Sterling Wine Auction Report
August September 2010
The wine auction wagon still rolls round bringing
pleasure and mirth to a every growing band of followers.
Let's look at what's hot on the Auction scene and the troubles we have brought
upon ourselves by
being a bit too clever and learning the wine science and losing the wine art.
Sterling Wine Auction Highlights
Hottest property and still growing in appeal is the ascendant Penfolds Bin 707.
We have big hitting punters and trade types sniffing around looking to pay
serious money for the strong back vintages. The way we are going, it won't be
long before the sassy 707 1998 is pushing through the $250 a bottle mark.
Currently sitting pretty at around $200 a bottle this modern icon is capable of
nudging $300 over the next few years.
Penfolds Grange, as always, is an elusive beauty that defies prediction or
market forces. Right Now: buy 2001 Penfolds Grange between a hammerfall of
$250-300, good wine (with strong points) that seems to be under the radar.
It seems that the heat is out of the Grange market, with many Auction prices
generally down. Maybe the unwilling market is choking on the unpopular 2005
current release. This regal lady will ramp again as the appetite for, the yet to
be released, "super Grange" 2006 should well push any softness out of the
market.
French tastes are being catered to like never before. Serious quantities of
seriously elevated Frenchies are coming to the secondary market.
Sterling catalogues are being graced by the "immortals" like 1982 Lafite
1982 Pichon Comptesse and 1986 Mouton Rothschild. The September Auction features
the perfect wine investment / parachute. A perfect unopened case of
Chateau Lafite 1996, which sports perfect 100 points and super portability!
My budget and tastes target French populars like Cru Boiugious Bordeaux from
1989 and 1995. Try Chateauneuf from 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 or 2007. Between
$50-100 a bottle these wines are real crowd pleasers. The GSM formula that backs
up so many Oz fruit bombs came from the southern Rhone where the Home of the new
Popes (chateauneuf d pape) perfected this devine blend for the princes of Rome.
A few good value "investment" suggestions.
Penfolds Bin 389, 1998 has to be the best value investment around for so many
reasons. Buy a supply now whilst supplies are still strong.
A little obscure but Huge value, is from the wonder world of John Glaetzer; look
in the Auction catalogues for Johns Blend. This gem made for years out the back
at Wolf Blass as part of a gentlemen's agreement. The Chief winemaker for Wolf
Blass, a Mr John Glaetzer, made Johns Blend for his mates on the understanding
it would not be promoted and didn't cause any fuss. Sadly, as with so many
gentlemen's agreements, this one ran out when Gentlemen were replaced by
corporate Captains with a penchant for meddling. Johns Blend Great Value?
Absolutely. Potential for future returns? Concentrate on investment in pleasure.
If you make a dollar on the way, enjoy the bonus.
Being too clever and learning wine science at the expense of losing wine
art
The age of wine knowledge has sharpened up buyers and given the rank and file
killer palettes. Rhone styles, micro brett and classic white burgundy characters
are picked up, almost "over the horizon," by folks that were once happy to
ignore the difference between a VB served draught or from a tin can.
Knowledge is always a good thing but the loss of innocence always comes at a
price.
Only recently, a retiring veteran of the Burgundy wine elite, (Loius Jadot chief
winemaker) used his swan song to damn the new French rush to super clean
"sterile" wines that have hunted down and "eliminated" all traces of funky weird
characters.
Wineries that 'clean up' their wines are removing the life from them, according
to Louis Jadot's head winemaker in the September issue of Decanter.
The latest edition of the
magazine includes an interview with Jacques Lardiere, a member of the
company's team for forty years.
He told Decanter, 'I'm not after technical perfection. I don't have much time
for the Australian approach, where the ideal wine is the most neutral.'
'It's easy to clean up a wine, but by removing faults, unless they're truly
detrimental, you also remove its life.'
'I refuse to go along with it,' he adds.
The veteran winemaker is set to retire at the end of 2012, and will be replaced
by Frederic Barnier of Chateau de Chassagne-Montrachet.
This esteemed gent, who said: "wineries that clean up their wines are removing
the life from them" is singing a song that I like a lot.
