Gil Lempert-Schwarz and Dragon 8 Wine Auctions (MERGED)

WINE TALK
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“we are allowing you to sell these paintings, but don’t you dare disseminate any information about them to the public.”



“Obviously the pieces wouldn’t be sold if they didn’t exist,” Lempert-Schwarz said.



Lempert-Schwarz said: . . . "Nobody would buy this if it was at a private sale.”

I can only reiterate for emphasis, [popcorn.gif] [popcorn.gif] [popcorn.gif] [popcorn.gif]

1 Like
42

website is just a logo now.

43

Are these bottles from the same producer? I just grabbed them from two sites out there in the wild web.

Best,

Kenney

44

Strange. Wasn’t showing up on my phone, but shows up on my laptop.

45

I think it’s disgusting that these wines are on the open market, with such shady provenance, minimal transparency, and apparently equally minimal scrutiny. Even though I don’t dip my toe into this end of the market, huge thanks to Don for his continued efforts to bring visibility to this crap.

46

Facebook page alive and well on my Facebook feed.

47

I read a book about identifying scam companies recently (written by Manuel Asensio) and one of the recurring themes is that “Leopards don’t change their spots”. Basically guys/firms involved in shady stuff are just hardwired to operate that way.

So crooked auditors, law firms, underwriters, and “wine authentication experts who previously wrote an exclusive (non syndicated) column for the Henderson Nevada newspaper” are going to keep on doing the only thing they know how to do.

Just the fact GLS is involved in anything should be cue enough to bidders as to what the sellers are like. Quality sellers don’t need to engage bottom feeding brokers, and that’s true of just about anything, not just fine wine and art.

48

The second part of Don Scott’s collection is going to be sold at Sotheby’s. The first part went through the roof because of the provenance. The gap between proven provenance and everything else seems to be about 2 to 1.

49

I’m surprised it’s not higher than 2:1.

50

After some much needed sleep, I am at last back.

I received an email from Gil Lempert-Schwarz, telling me that he withdrew both Lots 180 and 220 from the sale. Gil also offered to bring them to LA so that I could physically inspect the bottles. For that I must give him some credit, as that never happened with Acker-Merrall.

However, his email did not address the question of the existence of the “Swedish Nobleman’s Cellar” or explain why bottles from Kristoffer Meier-Axel (Weinart) were being sold as bottles from the “Swedish Nobleman’s Cellar.”

My Swedish and Danish colleagues are continuing to look at some of the bottles offered in the auction that I haven’t mentioned yet. It appears that at least some of the bottles in the “Swedish Nobleman’s Cellar” were purchased at auction in Denmark from Bruun Rasmussen in the past year. For example, Lot 220, the 1949 Vogue Musigny (now withdrawn), was sold at the Bruun Rasmussen auction held on December 7, 2014. We know it is the very same bottle because it has the same bottle number 020071 and a couple of the the same small marks on the label. (However, a couple of other small marks that were on the label were apparently removed from the photograph in producing the Dragon 8 catalog.) You will find the evidence here. SOLD. 1 bt. Musigny Grand Cru "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes", Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé 1949 B (ts/us). – Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers You will find a full sized photo of the 49 Vogue here: SOLD. 1 bt. Musigny Grand Cru "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes", Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé 1949 B (ts/us). – Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers

The discovery that Lot 220 was sold at auction last December in Copenhagen is totally inconsistent with the following statements in the auction catalog:

  • "The family buys and drinks wine all the time, so the cellar has become a fabulous repository. All the wines they buy are bought from reputable wine merchants in Denmark and Sweden, who themselves buy directly from European producers, so the condition and provenance is immaculate (with only one stop-over owner prior to ending up in the family cellars). The family keeps incredible logbooks of all purchases and everything is documented, so it was easy to research the provenance of the bottles. It became apparent that the last generation of the family enjoyed going to London wine auctions in the 1970’s and 80’s and while much of that lot has already been consumed, there are some terrific gems left, which we will present today. The present generation might have even gotten a little ahead of themselves and bought really well in the past decade, so there’s room to thin out some of these younger wines as well. Again, those wines are presented here today. * * * * the bottles have never moved from their dark resting places,which are fairly constant at 12-13 degrees Celsius and 70+% humidity. In other words, they are ideal conditions for long term storage."
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Can you ask him to bring the 1931 Novals with him to Cali as well.

