Fancy snapping up some wine from Halliday’s personal cellar?

Fancy sampling some bottles direct from Australian wine guru James Halliday's personal cellar.

The renowned Australian critic, author and commentator is selling the last of his impressive wine cellar through an online auction with fine wine destination Langtons.

The James Halliday's Private Collection online auction is now open on the Langtons website and closes at 9pm AEST on Sunday, May 25.

This final auction will see a 100 lots of Halliday’s personal passion - French producer Domaine Armand Rousseau - up for sale, with each bottle personally signed by the wine critic.

The collection includes a 1999 Clos des Ruchottes Monopole, Ruchottes-Chambertin, 1976 Clos de la Roche and 1990 Grand Cru Chambertin.

Halliday has confirmed this auction will be the last to clear out the final bottles in his cellar located in the Yarra Valley’s Coldstream Hills while he relocates to Sydney.

“Having long since sold the last of my DRCs, my Rousseaus are the best wines in my cellar, led - of course - by the Chambertins from top vintages. Clos de Beze is a worthy second, Clos de Jacques, the wine often offering outstanding value for money. Rousseau now fills the shoes left by the impossible-to-find DRCs,” says Halliday.

James Halliday AM is Australia’s most notable wine authority, with a career spanning over 30 years resulting in a cellar that is incomparable to any other in the country.

“James Halliday is undoubtedly the most important person in the Australian wine scene," says Michael Anderson, head of auctions and secondary market at Langtons.

Other highlights from the collection include va Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart Brut from the exceptional 1996 vintage; a 1997 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling-Spatlese; and a 1980 Domaine Clape.

Closer to home, Halliday’s collection also includes a House of Arras E.J Carr Late Disgorged Methode Traditionelle 2000 Magnum from Tasmania; 1997 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir from the Macedon Ranges; and 1992 vintage Charles Melton Nine Popes Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre from the Barossa Valley.

Each bottle will come complete with a collectable sticker outlining its provenance. 

See https://www.langtons.com.au/james-halliday-private-collection.html

A Queenstown weekend for serious wine lovers

The Rees Hotel & Apartments is an outstanding address in Queenstown, overlooking Lake Wakatipu and with a long record of excellence in wine and food.

The Rees will host the inaugural auction of some of Central Otago and the world's great wines over the October Labour Day weekend (October 25-28) this year.

The auction is expected to feature approximately 300 lots with some individual wines with reserves of up to $50,000.

The Rees, which has its own internationally acclaimed cellar, is aiming to to make this an annual event; one that will develop into a food and wine festival for Queenstown.

The weekend will culminate in a degustation dinner with wines from four local producers and Ata Rangi from Martinborough, hosted by CEO Mark Rose, himself a wine expert.

The inaugural weekend event will include a welcome cocktail party, wine masterclasses and tastings, a lunch at Bannockburn Hotel on Saturday and the Central Otago Wine Auction.

The featured wineries will each provide two wines to match each of the five courses created by The Rees’ executive chef Trent Watson.

Blair Walter, of Felton Road Wines and a trustee of the Central Otago Pinot Noir Charitable Trust (established by COPNL), announced at a launch event in Queenstown that local producers, Prophet’s Rock, Quartz Reef, and Rippon will feature.

A special charity fundraising feature of the auction will include several vintages of the Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration Cuvée. These wines feature labels from prominent New Zealand artists including like Bill Hammond, Grahame Sydney and Ralph Hotere.

A three-night package includes three nights Lakeview accommodation, breakfast daily, welcome function including drinks and canapes; The Rees Pinot Noir Expedition including 5 x masterclasses with five winemakers and lunch at Bannockburn Hotel; tickets to the wine auction, winemakers' dinner and a late check out on the Monday. 

The price is $NZ 1290 per person, double/twin-share. 

For bookings and enquiries phone: +64 3 450 1100 or email: events@therees.co.nz

See therees.co.nz

Anyone for a 123-year-old bottle of Chateau d'Yquem?

So you'd like to own one of the rarest bottles of wine in the world?

If that's your bag then British auction house Dreweatts will next month be offering a bottle of 1900 Chateau d'Yquem.

When this bottle was produced Queen Victoria was on the throne and the second Boer war was in full swing.

The bottle, at 123 years old, has been carefully stored in the cellar of a private collector for many years (Chateau d'Yquem is known for its longevity due to its high sugar content).

