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“Claret for boys, port for men, shiraz for heroes”
Penfolds, Chris Ringland Shiraz, classic Hunter Valley and Barossa Shiraz were Australia’s top performing wines at auction in 2009.
Penfolds Grange and rare Penfolds experimental wines continue to dominate the Australian secondary wine market. Although 1951 Penfolds Bin 1 Grange, arguably the most important Australian wine of the 20th Century, fetched $43,701 (#1), it was 1957 Penfolds St Henri, that created the headlines in 2009. At $8,108.65 (#4), it is the highest price ever paid for a bottle of Australian wine on the fine and rare auction market with the exception of Grange. Remarkably, it also out-performed the astonishingly rare 1958 Hill of Grace ($6,325 #5).
The enigmatic Chris Ringland Barossa Shiraz, first “discovered” by the American critic Robert Parker Jr. during the 1990s, was the highest individual ranking performer after Penfolds Grange. Ten vintages fell within the top 50 performing Australian wines at auction and represented half of the top 20 rankings of Australian wine (excluding Penfolds). This stunning result further adds weight to the Chris Ringland Shiraz story; once regarded as a “cult” wine it is increasingly seen worldwide as one of Australia’s greatest reds. Chris Ringland, like Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson, was born in New Zealand. The vines, however, are pre-phylloxera Shiraz of more ancient material!
The rare Australian wine market boomed during 2009 with some wines increasing in value by over 300%. Classic mature vintages of Hunter Valley Shiraz performed exquisitely. 1954 McWilliam’s Mount Pleasant Robert Hermitage (Shiraz), one of Maurice O’Shea’s significant wines achieved $3,174.70 (#13). It was the second highest ranked Australian performer (excluding Penfolds). 1965 Lindemans Bin 3100 Hunter River Hermitage (#18)and sibling 1965 Bin 3110 (#20) also fetched historically high values in 2009. 1986 Brokenwood Graveyard Hunter Valley Shiraz, arguably the finest Australian red wine made in this watershed year, reached $802.70. Andrew Caillard MW, fine wine principal at Langton’s, said “This is a great achievement for it acknowledges and underpins the extraordinary history and potential of Hunter Valley Shiraz.”
19th and 20th Century vintages of Seppelt 100 Year Old Para Liqueur Tawny have enjoyed a renaissance in 2009. This hugely important curio, vintaged by our forefathers and cellared in cask for 100 years before bottling are living fragments of our nation’s heritage. These immensely concentrated fortified wines, now rebadged under the Seppeltsfield label, are unique in the world of Australian wine. The 1878 (#16), made 23 years before “Federation” fetched $1959.60 making it the third highest ranking Australian wine (excluding Penfolds) in 2009.
Andrew Caillard MW comments, “The depletion of pre-1970 Australian wine on the secondary market and ever-increasing interest in Australia’s fine wine heritage has resulted in escalating realisations at auction. This is probably the time to dust off a few old bottles in the cellar and take stock. Although not all old wines achieve high prices, there must be a few great old Australian wine bottles lurking around somewhere.”
France’s exquisite Domaine de la Romanee Conti and Chateau Petrus made up 17 of the top 20 international wines at auction in 2009. These estates have enjoyed a longstanding prominence in the international wine market. Romanee Conti (#1) described by Cyrus Redding in 1833 as among “the first and most delicate red wines in the world” has been among the most coveted of all wines for centuries. 2002 Romanee Conti attained $11,500 in 2009. 1982 Chateau Petrus (#2), one of the most prized vintages of the 20th Century came in as the second highest value international wine at $8,050. 1921 Chateau d’Yquem, 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc and 1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port, all highly valued collectibles/vintages, peppered the rest of the top 20 international placings.
Stewart Langton, managing director of Langton's, said “Australian wine auction market prices were relatively buoyant in 2009. Great and rare vintages performed well above expectations reflecting the incendiary relationship between scarcity and demand.”
