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 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 Sauvignon and/or Merlot blends from these fine shores, led ably by Waiheke with vintages of Te Whau, Stonyridge Larose and Te Motu and well partnered with other Tamaki Makarau producers St Nesbit and Puriri Hills including an imperial of Puriri Hills Reserve. Hawkes Bay then hits back with some great names of its own; Brookfield’s Reserve, Vidal, Esk Valley 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 Felton Road, many Valli expressions, Prophet’s Rock Cuvee aux Antipodes, Peregrine The Pinnacle, Martinborough Vineyards Marie Zelie 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 Mata and the 2014 Church Road Tom that helped winemaker Chris Scott win the Australasian Winemaker of the Year award presented by Winestate magazine in 2016. Waiheke is also vying for the top spot for Syrah production and puts forward great examples from Passage Rock and Man O’ War.
If it is a crisp New Zealand dry white you are craving look no further than the excellent chardonnays on offer from Kumeu River. If it is something a bit further south, well a lot really, check out the Valli Waitaki Chardonnays.
Penfolds leads the charge for Australia with RWT, St Henri, Bins 28, 407, 707 and the rarely seen Bins 60A and 920 backed with multiple vintages of Grange. Couple these with Cullen, Rockford, Torbreck, multiple vintages of Jim Barry Armagh, Henschke Hill of Grace, Rockford, Yalumba, Yarra Yering and Ben Glaetzer’s Eye of Ra that is taking Australia by storm at present. Plenty of full flavoured wines there!
We again have some fabulous Rieslings on offer with Dr Loosen, Muller Catoir, and a Gunderloch Beerenauslese. 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 it is easy to see why when you can get your hands on the likes of Paolo Scavino from Piedmont as well as Ornellaia and Brunello superstar Il Poggione.
Champagne is Mrs Wine Auction Rooms favourite tipple and the highlight for her is the 2008 Dom Perignon Chef de Cave Legacy Edition celebrating former winemaker Richard Geoffroy’s 28 years at Dom Perignon.
Didier Dagueneau’s Silex needs no introduction, but you better be quick if you want to get your hands on one of the two bottles we have on offer.
There are many 100-point wines in this auction and the Rhone has some of the best with Chapoutier’s 2009 Le Pavillon Ermitage and Marcoux Vieilles Vignes 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 Rene Engel, Dujac, Fourrier, DRC, Armand Rousseau or Leroy? If it is white Burgundy you are after check out the William Fevre, Francois Raveneau or the multiple wines/vintages from Vincent Dauvissat all top of their game in Chablis.
Sauternes are proving popular in our auctions of late and it is easy to see why with the wines we can secure, with Rieussec and d’Yquem front and centre.
Which brings us to Bordeaux - there is a strong line up of First Growths with Chateaux Haut Brion, Lafite Rothschild and the 99 point 2000 Latour. We have Super Seconds in abundance with Pichon Baron, Ducru Beaucaillou and Leoville Barton, then Chateaux Palmer and Lynch Bages rounding out the Left Bank. The right Bank looks equally inviting with Clos Fourtet and Lafleur.
These are some of our highlights and I’m sure yours will be very different but as always it is an honour to be presenting these to our growing community of wine friends.
An important note in the wake of recent weather events. All proceeds from Lots 30 and 92 (including buyer and vendor premium) will be donated to the North Piha Givealittle fundraising for Piha residents. Thank you to the vendor and to the many bidders who may be interested in these wines. Your bids will go to a worthy cause. This is in addition to the tidy donation made to the Red Cross Appeal from our community’s purchases in our previous auction.
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 longer 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.
