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Wine Auction News & Review May 2007
The Russians are coming Chinese too! Fighting dirty with too much Cash and no thought for sharing!
The Russians are coming!...The Russians are coming! and this time the Chinese are right beside them. With global conquest of business and energy all but finalised, our Cold War foes are now staring to fight dirty.
What started in Hong Kong and London, ten or so years ago, has become the power driving top end wine demand and price.
Russian and Chinese Wine power. Forget the price, if the brand is prestigious and there is a story of strong vintage etc.etc,....pack it up and ship to Moscow or Beijing.
Fight dirty? Their not leaving anything good left behind. The Yanks, so used to being first in best dressed are now scrambling for the scraps.
Last year a powerful group of New York Blue bloods ganged up and declared that 2003 and 2005 Bordeaux prices were just too expensive and did not represent good value. They were going to Boycott! Thank you very much, any surplus (any future allocations to boot) went to Putin Land and behind the Great Wall.
Latest news is that every good Ruskie has developed a serious thirst for Champagne. Big winners and big losers? If the Yanks are starting to miss out what are our chances?
The Aussie wine auction market is being hit by the Dragons and Big Bears. We all know that Mr Robert Parker has the ear of the Asian market. Aussie Premium wines, with big Parker scores, are being sucked up by Chinese. Now that Hong Kong, the gateway to China, has relaxed some of its liquor import laws, look out for even greater influences.
The Aussie wine auction market TODAY has some very strong upward pressure. Flash cash generated by Aussie property, share market and mining booms has landed on big tickets and good value wines with some dramatic effects.
Penfolds Bin 389 prices, particularly the 1996 and 1998, have shot up by over 25% in just the last few months. The big names, established names, like Moss Wood, Cullen, Rockford, Wendouree, have spiked in price as well.
Posing the question; is anything under $100-200 a bottle for the big names too cheap? Look at the US market, current release premium Chardonnays and Shiraz hit the market at $US200-500 a bottle. Duck Muck from Wild Duck Creek and Chris Ringland's Three Rivers have pushed prices way beyond where Penfolds Grange has been. Maybe $500+ for the 2002 Penfolds Grange is not such a big leap.
The every changing Aussie wine taste still has an enduring love affair with big busty Shiraz. The more curves and soft fleshy bits the better. Restrained Rhone influence is making a mark with cool climate offerings from WA and Victoria gathering fans.
Pinot Noir gets way too much fuss, a lot more than its market share deserves. The Pinot race has been spiced up by the Burgundy factor. Funny enough, the home of Pinot does a good job with the stuff and more and more punters, faced with forcing down a NZ pinot cordial at $60-80 a bottle, are opting for the real thing.
The Riesling and Semillon story gets better and better. We are truly blessed with world class, Worlds Best? Riesling and Semillon. The madness? In a world where big bucks are the calling card of the best, our world beating whites are absurdly cheap.
At Auction its just about impossible to spend $50 a bottle on Riesling or Sem. That WILL change! Want to do some investing in wine? Soak up boxes of our best Riesling, Grosset Polish Hill? and best Sem,Tyrells Vat 1? Strong vintages, with good storage history.
The market cannot easily supply big volumes of these wines and WHEN (not if; in my opinion) the demand wave hits, prices will jump.
Lucky, lucky us! we small band of brothers (some sisters). Going to Auction and buying glorious back vintages of Leo Buring Leonase and Grosset Polish hill for a pittance. Like so many things that are too good to be true don�t expect it to last.
May 2007
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