The beginning of April signalled the end of daylight savings and the slide towards the winter months where we’ll spend more time around our dinner table and less time at the BBQ. Our online-only auction offers plenty of wine choice for both for the table or the cellar, to bring a smile to your face and a glow to your cheek.
For good reason Hawkes Bay reds have a huge following and we profile a few of them in this auction. The usual suspects always put their best foot forward including Te Mata with their Coleraine and Awatea ably backed up by Villa Maria Ngakirikiri, Newton-Forrest and Church Road. Not to be outdone, the Auckland region has also been producing some wonderful wines with Matakana, Waiheke and South Auckland showing their wares. This auction offers Te Whau, Te Motu, Destiny Bay and the ever-present Stonyridge Larose from Waiheke. South Auckland comes shining through with the wonderful St Nesbit – a true pioneer from this region and Bob Campbell’s New Zealand winery of the year Puriri Hills. Providence from Matakana completes the line-up.
The rise of Pinot Noir from these shaky isles has been lauded both domestically and internationally and it is easy to see why. Wines from Central Otago such as Felton Road, Two Paddocks, Prophets Rock, Rockburn, Chard Farm, Mt Difficulty and the always notable Valli never fail to impress. North Canterbury is equally remarkable with Pyramid Valley, Mountford and Pegasus Bay. Not to be outshone, the North Island puts its best foot forward with Palliser Estate, Martinborough Vineyards, Schubert and Ata Rangi making their mark in this extraordinary range of wines.
Hawkes Bay shines through again with some of the best Syrah’s available; Craggy Range Le Sol, Villa Maria, Elephant Hill, Bridge Pa and Brookfields rubbing shoulders with Waiheke’s finest in Passage Rock, Obsidian and Man o’War.
There is a great array of wonderful Chardonnays from these fair shores with Kumeu River, Prophets Rock Cuvee aux Antipodes, Te Mata Elston, Pyramid Valley and Coopers Creek.
Australia too can lay claim to some impressive wines in this sale, with Bins 407, 707, 389, 28, the rarely seen 60A in both bottle and magnum format and St Henri from the ever-reliable Penfolds stable. A couple of vintages of Henschke Hill of Grace from its 4-hectare single vineyard Shiraz from vines allegedly over 150 years old always has its followers. Nestled in this fabulous selection you’ll also find wines from Yarra Yering, Cullen, Rockford, Jim Barry and Clarendon Hills with their Astralis.
Germany also has been well represented in many of our previous auctions and we continue to do so with our favourites Donnhoff, Muller Catoir and Schloss Lieser.
Spain always offers great value, and we are proud to offer these well-priced wines in good quantities.
Italy is especially strong with Tuscan wines from Antinori, Ornellaia, Sassicaia and Masseto (including a double magnum!).
From France we start strongly with Champagne and a number of excellent producers including the last Dom Perignon made by Richard Geoffroy.
We also present more of the excellent Rhone wines with Guigal, Domaine de la Mordoree, Chapoutier and Beaucastel with many 100 point wines in this range as well as some everyday drinkers.
Burgundy royalty is on offer with Lamarche, Tollot-Beaut, Benjamin Leroux and JF Mugnier, Arnoux Lachaux, Armand Rousseau, Dujac and Domaine de la Romanee Conti to name but a few. If it is white Burgundy you are seeking out it is hard to go past the many wines from Chablis superstar Vincent Dauvissat.
While the Bordeaux section is lighter than the spectacular offering in the last auction, we do have some outstanding value that will be welcomed at any table. For those looking for Classed Growths, we also have wines from Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Grand Puy Lacoste, Ducru Beaucaillou and the 100 point 2010 Chateau Pontet Canet.
All great events should finish with something wonderful and there is plenty on offer with Mazuran’s and Penfolds Grandfather Tawnies as well as many great value whiskies. Now that should keep you warm during the upcoming winter months.
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. You will also notice that our photographs of each new lot are very detailed, helping you to inspect the wine from the comfort of your seat. 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.
