This is a question for those of you with significant experience with wine auctions:
Assume you successfully bid on a mixed lot at auction. The auction lot listing does not disclose any issues at all with condition.
You open the box with the mixed lot, and every bottle has masking tape around the entire top of the capsule, with handwritten notes on the tape.
Photo attached.
What’s your reaction to the condition of the bottle?
Thanks,
Bruce
If the tape can be easily removed and the capsules otherwise appear in good shape, I’m not concerned.
Edited to add: not sure why the auction house didn’t already do that early on.
Hazmat. Send to me for disposal.
I would inspect the bottles further and the capsule, could have been some dope just trying to label the bottles. It is what’s inside that counts
The bottles look fine to me. It’s only the capsules which have the tape on it, and it looks like it was only there to inventory them by the original owner.
As long as the masking tape is not concealing damage, evidence of counterfeiting, a Coravin puncture or some sort of other thing that would cause concern, it’s no big deal.
In other words I don’t think you would have any reason to return the bottles solely because of the masking tape or even to argue that the condition was mischaracterized because the tape was present. It’s only an issue if you find something after you remove the tape.
Not too worried. To be fair, while 20 years ago that would not have been a disclosure, in modern times I would expect some note would be made- especially with something of the caliber of these wines (Guigal LaLas I believe.)
I have appraised a lot of cellars, and I have on several occasions seen cellars where the owner used tape or stickers to the top of capsules for tracing to a manual listing of wines.
As others have suggested, I would just remove the tape and see if anything is amiss. If you like, no harm in calling the auction house and asking about the tape very generally to see what they say. It is a perfectly fair question to ask.
+1
It appears to be the prior owners tracking numbers/system. It’s on a capsule so for me I couldn’t care less. It’ll be gone as soon as you cut the capsule off to drink anyways.
Fully agreed.
In addition, if all innocent, it suggests someone who took their wine storage seriously!
I guess it all comes down to this question:
Are the bottles for display in your collection or are you going to actually drink the wine inside?
It does not appear that the tape can be easily removed, due to its age–it appears that either you’ll damage the capsule and/or leave behind pieces of masking tape.
My main question is why any competent auction house wouldn’t notice there was masking tape on the bottles and disclose that fact. It certainly affects value, and
you can’t see through the tape to see if there’s any damage–e.g., signs of seepage at the top of the bottles or Coravin marks.
Bruce
It would appear the tape predates the invention of the Coravin.
Seepage is a legitimate question as is disclosure.
However at face value they seem to be well stored La-La’s, how much value do you think the tape disclosure would have affected the final hammer price? I have no idea. Bruce, have contacted the auction house yet?
Would you guys say this is the equivalent of a torn label…greater, lesser?
It would affect the value immensely to somebody who doesn’t drink wine, but collects wine as trophies or speculates on the future value.
It wouldn’t affect the value hardly at all, if any, to somebody who drinks wine and doesn’t see it as a display. It’s more of a minor annoyance. As mentioned by several others above, if you’re going to drink it who cares about the capsule being “ruined” since you’re going to tear or cut through it anyway.
If they’re wines at the price points of LaLa’s I think it should have been disclosed.
That would let the market set the appropriate price for the condition.
At this point I’m not sure what you can do, see what the auction house will say. Maybe you don’t want to return them. Perhaps they can give you a credit for shipping next time or something.
Fortunately you’re in a better situation than I was in when I once opened up a shipment box expecting some a California flagship vineyard wine and finding their $8 supermarket fighting varietal ! I did get it fixed, but it was annoying.
Do you drink the bottle or the whine?
Totally agree Bruce. I`m inclined to not consider this auction house to be that competent. Last purchase.
It is not relevant what the buyer plans to do with the bottle. It is in terms of what the buyer may bid for a bottle of X condition. Or what he wants to do from here.
Most auction houses take photos of the exact wines to be offered for the high end stuff. If there are no photos of the exact bottle, it should be unremarkable in terms of irregularities or condition. Those terms are usually spelled out on the auction site. These bottles fail that test. I suspect this is not a high end auction house but that is a guess.
Now what the buyer does from here will depend on the intended use and how much he cares about this. But the auction house should have said something and IMHO failed on their side.
When’s the last time you went to a restaurant and they served you a bottle wrapped at the top with masking tape? I’m guessing the answer to that is: never.
I’ve been buying and drinking wines for decades. In my experience, a bottle wrapped at the top with masking tape wouldn’t be considered a commercially acceptable bottle
for the vast majority of the wine industry.
Are people willing to buy less-than-perfect bottles at auction? Sure, but then they take condition into account when deciding whether to bid and if so, how much to bid. I know lots of people
who would not be willing to serve their friends wines with masking tape on them…
Bruce
What happens if you purchase a bottle of wine and a young child has scribbled all over the front and back label? It does not affect the inherent quality of what’s inside, but it’s certainly would make me question why I was not told that this was the case.
I think that same argument holds here. Yes, perhaps this was used by the original buyer as a way of keeping track of the wines, but what happens if when you remove the tapes the foils are damaged? Would that be acceptable? That is probably why they were left on the bottle by the auction house.
I would go back to them, Bruce, and see what they have to say. Good luck my friend.
Cbeers!
No one goes in my cellar but me (not for lack of permission but for lack of interest). I always open our wines so no one else would likely see the tape but me. If the wines are sound, and the price was right, I wouldn’t give it a second thought.
Now, I might email the auction house and tell them this service was less than expected. Nearly every business wants to hear from their customers about their customer experiences (ebob being one exception). But I doubt it would stop me from using a vendor if my experiences had otherwise been positive.