road Block 3, Valli, Crown Range Cellar, Prophet’s Rock, Seresin, Cloudy Bay, Craggy Range and Dry River. You will be spoilt for choice and we are delighted to do so.
Our fastest growing category is New Zealand Syrah and it is easy to see why when you look at the wines being produced by Bilancia, Te Rere, Clearview, Te Mata, Providence, Bridge Pa, Craggy Range and Trinity Hill. Le Sol from Craggy Range and Homage from Trinity Hill are both available in magnums as well as bottles.
If it is a crisp New Zealand dry white you are craving look no further than the excellent chardonnays on offer from Villa Maria, Vidals, Te Mata and Craggy Range. The outstanding and rarely seen Kusuda Riesling will prove very popular, I’m sure.
Penfolds leads the charge for Australia with St Henri, Bin 389 and multiple vintages of Grange coupling up with Henschke Hill of Grace (both in bottle and magnum), a Torbreck 100 pointer and the iconic Wendouree from Clare. Plenty of full flavoured wines there!
We again have some fabulous German Rieslings on offer with Dr Loosen, Donnhoff, Muller Catoir, JJ Prum and the outrageously good Egon Muller. I love German Riesling and these producers are at the top of their game.
Auction markets around the world are seeing great growth in Italian wines and when you can get your hands on the likes of Vietti and Paolo Scavino from Piedmont as well as Masseto and Brunello superstar Biondi-Santi, it is easy to see why.
There are many 100-point wines in this auction and the Rhone has one of the best with a magnum of Domaine Pegau Cuvee Da Capo Chateauneuf du Pape 2007.
The rise of Burgundy throughout the world of recent times has been phenomenal but let’s be honest who doesn’t want to drink the pinots of Benjamin Leroux, Dugat Py, Lamarche, AF Gros, Mongeard Mugneret, Armand Rousseau or de Vogue? If it is white Burgundy you are after check out the Dauvissat or Comtes Lafon.
The 1970s wasn’t a great decade for fine wine except for the stunning desert styled wines of the mid 70s. So when a great looking bottle of 1976 Chateau d’Yquem was presented to us from a long-time vendor with a temperature-controlled cellar we couldn’t say ‘yes please!’ quick enough.
Which brings us to Bordeaux - there is a strong line up of first Growths with Chateaux Margaux, Haut Brion, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild including a 1982 100 pointer. We have Super Seconds in abundance with Cos d’Estournel, Pichon Lalande as well as Leoville’s Barton and Las Cases with Chateaux Palmer and Lynch Bages rounding out the Left Bank. The right Bank looks equally inviting with Chateaux Cheval Blanc (in both bottle and magnum), Trotanoy and La Fleur Petrus.
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 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.
