What was your proudest wine auction triumph, either for rarity or kick-ass price?
Mine was from Wine Bid a few years ago. It was a Valdespino Signature Series III Oloroso NV, bottled in the early 1980s. On zoom, I could read a story attached to it. It came from some casks of Valdespino’s ‘finest’ oloroso forgotten to be shipped to Liverpool in 1893. My bottle came from one of those casks. (No, it had NEVER been a solera.) So, basically, a pure, ‘finest’ 120 year-old (in cask for 90 years) Valdespino oloroso…for $40.
Fifteen years ago, at a large live auction, I was bidding on a 1965 d’Yquem (Birth year). It was +$300, and one bidder against Me. Fast bids - I got it ! -He points at Me with the hammer, and ‘Sold !’ Finally a birth-year wine in the collection.
-When paying the lady, the price seemed too low? Winning 4 bottles total ? -‘No, You bought three’ She said…
No d’Yquem ! The guy bidding against Me, sat right behind Me, and He had the high bid, and was pointed at by the hammer ! I was not happy at all, -but I got another one, same auction-house, about a year later. (And still My only 1965’er.)
Not the rarest bottle, but quite difficult to find.
About same time, same auction house again, I won a lot of 2 half-bottles of 1937 Ch. Latour, high fills, sound looking. $110 all incl. Only one bid, Mine ! My friends there, were astonished, and Me too. I had a limit of three times more. ‘A ghost just walked by’ -is the saying, when this happens at auctions I was told.
I haven’t tried them yet, but they are still clear red, when flashlighted.
Hmm. In the good ol’ days - i.e., before anyone could just go online and read burghound or tanzer and find a high score but you actually had to spend years reading, tasting, and talking burg before you knew much - when burg bargains abounded if you weren’t bidding on drc, rousseau, or leroy - i scored a case of 1990 truchot clos sorbes for $220 + premium (about 10% then) and a lot that was six bottles 1988 chezeaux griottes and two 1988 chezeaux chambertin for $50/per plus vig.
Oh and in my quest to buy a 1951 for a friend’s 50th i bought a lot for about $300 in order to get the 1951 barolet chambolle. The “bonus” bottles in the lot? Two bottles 1971 Latour RSV Les Quatre Journaux, one 1959 Gaunoux les grand epenots, and a mag of 1966 Faiveley Clos des Beze. The last one = one of the most delicious wines i have ever drunk.
During Zachys first Internet auction, I was in Iceland, getting yelled at because I couldn’t tear myself away from the computer. Two bottles of Noval 1931 for $1000 each, a fraction for what they should have gone for.
And several bottles of La Mission 1929 from the Doris Duke collection. Reconsigned and picked up for half of what they cost originally.
Back in 2010(ish) I bought a bottle of fino Sherry for $7 on winebid. A 1925 Solera with 6cm ullage, leaking, etc. I stood it up at 45 degrees for 6+ months then opened it at a party…it was the show-stealer. Among the other great bottles that night that it bested…
'94 port
'76 JJ Prum WS GKA
'05 Dagueneau Pur Sang
Just a slew of great wines…and it took them all for only $7.
About 6 or 7 years ago I bought some magnums of 1999 Vogue Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru for a very reasonable price - even more reasonable when 1 magnum turned out to be Musigny…
The auction house I bought them from told me that the lot was correct…
In 1994, if I recall, I was at a Butterfield’s auction, and noticed that nobody was budding up the 1978 Guigal La Landonne, so I purchased it for $225 (plus ten percent, I think). One of these days in the next year or two, I’ll open it.
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