It has been given a conservative estimate of £3,200-£4,200 - which seems ludicrously low given (a bottle of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem sold for £75,000 in 2011, making it the most expensive bottle of white wine in the world).

Dreweatts says it expects bidding from around the world.

The bottle has provenance and was re-corked at the Chateau in 1996.

d'Yquem, of course, is coveted for its concentration, complexity and sweetness.

Mark Robertson, wine consultant at Dreweatts, said: “Having been re-corked at the Chateau in 1996 and stored beautifully by a collector and restaurateur ever since, this 1900 Château d’Yquem is a compelling combination of a mouth-watering colour, provenance and historical importance.

"Château d’Yquem’s enchantment is her ability to age and I often tell my clients to buy Château Climens for themselves, but Château d’Yquem for their descendants."

The bottle will be offered in Dreweatts upcoming sale of Wine, Champagne and Spirits on July 4.

See www.dreweatts.com. 

Your chance to snap up an Imperial of fine wine

Imperials are six-litre bottles of wine, much loved by collectors. 

A selection of imperials containing wines from some of Coonawarra's best producers will go under the hammer next week at the Coonawarra Imperial Auction, one of the highlights for attendees at the Coonawarra Vignerons Cup race meting. 

For the first time since 2016, organisers have opened registrations for external bidding - so anyone can get their hands one one of the huge collectibles like those from previous years modelled here by Nick Zema from Zema Estate (top) and John Innes from Ottelia (below). 

The bottles will be up for grabs on Thursday, January 12, to coincide with the 41st running of the Coonawarra Vignerons Cup. Vintages will range from 1991 to 2019. 

Coonawarra Vignerons Marketing and Events Officer Heidi Guyett said wine collectors across Australia are expected to bid. 

“It’s been two years since the Coonawarra Vignerons Cup Marquee event has been hosted, so there has been great anticipation around the return of the event and the release of the auction wines in particular,” she said

“Each of the wines is a one-off, presented in a bespoke velvet lined Jarrah box, and labelled for the 2023 36° South Coonawarra Vignerons Cup Day Event, making them instant collectors’ items.”

And if the winemaker/ producer is in the marquee the wine will also be personally signed before being handed over. 

“The auction presents a rare opportunity to purchase one-off individual wines from some of Coonawarra's top producers," says Frank DiGiorgio, managing director and owner of DiGiorgio Family Wines. 

The catalogue includes a multi award-winning 1991 St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Wynns Coonawarra 2016 O’Deas 3.13."

Two AP John wine barrels will also be auctioned, available exclusively to ticket holders at the live event.

The auction will be held in the Coonawarra Vignerons Marquee at the Penola Racecourse, with phone bids excepted via online pre-registration.

Register interest online at www.coonawarra.org. 

Would you pay up to $5000 for a flagon of rum?

Rum is not generally considered a hugely collectable beverage, but three flagons up for auction could attract stratospheric prices.

Three flagons of rare rum from the final batch issued by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) to sailors in the Royal Navy are to be offered at auction next month.

They were among the final offerings of the historic tradition of giving sailors a daily ‘tot’ of rum.

They are a highlight of British auctioneers Dreweatts' Fine & Rare Wine & Spirits sale on December 8, 2022.

The flagons were purchased directly from the MOD by their current owner in 1970, the year that the custom was stopped.

While they were purchased in 1970, Mark Robertson, head of Dreweatts Wine and Spirits department, says: “Due to a system known as Solera, where younger and older versions of rum are continually blended as they age in barrels over many years, these flagons could be decades older.”

The tradition of giving sailors a daily ration of rum started with the Royal Navy’s West Indies Squadron in Jamaica in 1655 and by 1731 it had spread to the rest of the British fleet.

The tradition is believed to have begun as rum was stable in hot temperatures, unlike beer which would spoil.

It was also plentiful in the British West Indies as it was a derivative of the booming sugar production there at the time.

Rum also mixed well with the sailors’ daily ration of lime juice that was administered to prevent scurvy on the ships.

“For five centuries British sailors gathered together from 11am-12pm for 'Up Spirits', the serving of their allocated ‘tot’ of rum," Robertson says.

"The ‘tot’ consisted of an eighth of a pint and was over 50% ABV. While regular sailors’ rum was mixed with lime juice and hot water, officers were permitted to drink their spirits neat.