Top 20 – Langton’s 2009 Wine Auction Season
Penfolds Wines
Rank - - OAR* - - Year - - Description - - Sale Price
1 - 1 1951 PENFOLDS Bin 1 Grange Hermitage, SA - $43,701.15
2 - 2 1956 PENFOLDS Bin 14 Grange Hermitage, SA - $12,099.15
3 - 3 1953 PENFOLDS Bin 9 Grange Cabernet, SA - $11,638.00
4 - 4 1957 PENFOLDS St. Henri Shiraz, SA - $8,108.65
5 - 6 1958 PENFOLDS Bin 47 Special Dry Red,Barossa - $6,095.00
6 - 7 1955 PENFOLDS St. Henri Shiraz, SA - $5,750.00
7 - 8 1954 PENFOLDS Bin 158 Mataro, Magill - $4,141.15
8 - 9 1962 PENFOLDS Bin 60A Coonawarra Cab/Shiraz - $4,025.00
9 - 10 1955 PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange Shiraz, SA - $3,911.15
10 - 11 1971 PENFOLDS St. Henri Shiraz, SA - $3,796.15
11 - 12 1959 PENFOLDS St. Henri Shiraz, SA - $3,706.45
12 - 14 1959 PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange Shiraz, SA - $2,415.00
13 - 15 1959 PENFOLDS Bin 46 Grange Hermitage,SA - $2,301.15
14 - 17 1959 PENFOLDS Bin 465 Grange Vineyard Magill - $1,840.00
15 - 19 1961 PENFOLDS Bin 58 Cabernet, Block 42 - $1,674.40
16 - 21 1962 PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange Shiraz, SA - $1,381.15
17 - 22 1960 PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange Shiraz, SA - $1,381.15
18 - 24 1960 PENFOLDS Bin 49 Grange Hermitage, SA - $1,380.00
19 - 25 1961 PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange Shiraz, SA - $1,321.35
20 - 27 1963 PENFOLDS Bin 511 Kalimna Cabernet, SA - $1,186.80
*OAR = Overall Australian Wine Ranking
Please Note: Penfolds Grange Collection 1951 to 2002 - $132,251.00
Top 20 – Langton’s 2009 Wine Auction Season
Australian Wines (not including Penfolds)
Rank - - OAR* - - Year - - Description - - Sale Price
1 - 5 1958 HENSCHKE Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden - $6,325.00
2 - 13 1954 MCWILLIAM'S MOUNT PLEASANT Robert Hunter - $3,194.70
3 - 16 1878 SEPPELT Para Liqueur Port, Barossa - $1,959.60
4 - 18 1965 LINDEMANS Bin 3100, Shiraz,Hunter - $1,726.15
5 - 20 1965 LINDEMANS Bin 3110, Shiraz, Hunter - $1,621.50
6 - 23 1996 THREE RIVERS(CHRIS RINGLAND)Shiraz, SA - $1,381.15
7 - 26 1998 CHRIS RINGLAND (THREE RIVERS)Shiraz, SA - $1,265.00
8 - 29 1899 SEPPELT 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny,SA - $1,129.30
9 - 30 1998 CHRIS RINGLAND (THREE RIVERS) Shiraz,SA - $1,035.00
10 - 33 1990 THREE RIVERS (CHRIS RINGLAND) Shiraz, SA - $ 978.65
11 - 35 1999 CHRIS RINGLAND (THREE RIVERS) Shiraz, SA - $ 895.85
12 - 36 2002 CHRIS RINGLAND (THREE RIVERS) Shiraz, SA - $ 879.75
13 - 38 1990 THREE RIVERS (CHRIS RINGLAND) Shiraz, SA - $ 840.65
14 - 39 1901 SEPPELT 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny, SA- $ 823.40
15 - 41 2001 CHRIS RINGLAND (THREE RIVERS) Shiraz, SA - $ 805.00
16 - 42 1986 BROKENWOOD Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz,Hunter- $ 802.70
17 - 44 1897 SEPPELT 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny, SA- $ 779.70
18 - 47 1994 THREE RIVERS (CHRIS RINGLAND) Shiraz, SA - $ 745.20
19 - 48 1992 THREE RIVERS (CHRIS RINGLAND) Shiraz, SA - $ 745.20
20 - 49 1993 THREE RIVERS (CHRIS RINGLAND) Shiraz, SA - $ 741.75
*OAR = Overall Australian Wine Ranking
Top 20 – Langton’s 2009 Wine Auction Season
Imported/International Wine
Rank - - Year - - Description - - Sale Price
1 - 2002 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Romanee-Conti - $ 11,500.00
2 - 1982 CHATEAU PETRUS, cru exceptional, Pomerol - $ 8,050.00
3 - 1985 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, La Tache - $ 6,900.00
4 - 1990 CHATEAU PETRUS, cru exceptional, Pomerol - $ 6,900.00
5 - 1990 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, La Tache - $ 6,325.00
6 - 2000 CHATEAU PETRUS, cru exceptional, Pomerol - $ 5,865.00
7 - 2000 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Le Montrachet - $ 5,635.00
8 - 2001 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Le Montrachet - $ 5,176.15
