Volume of both sellers and buyers were up at Oddbins first auction of the new year and according to company secretary, Marilynn Middleton, "you'd have to be happy with that." Even for the realised prices, which the doom and gloom Sayers in late 2003 tipped to fall in a big way, remained well within the price ranges as set by Oddbins valuation team.
Australia's love affair with Penfolds Bin 95 still continues but prices certainly have steadied, with Oddbins Good Grange Index steady at 108 pts, the same as at the end of December 2003. Volumes of this collectable remained high with pricing still tending towards the higher end of the advised price range and mention should be made of the famed 1998 fetching $650 per bottle and a good amount of keen bidding for Grange magnums.
However there were clear indications that the extraordinary prices paid for the "Ultra Cults": the Wild Duck's, Three Rivers, Torbreck's etc, have been well and truly tempered, as domestic buyers were clearly not prepared to pay the highly charged rates American collectors bid for these wines in early 2003. Is the end nigh for these new stars? We think not, but there is certainly a gust of reality going through this small but highly valuable segment of the market.
The lesson from February's auction is that buyers are certainly sticking with the more established, almost "conservative" brands such as Greenock Creek, Rockford and Barry's Armagh, from good years over the specialist newcomers. And it is still shiraz over cabernet, red over white as the style leaders in the market. So where have all the cabernet drinkers gone?
At the lower end of the market, bargain hunters are certainly getting what they want, particularly for commercial lots (over 60 cartons) of either labelled or clean skin wines. So a bargain can still be had at auction, particularly if you don't mind picking a so-called lesser year.
Now we don't want to get the market too excited, but there was also some keen interest shown in the aged Australian fortified segment: Yes, port prices have strengthened...marginally, with lively bidding on early vintages of Para Liqueurs.
The highlight of the auction was the sale of a 1997 Grange Imperial for $37,100 to a mystery bidder in Melbourne. Other notables included higher than expected bidding for a range of Bass Philip pinots, a set of 3 magnums of Hardy's Eileen 150th anniversary shiraz going for $145 per magnum, and on the imported front a 1989 Chat Haut-Brion fetching $750, a 1961 Chat Margaux going for $1105 and a 1959 Chat Mouton Rothschild being sold for $1250.
From the ever reliable team at Oddbins Wine Auctions