"When the practice ended in 1970 many sailors regarded it as losing a favourite comrade on the ship and wore black armbands.

“Not much evidence survives about the rum’s provenance before the 20th century, but by the 1930s the lion’s share came from British Guyana and Trinidad.

“We are privileged to offer these rare flagons for sale. We have been told by multiple sources that the rum inside is delicious and a unique style that is impossible to replicate.”

Each flagon carries an estimate of £1,500-£2,500.

For details see https://www.dreweatts.com/news-videos/royal-navy-imperial-rum-from-1970-to-be-sold-at-auction-fine-and-rare-wine-and-spirits-8-december-2022/

A very expensive bottle of Australian wine

A bottle of the first vintage of Penfolds Grange went under the hammer for over $150,000 at a Langton's live auction in Sydney this week.

“It’s a fantastic result, and shows a really vibrant, strong fine wine market here in Australia,” said Langton’s general manager Tamara Grischy.

“This particular Penfolds Grange 1951 was in excellent condition and is still in its original cap, which is very rare. In addition, the label was among the most intact of this vintage I have ever seen. The buyer is thrilled to add it to their wine collection.”

The buyer was not revealed but is "a wine collector from the Greater Sydney area", and was competing for the coveted bottle against two other bidders.

The Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 is the first vintage ever made of Australia’s most famous wine, and is in high demand among wine collectors looking to complete their Penfolds Grange sets.

A set contains all vintages of Penfolds Grange from 1951 to 2018 (67 bottles in total), and will sell for at least $400,000, Langton's estimates.

“Penfolds Grange is one of the sought-after brands on the secondary wine market. It is liquid gold in a bottle, and as the first vintages become rarer to find, we will continue to see demand increase,” Grischy said.

In total, 31 lots sold at the auction for $470,000. Other highlights include a Jacques Selosse Selection three-bottle set of Champagne, which sold for $6,407 (reserve price $1,380), and a Domaine Armand Rousseau Grand Cru Chambertin three-bottle set, which sold for $34,950.

The auction took place at The Eveleigh in Sydney, where 200 guests enjoyed a three-course meal with matching wines from Penfolds, Wynns Coonawarra and Champagne Bollinger.

The old "get 'em tanked before they start bidding tactic.   

“The secondary fine wine market is the hottest it has ever been, and after a few years of lockdowns, it was exciting to bring wine lovers together and to let them get up close and personal with rare treasures many will never see in their lifetime!” Grischy said.

In December 2021, another bottle of Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 went under the hammer at a Langton’s online auction for $157,624, making it the most expensive bottle of Australian wine ever sold.

* All prices include Buyer’s Premium, which is 16.5% including GST, and is paid on top of the hammer price.

Why you need to see this famous artwork now

One of Britain's most iconic works of art is under potential threat of being removed from public view.

LS Lowry's Going To The Match is currently on display at the superb The Lowry, a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays in Manchester - a venue that is well worth a visit for anyone in town.

It is on loan from The Players Foundation (PF), the Professional Footballers' Association charity, which intends to auction the painting next month to raise money for its charitable works.

Salford's mayor has called on the "footballing community" to fund the purchase of the painting - valued at £8 million ($13.3 million AUD) so it can remain on public display, The Fiver online newsletter reported.

It has been loaning the 1953 work to the arts centre.

Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said "finding £8m-plus wouldn't be too difficult" for the area's footballers.

The PF said the financial crisis meant it had to sell "in the interests of our beneficiaries" as it "no longer has any income guaranteed, so we have had to completely reposition".

The work shows fans on their way to Bolton's former ground Burnden Park (a cold, bleak place, trust me).

"Wouldn't it be truly tragic if this iconic LS Lowry painting... was sold to a private collector and ceased to be free to access by people here in the City of Salford as it has been for the past 22 years?" Dunnett said.

"I'd like to make a personal plea for the footballing community here in Greater Manchester to look at retaining this painting for the people of Greater Manchester.

"There's a lot of money in that community, so finding £8m-plus wouldn't be too difficult."

Lowry, who died in 1976, spent much of his life in Salford and his work is strongly associated with the city.

The work will be auctioned at Christie's in London on October 19.

Ancient bottle of sherry sells for over $2,600

A 19th century bottle of sherry found in the cellar of London’s historic Apsley House, former home of the 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), sold at auction last week for £1,527.

