Auction Finds

Could not find a topic(if there is one please let me know), for postings of auction finds that we are interested in.

Will start with a few I have added to my tracker this week.

1975 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon, $115

1978 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars SLV Lot 2 Cabernet Sauvignon, $230

1957 Château Lynch-Bages, $240

I think you will find there are few people interested in doing this, as it just highlights lots they may be interested in, potentially increasing competition. Most rational actors want their watched lots to slip under the radar.

Sincere question: what is the benefit of advertising stuff we might or might not be bidding on?

Maybe he’s the seller …

15 auctions a week! That’s a crazy number and I can’t believe there are even that many. Can you name them?

he probably means wine lots and all from winebid

I stopped buying from winebid about a year ago, I have had sooo many bad bottles from that site. I know it happens with auction but winebid specifically became too much after a couple bad cases.

I used to think N Rhones were so hot, but only 1 person is bidding on the Juge at KL. Must be the summer…cest la vie.

Why is a bottle of Lynch from the mediocre 1957 vintage at $240 of interest? The Phelps is risky, the 1975 Eisele is justly famous, not sure how this will be. The Stag’s Leap is at market. All at Winebid; would need photographsat minimum, as I am not sure I trust them.

lots of wine at auction selling at low prices

I’ve bought quite a bit from Winebid and have had good results. Very few bad bottles. However, I’m pretty careful - don’t bid on anything too iffy in terms of condition.

I have noticed that there are some categories that have really increased in price the last few years. There are still deals on Winebid, but they are rarer and more obscure.

You can get 82 or 89 for a few bucks more, 2000 for less. Why would anyone buy an old tired bottle of wine when wine from same Chateau in great current drinking window is available ?

Nick,

Thank you for posting. For many, I suppose it is like being asked “Where is your favorite fishing hole and what have you been catching lately?”

I still regularly browse multiple auctions, but my purchases have dropped dramatically for a variety of reasons (funds, maxed out storage, etc). That said, I can’t pass up the occasional bargain and love the hunt!

Cheers!

Steve

History, man, history.

And perhaps it’s a birthyear??

Yes, very likely birthyear. I have a friend born in 57 and there’s not much available. We had a really good Madeira, though.

Hi Degarmo.J, I’m new here as the new CEO of WineBid. I’m sorry if you had a bad experience with us in the past and would like to look into it. Please PM me directly. We do our utmost to review quality, provenance, storage, and to provide a great bidder/buyer experience. We care a lot about the Wine Berserker community and the collector community at large. Happy tasting and sharing, everyone.

Or, perhaps the ‘57 Lynch Bages just happened to be the first bottle of old Bordeaux you had the privilege of trying 20 years ago…after you randomly stumbled across it at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. Maybe it was the bottle that planted the seed of a future obsession This might make you less sensitive to the fact that it is likely over the hill (though is was still pretty good 20 years ago) and/or may not have been stored perfectly because you intend to keep it unopened as a memento.

Time for a road trip to this John’s Grocery
in Iowa City you mention!

To this day I have no idea how “Dirty John’s” scored a case of ‘57 Lynch Bages back in about 2000. They had a great beer selection and sold tons of kegs of Old Style Light, but it must have been some random late release. I think I paid $140, which was a fortune for me back then and probably way more than it was worth at the time.

Of all my consumed bottles, auction buying has yielded a 2.26% flawed bottle rate compared to 1.75% bottles flawed from those purchased at retail. While true, some of those bottles probably shouldn’t have been put up for bid, I also shouldn’t have bid on some of them, looking back. A handful, I may not have prepared properly prior to opening. But, it’s a learning experience, and 90% of those flawed auction bottles were purchased and consumed 7+ years ago. Since then, it’s been very good drinking at a nice discount compared to retail, and it’s helped me to learn a lot about wine, since I have to do my homework even more.

Back to the OP, I’ve though about posting a thread like this multiple times but haven’t been able to bring myself to do it. You are a better man than me.