Sterling Wine Auctions Australia

Hot tips and shameless gossip from July 2006

The wine auction market continues to provide buyers with a wonderland of bargains and must have collectables. The hype over wine gluts and dumping cheap stock has been isolated to the specialist wine direct marketing dumping houses and discount retail. The market out there looking for cheap booze has more options and in some cases lower prices, but largely the same market aiming to save a few cents on a wine cask are still driving this end of the business. The commercial middle ground is the real blood bath with many mums and dads who appreciate quality and need to watch the budget are sitting back watching producers and retailers tearing each other apart. The quality and price "value" equation in this $10-20 market is better than ever with many �over delivered� wines demanding and commanding attention.

The list of combatants is long but my bench mark in this market is the Jacobs Creek Reserve range.

Enter the next tier and life takes on more semblance of normality. The wines in demand with wine lovers are, in most cases, rare and collectable. A recent competition saw Sterling clients nominate their top three wines in any price point. Not surprising there were some pretty high and mighty millionaire preserve entries. Surprising, the most popular wines were the great brands that have never taken their eye from delivering the best quality possible. For the results Click here and go to Final Vox Pop Shocks.

The most popular wines? Penfolds bin 389, Cullen cab merlot, Penfolds Grange, Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay and Rockford Basket Press shiraz.

Well cellared, well known back vintages are still creating excitement with spirited bidding always pushing these wines beyond current retail prices. The crazy end of town is very busy with big dollars being spent to take an icons home for pleasure and display. The Penfolds Grange market is always a good indicator of the health of the market top end.. An interesting dichotomy is that to top end is healthier than Grange. The last three Penfolds Grange releases have struggled with stratospheric release prices driving away the drinking market. Any "speculators" looking to make quick cash in are sadly disappointed when they find out that the secondary market can only offer a significant loss. Classic vintages of Grange are chugging along keeping out of trouble not losing or making ground. Sales results for 1990 Grange show that the trend line is flat to slight decline in prices. Interest in the collectible end, 1950's and 1960's still seems to be robust but there always seems to be funny business just below the surface in this area.

Big bucks are out there for rare good things, a bottle of 1983 DRC Romanee Conti sold in June for a world record price of $3,250 (hammer fall) and Bottles of Ch�teau Petrus and 100 point parker wines like the 2000 Margaux all seem to find homes at thousands of dollars each.

Good buys abound, no one listens to me but, I have been banging on about old white wines and reds from lesser to so called bad vintages for years. (Click here to see White Australian Policy editorial.)

A recent discovery!! Everyone knows that well aged Aussie Riesling and Semillon are world beating value at auction, well try some cheap entry level commercial Sem Chardonnay blends with some good bottle age. Recently I was amazed by a bottle of 1997 Tyrrells Long Flat Sem Chard. Hardly a blue blood, this cheapy was out punching wines worth 10 times as much.

A new classic for your cellar? My love affair with Aussie Cab Shiraz is no secret, and a new temptress has lured me on the road to ruin, her name Jacobs Creek Johann 2001.

Another �must have� that wont last long enough to get cellar age is the stunning de Borloli Yarra Valley Chardonnay.

A large number of wine lovers seem to agree with me in looking beyond big fruity plummy reds that kick like a rodeo bull.

Bring on Aussie reds big in complex subtle flavours and low in alcohol. Virgin Hills and a few Yarra producers stuck to this style and the world passed them by, hang in there, the tide is turning.

Here�s hoping the stunning 2006 WA vintage which was very long and slow will �force� wines on us that are big on flavour and low on alcohol punch!

August 2006