The sherry, which dates from 1840, re-emerged from a private collection and proved highly popular in a sale of Fine and Rare Wine and Spirits at Dreweatts, finally selling to a UK buyer.

The rare sherry is believed to have been bottled at Apsley House between 1850-1870, when it was home to Arthur Wellesley, following his being named ‘Duke of Wellington’ in gratitude for his military victories in the Peninsula and Napoleonic wars.

Following his specific success at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, parliament awarded him £700,000 to build a new ‘Waterloo Palace’.

Rather than constructing a new building, he instead put in an anonymous winning bid of £40,000 to buy Apsley House.

The purchase was to help his brother, the then owner of the lease to the house, as he was struggling financially.

Wellington went on to become a leading figure in politics after the battle of Waterloo, becoming Prime Minister in 1828.

The sherry was purchased in 1977 at a Christie's sale of wines from Apsley House and had been stored in a Hampshire cellar ever since.

A bottle from the same collection from 1865 was tasted in 2020 at Christie's and the tasting note was as follows, "At over 150 years of age, it looked almost like a young en rama Manzanilla. On tasting, the 1865 was well-balanced, chalky and lightly nutty with a characteristic smoky edge. Its colour and youthful gait made it hard to believe it was bottled when Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States."

Mark Robertson, Head of Dreweatts Wine Department, said: “This wonderful bottle with only two careful owners in the last 170 years unsurprisingly garnered competitive bidding. We hope the new owner enjoys this unique sherry and whilst drinking can ponder on all the great historical moments that have passed since it was first bottled for the Duke of Wellington at Apsley House.”

Wine auction rakes in millions

King's College - part of the University of Cambridge - has a history that dates back to 1441.

The college sits beside the River Cam in the centre of the city and was founded by King Henry VI.

Alumni include poet Rupert Brooke. mathematician Alan Turing and writers EM Forster, Salman Rushdie and Patrick White, along with famous wine writer Hugh Johnson. 

The lucky folk who study here also have access to one of the most extraordinary wine cellars in Britain.

A collection of rare Burgundies from the cellars fetched £1,365,125 in a Christie’s auction this week - that is over $AU 2 million.

The ‘Generations of Jayer’ collection included 42 lots from the Burgundy vineyards of Henri Jayer and his nephew Emmanuel Rouget.

A 12-bottle case of Grand Cru Henri Jayer for Georges Jayer, Echézeaux 1999 from the Côte de Nuits led the way, selling for £100,000 at the London auction, Decanter reported.

The cellars lie deep inside a labyrinth of dark, cold vaults beneath King’s College. They are said to contain more than 50,000 bottles.

King Henry VI granted its students an annuity of "one tun of French wine", the equivalent of 256 gallons.

Jayer was dubbed the ‘godfather of Burgundy’ after pioneering a range of key innovations in the region. He believed that low yields were the foundation of truly great wines, and resisted the use of chemicals in vineyards.

Christie’s international director of wine, Tim Tiptreee MW, once described Jayer's wines as "certainly among the finest I have ever tasted, particularly the Richebourg, Echézeaux and Cros Parantoux".

Bottle of whisky sells for almost $2 million

A bottle of whisky sold at auction this week for almost $2 million - but it is no ordinary bottle. 

 
The world's largest bottle of whisky, containing 311 litres of 1989 Macallan single malt, was auctioned in Edinburgh, fetching £1.1million. 

Containing the equivalent to 444 standard-size bottles and standing taller than the average Scotsman, it was among the most expensive bottles ever sold.

The bottle - known as The Intrepid - was certified by Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest. 

The Macallan whisky was matured in two casks at the distillery’s warehouse in Speyside, Scotland.

The bottle was sold to a private international collector, who wishes to remain anonymous. local media reported. 

The bottle is a celebration of 11 explorers, including Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

“For me and the whole team The Intrepid project has always been about more than money," said entrepreneur Daniel Monk. "This was a passion project to celebrate the life of my late father, Captain Stanley Monk, who was himself an explorer and achieved many amazing things during his life.”

The sale will provide money for several charities. A dozen 50cl bottles and sets of miniatures containing the 1989 Macallan were also auctioned off.

Founded in 1884, the Macallan is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. 

Wine auction to aid victims of bushfires

 

The Adelaide Hills Wine Region is holding an online auction to raise funds for bushfire-affected wine businesses. 

The auction will feature over 350 bottles of wine to raise money for wineries and growers affected by the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfires.