The same glorious veteran sprayed the Oz industry saying "I don't have much time
for the Australian approach, where the ideal wine is the most neutral"
How many Brett-a-phobics do you know?
Brettanomyces is a naturally occurring yeast that, left uncontrolled, can ruin
wine and leave a "Band-Aid smell" and a funny tinny palate.
In managed quantities Brett is, in my opinion, a character building wine
component. Sadly the wine world has declared War on Brett! Seen as a scourge to
be found and exterminated. This Show system to industry driven "obsession" has
turned many regular punters into Brett-hounds, sniffing out and condemning any
wine with the faintest tell-tale traces.
A bit like the Spanish inquisition, a "bretti wine" wine is condemned without
trial, without any concern for its merits. One small fault and?. the death
sentence; Cruel execution!
The list goes on.
Let's look at white wine with colour.
Colour that is, beyond the very palest straw.
We need to temper blind fear and prejudice with some experience.
When white wine oxidises it goes brown and smells like vinegar. This oxidisation
can be caused by a faulted cork seal letting in air (in most cases accompanied
by displacement or loss of wine volume)
Or by so called random oxidisation where the closure is still good and the wine
has "gone off" anyway. Wine chemistry is way too complicated for the likes of
me. It seems all the fiddling with quality Chardonnays involves air exposure
that can lead to a "latent" delayed reaction.
Brown in white wine is bad, yes in all cases, (excluding desert wines) Brown is
cactus!
Each year Sterling Auction catalogues handle thousands of bottles of proud
middle aged whites and that experience has proven to be very useful.
Here are a few "rules" we have refined over the years.
Play the game you can afford
It?s not just about money. It can be hard and disappointing work sifting through
old and rare whites.
Like any high risk game the rewards tend to be spectacular.
Some of the best wines of my life have been turned up amoungst the duds.
Don't buy whites older than three years off current vintage if you don't want
surprises.
(Let look at some of my "forever" white memories from the last 3 years)
1978 Petaluma Chardonnay made from Cowra fruit. Looked tired and was low level.
Amazing wine that was fresh and crisp, lasted in the bottle for over three days!
1984 Lakes Folly Chardonnay Looked bright but had been in a "deceased estate
cellar" with lots of tatty, poorly stored wines. A revelation! How could a 25
year old Hunter white be so fresh and vibrant? It had zing and elegance that
could have come from a venerable top white burgundy
1981 Grand Cru Chablis (can't remember domaine) From a Tassie Cellar it was
leaky but looked ok. Maybe my best ever chard. Ethereal acid backbone with clean
fresh complex fruit not the slightest hint of being cooked or faded.
1982 Xanadu Semillon This MR underling was an afterthought on a night that was
to showcase serious Cabernets. Almost prefect, harmony and balance with serious
weight.
1976 Haut Brion Blanc. OK this is so rare and expensive it should be truly
devine. A Graves sem sauv from Bordeaux, this sister to the famed first growth
Chateau Haut Brion was over 30 years old when we had her. OK the 2009 vintage is
clocking in at $1,200 a bottle, the 2007 has 96-100 Parker points, the 1995 is
considered too young/ at its best in 2025; but if you can afford it; Do it! This
is a dry table wine not a sauterne. This is what Parker said about the 1985!
This has been a head turner since it was made. The 1985 is unbelievably rich,
with a velvety, fat consistency oozing with herb, melon, and fig-like fruit.
This voluptuously textured wine exhibits great length, richness, and character.
It never closed up after bottling and remains an exceptionally full-bodied,
intensely concentrated, yet well-delineated white Graves. If you have the income
of a rock superstar, this would be worth having to fete the turn of the century.
Anticipated maturity: Now-2020. Last tasted, 1/97 Copyright © 2001-2010 -
eRobertParker, LLC All rights reserved
1982 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay. Not my story. A bunch of hard headed, well
healed Doctors did a Leeuwin Chard vertical that's was close to complete 1982 to
2004. The best wines were the oldies. The 1987 is a renowned crowd pleaser. The
1982 stole the show!
Don't make assumptions; Take risks
Sure low levels and brown tints are the kiss of death. Old age and a few leaks?
Plenty of 1980's Chards and Sems and virtually all Rieslings with some leakage
maintain a bright clear colour. Give them a go.
