HDH’s Burgundy auction today

[CFu]

@scott c

@Jonathan Grunzweig

None of my bids hit but I priced cautiously, relatively speaking. One thing that jumped out to me is that René Engel wines seem to have taken another significant step up in price. Not a lot of discrimination by vintage or cru. I can’t imagine the Chinese are chasing these, and also wonder how many of those bottles get opened at this point?

Jonathan

Yes, this. I tried to win some freaking VILLAGE Engel and it ended up going for hundreds per bottle.

You ain’t missing out

[Larry_Link]

I sold 27 lots thru HDH on Friday, and as a seller I received 97% of the high estimate. Most lots were in the estimated range towards the high side, 6 lots went for above the high estimate. 2004 Leroy really surprised me, those wines went 15% over the already crazy high estimate, I guess those buyers don’t frequent this board.

[Marc_Lazar]

Does anyone who claims hdh prices are higher than others have data to back that up? We have tracked 100s of lots for clients selling wine every year, and I cant find this conclusion, yet hear it all the time.

On top of not being able to see where item for item their prices are higher (excluding cellar direct wines, which I dont look at since we dont represent wineries), the low estimates are a huge insurance policy to the house paid for with the consigners money. Why consigners give free insurance to the house is beyond me. In most situations a passed lot is far better than one sold too cheap.

I think HDH does a great job. Im always happy with whatever lots I win, and while I lose a suspicious number of lots by one increment, have no complaints about lots won, going back many many years.

Larry, what lot #s were your items? Perhaps that would be a good apples to apples comparison. It sounds like you did very well.

[Nathan_V]

@scamhi

I bought one lot from this auction.
the 3b 2000 MG Ruchottes.
Bought in 2013 at auction for $187.00 per bottle all in and now 5 years later at $358.50 all in.
I think this follows the fine wine market. Prices in the secondary market have increased for good producers at auction almost 200% in the last 5 years.
$200.00 a bottle for Robert Chevillon is crazy.

Chevillon was eye popping. Didn’t even make the board with those.

Mugneret-Gibourg has been creeping for a while, but I didn’t expect to be outbid at the high end on Chambolle Feusselottes. $350 for 1er Chambolle is out of my comfort zone, for sure.

I bid on 23 lots, won 1. At these prices, I may actually be a seller and not a buyer.

[Nathan_V]

@c fu

@scott c

@Jonathan Grunzweig

None of my bids hit but I priced cautiously, relatively speaking. One thing that jumped out to me is that René Engel wines seem to have taken another significant step up in price. Not a lot of discrimination by vintage or cru. I can’t imagine the Chinese are chasing these, and also wonder how many of those bottles get opened at this point?

Jonathan

Yes, this. I tried to win some freaking VILLAGE Engel and it ended up going for hundreds per bottle.

You ain’t missing out

Engel is even more ridiculous than Truchot, and only slightly more ridiculous than expensive Juge.

[Jason_H]

I had 36 bids place and won 13 of them. Only six of those were just over high estimate. Won lots were aged (except the CdB whites) Hudelot Noellat, Dujac, PYCM, Arnoux, Ramonet, Dauvissat and Bachelet.

Also had 18 lots for sale with 100% sell through. Eight of those went for high estimate or above. Thank you to who ever spent $7k on the 2009 Roumier Musigny.

[Larry_Link]

@Marc Lazar

Larry, what lot #s were your items? Perhaps that would be a good apples to apples comparison. It sounds like you did very well.

Lots 845-871

[A_So]

@Nathan V.

Engel is even more ridiculous than Truchot, and only slightly more ridiculous than expensive Juge.

I’d rather have Juge over Engel or Truchot.

[Matt_Latuchie]

@A. So

@Nathan V.

Engel is even more ridiculous than Truchot, and only slightly more ridiculous than expensive Juge.

I’d rather have Juge over Engel or Truchot.

Does “have” mean “own” or “drink”? Asking for a friend…

[A_So]

@Matt Latuchie

@A. So

@Nathan V.