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Andy

I can certainly ask, but I suspect that he sold them in the auction.

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Maureen made a post on their FB page addressing the issues with bottles directly and the posting was deleted shortly thereafter…

54

That fairy-tale story about Swedish royalty doesn’t even pass the laugh test. It’s like he’s raising a deliberate middle finger to everyone in the wine world who’s read any description of Rudy’s infamous auctions. I wonder if he’ll be raising that finger quite so high if he ever runs afoul of the Chinese justice system… or maybe he still thinks Hong Kong is part of the UK?

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I sincerely hope this is an oversight on Gil’s part, and not a concerted effort to bilk people.

I get the leopards and spots, but the fact that someone would openly risk jail/prosecution after having ties to a previous fraudulent wine scheme is beyond me.

Where there is smoke…

Forgot to say thanks Don for your background work and knowledge on this subject.

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FIFY

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Once again, Don brings not only light but also tremendous detail to the questionable dealings in the world of wine.

The fact that operators like those mentioned above can continue to peddle these wines and fanciful stories is a testament to the gullibility of those who have more cash than sense. As the old saying goes: “if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge for sale.”

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I agree. Maybe it is time for Don to look into Premier Cru. Just because there may not be any fake bottles to be exposed does not mean that there are not some impressive “questionable dealings in the world of wine” to be looked into… :slight_smile:

But seriously…

This thought in no way absolves Lempert-Schwarz, Kapon or anyone else in the auction business, but there is the long-standing auction-house tradition of offering “wines from the cellar of a British nobleman”, “from the collection of an Indiana gentleman” and similar genteel foolishness with no further proof of provenance. (Even Benchmark, which does not play that game, offers “Private Cellar Collections”, perhaps implying a single cellar, but actually being what Benchmark has purchased from many different private cellars.) Given the tradition of a little harmless window-dressing or puffery, as well as the fact that it is impossible to guarantee the quality of any bottle of wine, regardless of provenance, there is clearly a “no-harm, no-foul” zone in wine advertising that we have been comfortable with prior to the age of Hardy and Rudy. What Don has pointed out on a number of occasions, including the most recent one in evidence here, is those who are crafting and promulgating tales that the perpetrators know (or should know) contain demonstrably false statements. It seems to me that where the auction-house practice needs to go is factually accurate statements of provenance when the provenance is known, including the consignor’s name when the consignor permits it, or with the auction house stating in writing that it has done its due diligence and stands behind the provenance when the consignor remains anonymous. When the provenance is unknown and unknowable beyond the immediate consignor, then wines should be offered on a strict “caveat emptor” basis with no representations or warranties, and no puffery about gentlemen and their cellars. Yes, it kills a little of the romance, but it is just that romance, along with the power of suggestion, that allowed Rodenstock and Rudy to get as far as they did…

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He appears to be auctioning a lot more than wine…some pretty fancy jewelry and art. Is there suspicion there may be issues with any of those items? If those items are legit, it seems foolish to take a chance with counterfeit wine and jeopardize the rest of the business.

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Actually in the light of Rudy & his consignor Castanos, maybe it is not so fanciful that the consignor must be named. Indeed I reckon the tax authorities / anti-money laundering authorities would be very much in support of this.

Add in an enforced check that the name matches the bank account used to receive the proceeds, then there will be much greater (and needed) transparency.

Dragon 8’s assertion of shy consignors does beg the question of why.

regards
Ian