The James Halliday Collection Auction Results
The James Halliday Collection Auction Results
BODYBringing the The James Halliday Collection to auction was a privilege and pleasure for the team.
Interest in the auction was high and hammer time didn’t disappoint with lots of bidders, winners and wines sold.
For all of our current live auctions,
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What was the most expensive wine?
As ever, the big question about the auction has been, what was the most expensive wine? Unsurprisingly, it was the Domaine Armand Rousseau Grand Cru Chambertin 2005 at $4500 (ex BP). 2005 was a very good vintage in Burgundy and Clive Coates MW, writer for Decanter, gave this a perfect 100 point score simply calling it ‘A great wine.’
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More auction highlights
Looking at more auction highlights (without merely sorting by highest price), a few results piqued our interest.
Sticking with pinot noir but something a little closer to home, one keen collector secured a Bass Phillip Crown Prince Pinot Noir South Gippsland 2007. We presented this very strong vintage with a reserve of $40 and the hammer price ended up at $221.
A bottle of 1997 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir Macedon Ranges. Another great vintage (there’s a theme here) with the reserve of $55 being well and truly eclipsed by $222. It must be said that while Bindi has been no secret for a long time the demand keeps going from strength to strength.
Australia’s ‘it wine’ is undoubtedly Giaconda Chardonnay. In a tough vintage for Beechworth, only hit the best managed vineyard product well though, to be fair, luck played its part, too. Giaconda was both lucky and good and produced a very fine wine. Two bottles of Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, Beechworth 2011 were presented and the more pristine of the pair beat its reserve of $250 with a hammer price of $471. A very strong result there.
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Something of an unusual callout here is the 1989 Seppelt Burgundy Shiraz Sparkling Red, South Australia Victoria. Bidders blew by the reserve of $50 with the eventual winner landing this piece of history for $102. The Burgundy on the label harks back to a more romantic age (or is that larrikin age) of Australian wine prior to 1992 where a trade deal with the European Union required Australian producers to respect French appellation laws. Gone are the days of Chablis made from semillon and Hunter River Burgundy made from shiraz. This looking glass to the past will either be a museum piece or a nostalgia soused celebration when opened.
One of the joys of auction is seeing these treasures pass carefully through our hands while we wonder about the next chapters in their stories. Handling the James Halliday Collection has clearly made us all the more nostalgic.
Rounding out the numbers, the James Halliday Collection auction saw a high clearance rate of 87% thanks to 787 bidders with 401 distinct winning bidders and a total number of bids north of 8,000!
Congratulations to all of the winners.
To see all the auction results click here and search for ‘25 SUN: James Halliday's Private Cellar.’