9 - 1947 CHATEAU PETRUS, cru exceptional, Pomerol - $ 5,175.00
10 - 1947 CHATEAU CHEVAL BLANC, St-Emilion, - $ 5,175.00
11 - 1999 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Le Montrachet - $ 5,060.00
12 - 1921 CHATEAU D'YQUEM, Sauternes - $ 4,716.15
13 - 1990 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Richebourg - $ 4,450.50
14 - 2005 CHATEAU PETRUS, cru exceptional, Pomerol - $ 4,255.00
15 - 2005 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, La Tache - $ 4,089.40
16 - 1978 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, Richebourg - $ 4,054.90
17 - 2006 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, La Tache - $ 3,968.65
18 - 2002 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, La Tache - $ 3,922.65
19 - 1963 QUINTA DO NOVAL Nacional Vintage Port - $ 3,681.15
20 - 1969 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, La Tache - $ 3,565.00
About Penfolds St Henri
Penfolds St Henri is one of Australia’s greatest red wines with a compelling history and heritage. The original Auldana Cellars – neighbouring Magill Estate - was established in 1853 by Patrick Auld (1811-1886) an early South Australian settler who migrated from Scotland in 1842. The now defunct Auldana vineyard (adjacent to Magill Estate) was acquired by Penfolds in 1943. The St Henri label was revived by John Davoren (1915-1991) – a brilliant Penfolds winemaker– in the early 1950s. The revival and development of St Henri – mirrored the story of Grange – except that Davoren deliberately looked at the heritage of Auldana Cellars and his own family winemaking traditions for inspiration. Initially St Henri achieved greater commercial success than Grange. It was a more elegant approachable style whereas the revolutionary Grange was something of a blockbuster with a richness and fullness “that few people cared for”. John Davoren’s work with St Henri is not as well documented as Grange. This is perhaps because the wine was never planned. The first experimental vintage – made from Auldana and Paracombe district fruit - was made in 1953. While the 1957 vintage is officially recognised as the first release, John Davoren was still calling his early vintages “trials” until 1960.
About Chris Ringland Shiraz
Chris Ringland Barossa Shiraz, formally known as Three Rivers Shiraz, came to prominence during the late 1990s after winning unusually high praise from the highly influential American wine critic Robert Parker. This profoundly important Australian Shiraz articulates a deep emotional connection between the winemaker and his vineyard landscape. Technical brilliance, physical resilience and a painterly eye for detail makes this wine a uniquely interesting experience. The fruit is sourced from Chris Ringland's dry-grown vineyard on the edge of the Barossa Valley – but technically in Eden Valley – along Flaxman’s Valley near Randall's Hill. Planted originally in 1910 on shallow skeletal granitic sandy loams over underlying clay moisture holding podzols, Chris Ringland believes his century-old vines yield Shiraz of unique lushness and tremendous concentration. The wines are ‘painstakingly hand-made’ in open fermenters, regularly plunged to extract colour, flavour and tannins. After draining and pressing through a traditional wooden basket press, fermentation is completed in 100% new French oak hogsheads. A period of up to 40 months oak maturation follows to achieve optimum complexity and balance between oak and fruit. The scarcity of production (approximately 1200 bottles per year), consistent peer reviews and worldwide demand have seen an inexorable rise in prominence of Chris Ringland Shiraz on the Australian secondary wine market. Released ex-cellars at a higher price than Penfolds Grange, it’s re-sale performance at auction in 2009 strengthens its position as one of Australia’s most highly collectible wines.
Andrew Caillard MW, Langton's
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