With floods dominating recent news, bushfire couldn’t be further from the public mind’s eye but many Adelaide Hills wineries are still suffering badly from the devastation of the 2019 fires.

“The fire wrecked 30 years of work in a day," says Darren Golding of Golding Wines, who saw 90% of their vineyard burn. 

"We had to start again, and it’s not easy to do that. It’s not just the physical hard work but the huge emotional cost of starting over. 

“We are part way, probably about 50% through replanting our vineyards. It will take another five years to get back to full production.”

After the fires, Dave Bowley feared the end for his Vinteloper brand. 

"With no grapes to make wine, and no discernible vineyard left standing on our property we had to buy grapes for the 2020 vintage and continue to buy grapes for many more seasons," he said. "Getting some funds from the Fire Appeal has enabled us to rebuild trellis and infrastructure and just keep the business going.”

The Adelaide Hills Wine Region, which is the body representing winemakers and grape growers in the Adelaide Hills, established the Fire Appeal to support local growers and producers and fund recovery efforts. 

Wineries that have responded by donating wines are Vasse Felix, Yalumba and Rockford, through to local Hills wineries such as K1 and La Prova. 

“A big thanks and huge gratitude to all those who donated money or wine for the auction and supported us in some way,” said Mark Kozned from Nova Vita.

The fundraising auction will be held from April 18-25 by Wickmans Fine Wine Auctions.

Anyone can join but must register online. See www.wickman.net.au on the morning of April 18. 

Major wine collection goes to auction

A wine collection amassed by Australian businessman Basil Sellers over 40 years goes under the hammer later this month. 

The wines cellared in Sellers' extraordinary home at St Jean Cap Ferrat in the south of France range from great Champagnes and first-growth Bordeauxs to labels including Penfolds and Henschke. 

This single-owner sale reflects the 40-year wine odyssey of Indian-born, Adelaide-raised Sellers. 

The businessman and philanthropist - who helps fund the Len Evans Tutorial - ranges from the Reynella Vintage Reserve 1963, to the wines of the Hunter Valley he encountered when he moved to Sydney; and finally to Europe where he was introduced to the great wines of France. 

Sellers built a remarkable collection at his Villa Cuccia Noya (above) and the wines will go under the hammer on March 24 at Bonhams in Paris. 

Treasures include examples from Sellers' his favourite châteaux and domaines such as Château Latour 1961 and several rare vintages of Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Cheval Blanc. 

Louis Roederer Cristal, Dom Perignon and great Barolos also feature alongside Grange and Hill of Grace. 

Sellers is a remarkable success story. He never went to university after leaving school at 16 but built a global reputation for his business acumen. 

For details of how to bid, see www.bonhams.com/live_auctions/27747/

Grange fetches record price at auction

A bottle of Penfolds Grange 1951, which was both signed and recorked by winemaker Max Schubert, has gone under the hammer at a Langton’s auction for $142,131, breaking the previous record for an Australian wine of $103,000.

Max Schubert AM (Wikimedia)

The bottle is one of the few rare examples in existence of the first vintage of Penfolds Grange ever made, and went under the hammer at the Langton’s Penfolds Rewards of Patience auction.

The buyer was a Sydney-based wine collector who was not identified.

“This is extraordinary, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought a bottle of Australian wine would sell for this much,” said Langton head of auctions Tamara Grischy.

“This, however, is a unicorn of a wine, and one of the finest bottles we’ve ever seen come through at Langton’s.

“The buyer is thrilled to have secured this fine piece of Australian wine history for their collection.”

Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 is the first vintage ever made of Australia’s most famous wine. Schubert only made three or four barrels of it, and he gave away most bottles to his friends.

This specific bottle of Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 was made even more special as it is signed by Schubert, and hand re-corked in August 1988 at Penfolds Magill Estate.

“Incredibly, the 1951 Grange – the first vintage ever created – has sold for a world record price, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Grange in 2021. This is one to complete a collection,” said Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago.

“After 70 years of unbroken vintage releases, Grange continues to surprise and reward. Much to celebrate.”

There are believed to be around 35 bottles of the first vintage of Penfolds Grange in existence. This includes approximately 15 bottles that are part of complete sets of Penfolds Grange, which include all vintages of Penfolds Grange from 1951 to present day.

The Penfolds Australia Collection 2021, including the latest Grange vintage, 2017, is due to be released on Thursday, August 5.