Expect disappointment without explanation. Experience highs that are barely
legal.
Example: 1987 Moss Wood chard / two bottles from the same cellar looking
identical. One was heavenly. The second was presented to an august gathering
heavily promoted as a life changing experience.
Yes it was life changing, for me. I learned that James Halliday had it right. No
great wines just great bottles. The second was flat and very ordinary!
Same story with the 1984 Lakes Folly. First bottle at home in trackies with
baked beans was a revelation.(noted above) Second with a fan-fare was a total
flop (should have learned my lesson).
Lesson: Like racing horses, falling in love and going to the opera, wine can be
an inspirational elevating joy.
It can also be a huge disappointment. If you want guarantees, drink current
vintage $10-20 commercial wines.
If disappointed, they can always be taken back to retail for cheery replacement.
These wines will NEVER take you to high unforgettable places.
Corks beaten by the screw cap?
This is a simple story. Cork is better, screw caps are way, way way, more
reliable.
Stelvin screw caps had their first unsuccessful Australian wine run in the late
1970's and were dropped in the early 1980's.
When Sterling catalogues 1980's whites with stelvins the prices go nuts. $50-80
for an old bottle of average Riesling. Not any old bottle, a perfectly sealed
bottle completely proofed from oxidation.
Doing the comparison test with cork is near impossible.
Over decades Tyrrell's under Murray and them Bruce tested cork against screw
caps. Always the same result. Best wines from corks. The failure rate of up to
90% is just too high a price to tolerate.
Check the White Jargon: Bright / developed / dark
/ doubtful
As pointed out above, looking at and assessing old white wines isn't enough to
get it right.
Taste and smell are the only meaningful tests. Let?s look at some of the
terms used in describing whites.
"Bright" is the default condition. Nice and clear with no obvious colour
detected through the olive green glass. Enter the wisdom of Solomon! This is all
guesswork tempered by experience.
Some chards were not heavily filtered, fined or clarified and they tend to age
with a cloudy character.
"Developed" this is the tough one, most old white wine does move to a deeper
richer colour with age. Yellow and green hues are Ok. Shades of Brown are bad.
Again this is judgement through green glass.
"Dark" Your guessed it. We are seeing tints that are moving into brown scale.
If it is VERY brown, Sterling adds the definitive term DOUBTFUL. We often
catalogue rare old historical wines for their collectable value. If you see the
words ?dark and doubtful? buy for display or education with a high expectation
of disappointment.
Wisdom of Solomon; Grading collectable wines.
How do your decide between declaring a bottle level to be ?into the neck? or
?very high shoulder?? Even tougher; No notes or declaring "into the neck"
Capsule damage, label presentation, cellar damage V virginal bottles, fresh from
an unopened case. The cosmetic stuff is pretty easy to get right. Or should that
be: Get right = no fuss from picky buyers.
Levels, (as declared in wine auction catalogue descriptions) on the other hand,
stir up a troubled sea of tension and resentment.
Cork, despite all its failings, is a wonderful natural closure that breaths and
adds value to the wine.
Cork is a spongy porous material, l that over a period as shot as five years,
(depending on quality) starts to absorb wine. After 20 years it is very unusual
for a wine bottle level to be the same as when it left the winery. We are now
seeing well cellared 1990 Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace showing
ullage.
It is natural for the level of a 20-25 year old bottle to be in the transition
between neck and shoulder. It is certainly very rare to see a 30-40 year old
bottle that doesn't has a level in the wide part of the shoulder below the neck.
The value of the notes is straight forward. Ullage or leakage / displacement in
a 10 year old bottle is bad. A strong sign of a low grade cork or a heat
episode.
Any wine, regardless of age, that has a significant airspace inside the bottle
is quite likely to be compromised. Sadly the reaction between wine and air
creates Vinegar which is one of the most tell tale of signature smells.
The paradox here is that all grades, by definition have parameters.
Yes; I personally make the level call on a super valuable bottle of Petrus or
1950's Grange.
The difference between "No notes" and "Very high shoulder" can be just 5mm of
fill (often a lot less). There is no value in debating the fact that those
5mm can cost the vendor $1,000 in depreciation. This is what market forces
dictate.
