A good selection of over 1,000 lots of Australian and Imported wines made up Oddbins first catalogue for 2001.
A combination live and silent bid sale, saw a large number of absentee bidders, with an increased number of overseas bidders.
The highlight of the sale was a bottle of 1951 Penfolds Grange achieving a hammer price of $33,500. The wine was sold to a telephone bidder; who was playing in a chess tournament at the time!
The market for Grange remained strong, even lesser vintages attracting keen bidding. The demand for Grange magnums was very good, the first vintage release of 1979 achieving $1,100.
Shiraz was again the variety in most demand. Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace continued their push-pull relationship, particularly for vintages 1992 onwards. In demand included names like Greenock Creek, Fox Creek, Turkey Flat, all exceeding their pre-sale estimations.
Wines from the 1998 vintage are coming into the market and demand is driving high prices. The vintage's reputation precedes the wines and many 'allocation only' wines are eagerly snapped up.