Page 60 - Wine Spectator (January 2020)

AUCTIONS Paddles Up

The auction market offers old, rare and ready-to-drink BY BEN

bottles, with ample bargains in the mix LASMAN

READER POLL
anging gavels, seas of paddles, spitfire auc- Zachys—all operate under essentially the same
tioneers, soaring prices—such is the rarefied Buy at Auction model. Collectors wishing to liquidate part or all

Bair many associate with wine auctions. But of their inventory consign their wines to a house
2%
though stratospheric bids, ultrarare bottles and bil- for sale to the public. The house then disseminates
5%
lionaire clientele may make the headlines, the information about the sale via catalogs and the In-

world of wine auctions is in fact much broader— 14% ternet, and by contacting potentially interested
and more accessible—than many believe. And clients with whom they have existing relationships.
there is no better outlet for acquiring mature wines Finally, a sale is held—live, online or both at

from reputable producers that are ready to drink. 79% once—in which buyers bid on the consigned lots.
This range of purchasing options means that
What they sell auction newcomers need not step outside their

“You see a story that we sold a bottle of ’45 Ro- Q FREQUENTLY Q SOMETIMES Q RARELY Q NEVER comfort zones—or even their homes—to win lots.
manée-Conti for half a million dollars last year and Perhaps the simplest method for participating in

think, wine auctions, that’s not for me,” says Julia Gilbert, a sale is by placing an absentee bid, essentially a maximum bid on
senior wine adviser at Sotheby’s. “But that’s a huge misconception. a specific lot transmitted to the house prior to the auction. If the

You can get great cases of wine for $200 or $300, and that’s some- reserve (the minimum bid allowed on a lot as stipulated in the
thing that a lot of people are sur-
prised to find out.”

John Kapon, chairman of Acker
Merrall & Condit, is even more em-

phatic: “The auction market pro-
vides the best selection of fine and
rare wines, period. Nothing comes

close. You’re going to find wines that
are 20 years, 30 years, 40 years and

older. You don’t see those in retail.”
This depth of offerings, coupled
with the efforts houses undertake to

verify the authenticity of the wines
they sell, makes auctions one of the

only viable avenues for acquiring
trophy-level bottles likely to retain
or increase their value. For ambitious

collectors willing to shoulder the
risks of investing in blue-chip wine,
bidding at auction is the best bet.

How they work

Though their specific offerings and

schedules differ, the major wine-
auction houses—Acker, Baghera

Wines, Christie’s, Hart Davis Hart,
Heritage, Sotheby’s, Spectrum and

56 WINE SPECTATOR • JAN. 31 – FEB. 29, 2020