Your perfect bottle of 1982 Petrus, perfectly cellared, might have quietly moved
from no notes to "very high shoulder" in the last few years.
Not your fault; but sadly this natural change in grades could cost you, in this
extreme case $2-4,000 a bottle!
One of the good reasons why wine investment is not for everyone. By comparison;
Gold doesn?t tarnish!
What about bottle shapes? How would Solomon, in all his wisdom, grade a
bottle of flat shouldered 1961 Penfolds Grange compared to the stretched neck of
an old Chateau Haut Brion? (Haut Brion bottles are half Burgundy and half
Bordeaux with VERY slopy shoulders and an elongated neck)
These are extremes. Literally every wine bottle is a different shape with
different volumetrics. The recent trend is towards tall narrow gutted claret
bottles the same height as old Riesling standards.
And then there is Mr O'Callahan offering. The last handful of Rockford Basket
Press vintages have come to market in a stylish custom signature Rockford glass
bottle with square shoulders the envy of any life saver!
Get the point? Exactly the same quantity of wine loss / absorption will
look totally different, and be graded differently in different shaped 750ml
bottles. I have just handled several 1950?s Penfolds bottles, there is appox 2mm
between no notes and Very high shoulder.
A Sterling client bend towards serious collecting and investment wants a wine
level certification arrangement that can be standardised. His experience
with diamond grading and the GIA indexed standards led to this GOOD idea.
Sadly I can't see a solution.
Problems? Many different bottle shapes. Evaporation / leakage / absorption
etc causes levels change over time. What was the original fill? What is the
standard fill variation from bottle to bottle? It is, after all, impossible to
do exactly 750.00000ml.
I can't tell you what Solomon would have done but measuring the exact volume in
each bottle would be the best solution. If you had the equipment and technique,
you could then provide a date stamped certification and photo image.
If Sterling perfects this technology, do we then apply a permanent sticker
identifying the match between the bottle, the description and the record
date? Would this permanent adhesive / laser etched record add or remove value?
How many buyers and sellers would be happier with this arrangement?
Let?s look to the Opera for an answer. We are often tempted to study the sur-titles
and try to follow the foreign singing in English.
Is it possible to focus on checking the English translation and get lost in the
mystery and splendour of what is a delicious emotional, sensual experience?
In my experience NO. Love the aria for its sublime musicality, not to understand
the words.
It is not possible or reasonable to definitely grade wine bottle levels. Using
more steps and a compendium of descriptors is also counterproductive. Grades
are a guide and should be considered as coming with built in variation.
Cork taint and bottle variation
Many Sterling clients go to extremes to document and communicate wine
experiences.
The background must be revealed and understood. The art of wine making is not a
precise science. Nor, in my opinion should it be.
Bottle variation is a natural occurrence. We all know the terror of cork
taint can literally decimate your precious case (death to one in ten, as the
Roman centurion would demand of a disgraced legion)
We all must understand that cork taint does not discriminate. Low and noble
birth can be equally affected. I have seen badly cork tainted bottles of
Penfolds Grange.
This story goes beyond cork taint. Picture a world famous winemaker sitting in
front of a world famous wine commentator. The wine maker opens checks and
discards two or four bottles before he finds an agreeable example to pour as a
taste for the commentator.
Wine variation, cork taint, through to inexplicable bottle / batch differences
is a fact of life that has nothing to do with storage conditions or some
catastrophic failure of the system.
We are living is a strange wine world where many wine producers don?t want to
take responsible for the quality and reliability of their back vintages
(sometimes even current vintages)
Bottom line: Badly faulted wines are quite rare.
Wines exhibiting some "individual bottle character" or variation are quite
common and in my opinion, highly desirable.
Let?s look again at the wise words of Jacques Lardiere.
'It's easy to clean up a wine, but by removing faults, unless they're truly
detrimental, you also remove its life
Variation is the fruit of life, without lows there can be no highs
Lets hope and pray that own wine journeys are filled with extraordinary highs
and a few necessary lows
Sterling Wine Auctions & Exchange conduct monthly auctions. For dates and
details go to www.sterlingwine.com.au
