The Insanity of Purchasing Current Release Wines

In some ways purchasing many brands of current release premium and icon wines is insanity. Yes, some brands are hard to get and those are to be treasured, no argument with buying the likes of Wendouree, Rockford, Noon and many others that are difficult to obtain, but what about the wines with lesser volume restriction?

Having just browsed Langton’s (and other auction sites) recently and seen the prices many wines are selling for one can only wonder about the sensibility of buying and cellaring many of today’s premium wines.

However, having said that, the single biggest advantage of buying wine and storing it yourself is that when the day comes many years down the track that you finally decide to open it, at least you know the wine has been store properly! (Assuming you have good cellaring facilities and the wine isn’t stuffed by TCA.) But is that enough to offset the price advantage that may be available for many buyers at auction?

The following is a list of wines and the pricing comparisons speak for themselves. (The prices used represent the lowest current advertised price I could find for the current releases. The auction price does not include buyers’ commission. However the comparison is still reasonable as if you had purchased the wines years ago the cost of money would also need to be included.)

Current Release 2000 Henschke Mt Edelstone $65

Auction             1996 - $56         1991 - $66

Current Release 1999 Leasingham Classic Clare Shiraz $45

Auction             1997 $27           1996 $35

Current Release 1999 Leasingham Classic Clare Cabernet $45

Auction all vintages $24-27

Current Release Coriole Lloyd Reserve $70

Auction results for various vintages range from $36 to $64

Current Release 2001 d’Arenberg Dead Arm $70

Auction results for various vintages range from $44 to $72

Current Release 2001 Dalwhinnie Shiraz $50

Auction             1990 $50           1995 $44

Current Release 1999 Elderton Command Shiraz $70

Auction             1994 $48           1992 (JWT) $50

Current Release 2000 Eileen Hardy $80

Auction             1991 $50           1994 $60

Current Release 1999 Jim Barry McCrae Wood Shiraz $36

Auction             1996 $18           1994 $23

Current Release 2001 Petaluma Coonawarra $42 (on special)

Auction             1990 $51           1994 $35

Current Release 1999 Rosemount Balmoral $60

Auction             1992 $53           1996 $47

Current Release 1998 Tahbilk 1933 Vines Shiraz $53

Auction             1996 $32           1994 $40

Current Release 1999 Tatachilla Foundation Shiraz $40

Auction             1995 $21           1996 $39           1999 $26

Now if you would have purchased many of these wines years ago on release you will be in front but for many wines that may not be the case in the future. Because the price of many wines have gone up over the last decade, in some cases to stop people profiting by selling new limited releases at auction, the prices for many back vintages are very good value and in a number of cases below the current release price.  As I said at the start, buying hard to get limited wines on release still makes a lot of sense because they are limited by definition many of these should still rise at auction over time. But for many of the easy to get mid range and upper end wines, especially from ordinary vintage, buying those to cellar may not prove to be the best use of wine funds.

If you know what to buy (and didn’t buy the older vintages on release) there are some great bargains to be found at auction. The only major concern is the possibility of buying wine that has been poorly stored. So far, in my experience I have been lucky as I have only had one six pack that had been cooked and Netwine Auctions insisted they be returned for a full refund as the providence had been queried prior to the auction. In reality most people who collect wine and cellar it in sufficient quantities to have a need to auction it have reasonable storage so the risk of getting cooked wine is not very great.

There are a number of reputable Internet wine auction sites so bidding from home is easy. The biggest and best known is Langtons. Recently they have had a huge increase in the number of auctions and the quantity of wine listed for sale. Most of their auctions stocks are located either in Sydney or Melbourne. In many cases when the initial bid price seems very low there are reserves set, so if you bid low you may be bidding against the reserve. This company has a first class reputation but I have had a number of minor but aggravating problems using them lately but to Langtons credit, at least they were all finally sorted out.

Sterling Auctions are located in Perth and also run regular internet wine auctions. They have some real bargains from time to time and reserves often are lower than Langtons. However the wine will need to be freighted from Perth if you live on the “right” side of the island.

Wickman's Fine Wine Auctions is a small Adelaide based internet wine auction house. Commissions are lower than most and personalised service is assured. There are a fairly limited number of auctions each year but many of the wines auctioned are in the hard to get category. Some of the reserves can be a bit high but that is a factor in many wine auctions. The highlight of the Wickman calendar is the annual charity auction where everything is donated and the money proceeds go to the MS Foundation.  

Netwine Auctions runs smaller auctions on an irregular basis but generally speaking Brett knows where the wine is coming from, how well it’s been stored and is happy to provide as much information as he can to the purchaser. If providence of the wine is critical to the purchaser, this is one place that is worth considering.

Wine-ark has an interesting site with a few good deals listed. They are not a traditional auction site per say because the reserve is stated and if you decide to bid it’s the reserve or nothing. The site also provides the date it went into their professional storage.

Many of the smaller operations like Vines and Sold.com have fallen by the wayside over the last twelve months but new players seem to be popping up all the time. Some of the starting prices or reserves on a number of the wines from these vendors must mean they are waiting for that sucker who was born yesterday and no doubt many of these will eventually drop by the wayside too.

Winestate magazine has an auction segment each edition. There are normally some adverts there for wine auction houses, (the new ones tend to be advertised there first) which the brave can check out.  Whilst many of their prices are accurate where they get some of their “what its worth” numbers beats me! For example they have the Cullen Cab Merlot vintages 1992-1998 listed as worth between $56 and $65. I would love to know where to buy them at that price!

Buying from auction can also be fun; it’s a great feeling to know that you got a real deal. It’s also a great way to fill some gaps in the cellar. The trick is to know the values of the wines you are bidding on. Happy buying!