Once again the festive season brings lots of cheer to auction houses with buyers looking to stock up their cellars with both quaffing wine and some of the rarer types for the Christmas tables and vendors looking for a few extra pennies to spend during this time gift giving and summer holidays. And at Oddbins, it was no exception, as our December sale confirmed a strengthening in the market place with good clearances and prices paid for wine.
December saw an influx of Penfold’s products including Grange which resulted in a large sale of more than 2,500 lots. The overall clearance rate for the sale was above average, based on good sales in the premium and semi premium end of the market. The super premium category recorded a clearance rate of just under 70%. However, sluggish sales at the budget end of the market and a general lack of moderately priced white wines tempered the final results.
Good clearances can be reported for most Penfold’s products, the reds of Charles Cimicky and d’Arenberg. Consumers also showed considerable interest in Greenock Creek Roennfeldt shiraz and cabernets, Henschke Cyrils and later vintages of Mt Edelstone. There was also a welcome return of interest in Noon’s Reserves, coming off some excellent publicity provided by America’s super palate. Good vintages of Rockford’s Basket Press and the specialist SVS series reds also cleared well as did Wendouree shiraz and shiraz blends, most reds from the Wolf Blass stable and better vintages of Wynns Michaels and John Riddoch cabernet.
On the imported front, Red Bordeaux, Sauternes and Champagne, especially the old and venerable Dom Perignons from ’69, ’71, ‘80, ’85 and ’90 attracted considerable attention, with many I suspect being consumed at the Christmas table! New Zealand pinots were also in favour with offerings from Ata Rangi, Gibbston, Pisa Range and Te Karanga clearing well.
Fortified wine continued its tend of excellent clearances with buyers particularly attracted to a strong offering of Seppelts 100th Anniversary tawnies and a rare offering of early Seppeltsfield’s DP vintage ports, from 1942, ‘48 and ’51 achieved hammer prices of between 132 and 180 per bottle.
Finally, our Imperfect Grange category returned a better than expected result, as buyers were keen to pick those slightly damaged items at very good prices and resulted in clearance rate of above 55 %. I suspect most of these items are to be consumed on that one day of the year. And that’s exactly why you should buy this type of Grange, it’s a great chance to see what all the fuss is about at an affordable price.
In terms of achieved hammer prices, a magnum of 2000 Grange achieved $1500, while a poorly presented Penfold’s Bin 60A fetched $1050, and an infrequent visitor to the auction market, the Penfold’s Bin 465 Grange achieved a handsome $980 while the famed 1971 Grange was still holding at $500 a bottle.
But Penfolds brands weren’t the only highlights, Louis XIII cognac still attracts considerable interest with bid topping at $850 and a bottle 1880 Para liqueur achieved $650. Chris Ringland’s self named shiraz achieved a still respectable hammer price of $650 and an interesting vertical of Lehmann’s Stonewell from 1987 through 1998 attracted $624 for the set.
And finally, two exquisitely presented half bottles of 1947 Faiveley Musigny of known provenance sold at a hammer price of $402 per half. Both Merrilyn and I had the privilege of tasting this wine last year at the Magill Estate Restaurant and I can see why this wine attracted such considerable attention as it still has an extraordinary ethereal character about it.
Buyers in this auction continued to be quiet on both cabernet and chardonnay particularly from the perceived to be poorer vinatges and from little known producers. Sparkling reds are also proving a little difficult, as consumers appear to be wary of unknown labels and brands, preferring to purchase well established producers with quality brands such as Seppelt’s Show Reserves. While with whites, consumers are definitely voting with their feet , showing definite preference for crisp dry whites over fuller bodied wooded style.
You may have noticed that in this auction we deliberately left out our commercial offerings. You may have also noticed that we slipped in a little live auction last month, purely for our commercial lots. While live auctions are seen as a thing of the past and generally frowned upon by the general auction market, we felt that for this category of wine, it might be a useful exercise.
Well the exercise turned to be moderately successful with better than average clearances for the category and good prices paid for the stock, which included cleanskin, unknown and well established labels. It is an experiment that we are keen to continue into 2006.
The challenge for the secondary market in 2006 will be the management of the large number of lots and products coming into the auction market while further proselytising to the Australian public the undoubted benefits of buying at auction. The undoubted benefit being that buying at auction, even with declared buyers premiums, is still cheaper than purchasing at retail. And once again, most auction houses will be juggling between buyer’s demands for quality at bargain prices and vendors looking for a fair return on their prized investments.
Oddbins reported at the beginning of the year that the market was softening based on supply outstripping demand, and a fact that continued well into the second half of 2005. But in the latter half of the year, there has been a gradual strengthening in the secondary, especially in the demand for premium and super premium wines and those rare gems that only ever pop up in auction once in a blue moon.
Oddbins is anticipating a relatively stable market place for the first quarter of 2006 but with buyers still looking for bargains. It is anticipated that there might be a possible strengthening in the market place in the later part of 2006.
Finally on behalf of all the crew at Oddbins Wine Auctions and the Odd Whisky Coy, we would like to wish all our dear supporters, vendors, buyers and readers, a superlative Christmas and a frightfully interesting New Year.
See you all in 2006,
Cheers from…
Graham & Merrilyn
Georgie, Les, John & Louise
at Oddbins Wine Auction