Engel is even more ridiculous than Truchot, and only slightly more ridiculous than expensive Juge.

I’d rather have Juge over Engel or Truchot.

Does “have” mean “own” or “drink”? Asking for a friend…

Both

[Jayson_Cohen]

@A. So

@Matt Latuchie

@A. So

I’d rather have Juge over Engel or Truchot.

Does “have” mean “own” or “drink”? Asking for a friend…

Both

That was a softball.

[CFu]

@Jason_H

I had 36 bids place and won 13 of them. Only six of those were just over high estimate. Won lots were aged (except the CdB whites) Hudelot Noellat, Dujac, PYCM, Arnoux, Ramonet, Dauvissat and Bachelet.

Also had 18 lots for sale with 100% sell through. Eight of those went for high estimate or above. Thank you to who ever spent $7k on the 2009 Roumier Musigny.

Did you win the 09 noellat rsv 4 pack?!? If so plz thank Adrian that I was texting him and trying to confirm my bid at the same time and being half a second too slow

[mdavis]

I thought the prices were high on Truchot, Engel, Rousseau, and Raveneau. Wowza, 2005 GC from Truchot. $8k/3.

-mark

[vincentD]

I bid on about 60 lots and won 14. I agree with he comment that you had better deals on Friday than on Saturday. Seems like Friday was mostly online.
I don’t think it is fair to judge the price levels on the auction estimates. On most of the lots, the auction estimates had:

• wide spread
• fairly low compared to the best available price on retail.

So if you exclude a few very hyped domaines (DRC, Roumier, Rousseau, Raveneau, Leroy, MG, …) prices were quite reasonable in my mind as I wanted to backfill mostly 2012-2014

[Nick_Gangas]

It seemed like the very top wines did very well but surprised at some real values. Dujac was very reasonable as was PYCM.

[Dennis_Borczon]

With prices like these I wonder why the producers just don’t try to sell direct to consumer. They don’t have to move thousands of cases at a time. California wineries have been doing this for highly sought after wines and the Burgundian producers have a lot less competition. There must be a reason there is little focus on cellar door sales?

[J_Wei]

@Nick Gangas

It seemed like the very top wines did very well but surprised at some real values. Dujac was very reasonable as was PYCM.

Hmm. . . I dunno Nick, 1999 Dujac Clos de la Roche going for $1,493 on average, all in, seems over the top.

Lot 332: $4,780 x 3 bottles
Lot 1139: $4,183 x 3 bottles

[maureen_nelson]

@Dennis Borczon

With prices like these I wonder why the producers just don’t try to sell direct to consumer. They don’t have to move thousands of cases at a time. California wineries have been doing this for highly sought after wines and the Burgundian producers have a lot less competition. There must be a reason there is little focus on cellar door sales?

Not that I am a cellar door customer, but my understanding (at least for the domaines where friends are cellar door customers) is that there is little difference in pricing between prices used for “retail” sales directly to cellar door customers and “wholesale” pricing to brokers, importers, etc.

[vincentD]

@J Wei

@Nick Gangas

It seemed like the very top wines did very well but surprised at some real values. Dujac was very reasonable as was PYCM.

Hmm. . . I dunno Nick, 1999 Dujac Clos de la Roche going for $1,493 on average, all in, seems over the top.

Lot 332: $4,780 x 3 bottles
Lot 1139: $4,183 x 3 bottles

Agreed; in general I thought the Dujac bottles went very high

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

@vincentD

@J Wei

@Nick Gangas

It seemed like the very top wines did very well but surprised at some real values. Dujac was very reasonable as was PYCM.

Hmm. . . I dunno Nick, 1999 Dujac Clos de la Roche going for $1,493 on average, all in, seems over the top.

Lot 332: $4,780 x 3 bottles
Lot 1139: $4,183 x 3 bottles

Agreed; in general I thought the Dujac bottles went very high

Those are reasonable compared to some recent prices from other houses.

Zachy’s last sale averaged $1553 for 16 bottles of '99 Dujac CdlR.

Acker sold 24 bottles for an average of $1963/bottle in March.