Good evening everyone! Starting Friday morning at around 7AM EST, this thread is where Brian Stotter and I will bring you real time results from the 2023 VDP Grosser Ring auction as it happens. If you want also want to view the live auction (while of course periodically returning for our brilliant commentary), then check out the VDPWeingueter channel on youtube where the auction will be live streamed.
This thread will serve as a record of sale prices for quick reference so that you do not have to review the entire video. If you have any specific questions about the bidding process between now and Friday, here is a good place to ask. On auction day, if you are participating in the auction in any way, or just have questions or thoughts- please chime in as we go through the morning. The general format is that Brian will post screen shots of results as they happen, and then I will come in after and on a by-producer basis compare the results to prior year, recent trends or anything else that pops to mind.
Last year, the 2022 Mosel Auction had every reason to be the most lucrative ever- and it did not disappoint. There was a truly great vintage on offer, exchange rates were very favorable for US buyers, the world was emerging from COVID and buying up everything in sight, and finally and most importantly- the continued evolution of access to the German Auctions brought in a whole new audience of eager buyers.
For the 2023 auction, while things are going well generally in the luxury products category, the only one of the above factors that has improved since last year is access to, and general awareness of, the auctions. And that one factor could potentially drive prices even higher this year- especially among the great number of wines that have been relatively undervalued in recent years as a new audience was eager to buy and started off by bidding on the auction versions of commercially released wines of wide presence and high reputation in the United States. This year could be very similar to what happened to the Bordeaux markets from 2010-2012, namely the entrance of China to the marketplace in a big way overcame all sorts of generally negative market conditions to generate a true Bordeaux bull market, and one that was led first by Lafite, only later to expand broadly to other chateaux.
In 2023, there are 68 auction lots covering 32 different wines (not including the charity case lot.) Last year, there were 72 lots representing 33 different wines. This does not represent any significant shifts, but it is worth noting that Kabinett is king this year, plus with the short crop a few estates are selling fewer wines than usual. Schaefer is not offering an Auslese this year. Most dramatically of all, Prum is only offering a Spatlese, foregoing their usual offerings of a Kabinett and a handful of Auslesen.
Three important auctions/producers to follow on Friday,
Egon-Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben
As I said last year, this wine is the Lafite-Rothschild, the 1.00 carat D-flawless brilliant round cut diamond of the Mosel Saar Ruwer. Despite being repeatedly the largest parcel of any wine offered in the sale, the prices have soared in recent years with the highest hammer price of any Kabinett sold at the Mosel- and indeed higher than any Spatlese and most Auslesen.
This hammered for 501 Euro last year, 322 Euro the year prior and 160 Euro in the 2015 vintage. The hammer price for this wine, along with the one following, will tell the tale best of how these auctions fare after a 2022 Auction that had every reason to be a peak, but is likely to be just another step on an upward trajectory. I predict this will hammer for between 510 and 552 Euro.
Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese
Egon Mullerâs Kabinett is more likely to go higher than its 2021 counterpart than is Schaeferâs Spatlese. This is not intended to be unkind- but is a reflection of the fact that Kabinett is King these days â no matter who made it â and also that Schaeferâs 2021 Spatlese received a 100 point score and experienced a percentage increase in price that far exceeded any year over year change for Egon Muller- or any other Mosel Auction wine for the years where I have data.
This hammered for 450 Euro last year, 140 Euro the year prior and 140 Euro in the 2015 vintage. I predict this will hammer for between 302 and 352 Euro.
Von Schubert â Maximin Grunhauser
If Egon Muller and Willi Schaefer are the new established darlings of the Mosel Auction, the most likely next ascendant to the A list is von Schubert. Kabinett is a great strength here and the Kabinett went for 85 Euro last year- following on a great run that has seen the price just about double in a handful of years.
Stickies are also a specialty at von Schubert, and have become extremely difficult to procure in the commercial marketplace. While there is always a nice array of Auslesen available, BA, TBA and Eiswein make very rare appearances- and are among the most compelling and long-lived sweet wines in the world. This year there will be an Eiswein offered, and predictions are all over the map- as high as the 800s for a half bottle. We will find out soon enough.
See you all Friday morning!
