The Barossa Grape & Wine Association (BGWA), supported by Langton’s Fine Wines, held its annual Barossa Wine Auction last week, with 35 lots including some rare vertical collections up for grabs.
The live auction was hosted by Fabulous Ladies Wine Society founder Jane Thomson, with many record sales to both local and absentee bidders.
The cumulative total sales from the live auction equated to $243,901.00 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium, with a 100 per cent clearance rate for the live auction. The average price per lot for the day was $6,775.00 – a new record for the event which was first held in 1965. The auction also helped to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation, with the BGWA CEO James March, welcoming the opportunity to work with the charity.
“This year we are delighted to be working with the McGrath Foundation, a charity whose work has been tireless in helping to improve the lives of cancer sufferers and their families throughout the country, and in particular, in rural and regional areas,” March said. “As we all know, this disease is wilfully indiscriminate in its approach, and is no respecter of demographic, age or circumstance.”
Highlights from the auction include the sale of the Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz 1962 750ml which sold at three times the estimated sale price achieving $21,552 (including buyer’s premium). The 6.0L Imperial bottle of Penfolds Grange Imperial Shiraz 2013, sold for $58,250 (including buyer’s premium) to a bidder in Barossa for the auction, from Beijing.
Andrew Baldwin, Penfolds Winemaker, said: “The Penfolds Bin 60A, a collectable must drink wine before you die, achieved a record price of ($18,500). We are over the moon to achieve a price like this and especially in the Barossa, Penfolds own backyard.
“We are very excited for the bidder who won the 2013 Grange Imperial. As a wine it is rich and concentrated; as close to perfection as you can get. A great addition to any wine collector’s cellar.”
Langton’s Head of Auctions, Tamara Grischy and Baron of Barossa, Andrew Caillard MW carried out the auctioning and some of the records set included Langmeil Freedom Shiraz 12 Bottle Vertical Collection ‘The Best of the Best’ which sold for three times its catalogue estimate at $6,291 (including buyer’s premium).
There was also a Pewsey Vale The Contours Six Bottle Vertical Collection plus Contours Vineyard Tour which sold for $5,242 (including buyer’s premium) which equates to $874 per bottle, an Australian auction record for Riesling.
Grischy said of the auction: “What an extraordinary result. Barossa as a region again showed its strength in the secondary market to capture collectors’ interest and bidding activity from all around the world, delivering some spectacular price results. The great vibe in the room added to the excitement of the live auction which we so rarely do now.”
Caillard added: “Today’s result displayed Barossa’s credentials as a great wine region of the world. Bidders from Australia and overseas participated in this dynamic auction, encouraging and validating the positioning of Barossa wines, in particular Shiraz and Riesling, based on strong 19th century settlement and planting legacy.”
A total $12,000 of the net proceeds of the Barossa Wine Auction has been pledged to The McGrath Foundation. The remainder of the event’s charitable contributions will be distributed amongst the local community supporting the delivery of the Barossa Vintage Festival, and local charities: Foundation Barossa and Barossa Enterprises.