This was a mass mailing so if he signed up for the auction, he would have gotten the email.
Somehow Spectrum has lots of '61 Palmer suddenly. I bet Rudy’s been busy in the lab ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
Good news is that it’s a short drive over from LA to Beverly Hills
Is it necessary to be so cynical? The 61 Palmer’s greatness can be easily recognized by many. In lieu of the current mess, I seriously doubt that Spectrum will hold such an event to serve fake 61. If I were in La area, I would have definitely attended the event.
Must be for those in that area…
I have word on the Spectrum Palmers and know exactly where they came from. Hence I bought 88 and 85…
However, where those Palmers at the tasting have come from, I wouldn’t know!! :eek: but having tasted genuine 61 Palmer twice recently, it wouldn’t be hard to miss, there is something about the wine that a faker wouldn’t get in the same way as wine geeks just get.
Whilst the company may be dodgy, and have issues, if the provenance is correct, then a tainted auction will provide lower prices, and so I pounced after getting conformation of Palmer provenance!
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At the price, I would go and see… If they don’t, you have a lot of superb wine on offer!! 
I don’t even drink Bordeaux and I would attend this tasting.
They were ex Mahler Besse, right?
Hey Jono –
For private consumption, these may well turn out to be a strong buy. Re-selling any bottles purchased at this auction, on the other hand, would seem to me to be a risky business decision (as I see no possible good that comes from identifying yourself as a supporter of Specturm’s auctions).
Just my $0.02
Chris,
In general, no auction house will enquire about the provenance of recent Palmers. On the other hand Jayers and DRCs, hmmm.
Tom, you are on the right lines,
Chris, this is for drinking as I have no older stuff in my cellar. In fact everything at auction goes nowhere near anything I set aside for work because even if correct, one doesn’t always know about storage conditions.
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Personally, I think they should for any wine, because counterfeiting can and will take place. However, if correct, there is no reason to ask too many questions about storage, but young wines can still become heat damaged!!
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Were any of the wines in bond?
Nearly all of them, but IB is meaningless other than from a tax point of view in the UK.
So long as the wine came from outside the UK it is IB until duty and VAT are paid on it. So as long as the wine arrives in a bonded warehouse it can be IB, even though there are fifteen different strip labels and the wine has seen 1000 different Ports.
Provenance is thus still important.
Hey Kevin –
My point is just that regardless of the provenance of these particular bottles, Jono’s decision to re-sell wines he purchased from an auction house that he knew to be engaged in suspect practices could be harmful to his brand (and in his business, to the extent I understand it, brand/reputation is everything). It sounds like he agrees, which does not surprise me at all.
Chris,
I should point out that wines I purchase at any auction, including Sotheby’s, Christies are all for my own drinking.
Like strakers, etc, there is always a risk inherent in anything at auction and I wouldn’t wish that on a customer unless I knew it was ex-Chateau, ex-producer.
Nothing from this auction is resaleable but I didn’t go to buy, it was my wife who asked (is it true, about the ex-Chateau, I said “No, but…” and she said, what price etc, etc, and we bid… Perhaps because most of what we own is young/middle-aged, she wants something mature as well.
The price was right and I was amazed that we bid once on each lot and we got it, everyone refused to take us on, but I wouldn’t have gone higher if they did…
To be fair however, we are not really their target market so they probably don’t care, hence the silence in regards to Don…
In the future, if they have something like those Palmer’s and the price is good, and the provenance is un-questionable on the lot, then I would buy for myself, but due to the hullabaloo and their pure disregard for both facts and polite enquiries into anything, I would never do business with Spectrum…
Vanquish are a completely different matter however, and I am surprised that they have teamed up with such a sordid company.
It was somewhat telling that when Richard Brierley came to Bar Boulud afterwards to speak to the MD of the Antique Wine Company who was with a client at the time, he didn’t even once go up to the table where the Spectrum team were sitting which was in full view. He did however wave at the table with the guys from Sotheby’s on it… If that tells you anything.
Of course, he should have known and should known a duff bottle when he sees one as Don has pointed out earlier on, but if Spectrum are the instigators and Vanquish are the hosts, as it very much looked at the auction itself, then I don’t see what Vanquish are getting out of this other than a slapped wrist and their own reputation getting strewn through the mud…
For what it is worth, along similar lines to Acker Merrill… I contacted Christies about the 1909 and 1881 Latours that were in the sale,and I discussed face to face my queries again with Lionel which made more sense with the catalogue in front of us, and said that is a good point, Christies have yet to reply… All I asked is do you have a photo of the two lots??
Is Vanquish well known in England? I thought Richard Brierley was involved in Rudy’s wine auctions in the past while he was with Christies.
Jono
I only ask because the catalogue lists them as ex chateau and the amendments say ex-Mahler Besse, which are two different things!
Vanquish is well regarded amongst the trade, polite, efficient and pay on time… Noone I know or deal with has ever had a problem with them, but they are known more for dealing with trade than private clients I believe but they must do a fair amount on that side.
Mr. Brierley is more than likely to have done business with Rudy whilst at Christies, and if not should definitely know the history but if he asked Spectrum, would they have likely given him the whole truth?
Not that I wish to defend the man as from the WS article, he must know or have had an inkling that there was a rat… Why he didn’t act, is anyone’s guess??
To be fair, I do not know the man personally, so all I can go on his this thread and second-hand reports, which I would rather not do.
What is certain is that these wines were not checked properly, but then again it seems that perhaps the whole industry is rotten if there is so little from within the auction houses to root out these potential counterfeits… There is a deafening silence from all areas. Have any other houses commented or acted to calm buyer’s fears?? I haven’t seen anything…
Buying at tainted auctions, buying at future auctions or attending promotional dinners with full knowledge of the history of the thread is an endorsement of the auction house.
Jono, you did do business with Spectrum - let’s not split hairs.