A rare imperial (6 litres) of 1975 Penfolds Grange goes under the hammer of
Sotheby's auction house in New York on Saturday. Its US price estimate
makes it accessible to Australian Grange collectors.
An imperial (6 litres) of Penfolds Grange, signed
by Max Schubert, will be auctioned as part of Sotheby's Finest and Rare Sale
this Saturday 21st September in New York (Online bidding from 10am New York time
/ 11:30pm in Adelaide, South Australia).
"It comes from the private collection of a US buyer who has had it since
purchasing it through Sotheby's Millennium Wine auction in 1999 and it has been
in professional storage since", stated Duncan Sterling, Head of Sotheby's New
York Auctions.
Mark Wickman, auctioneer at Wickman's Fine Wine Auctions commented that "Its
estimate of between $4250 USD to $5500 USD makes it a bargain buy for Australian
Grange collectors, Even when you add on any Australian duties and taxes you
would have to pay to bring it home, it still comes out much less than the last
few imperials of Grange to sell here".
The latest sold at Australian auctioneer Langton's
in June 2012 for $9,900 (which was also the 1975 vintage) and a record of
$71,000 was paid for the 1998 imperial by Maynard James Keenan, vocalist for US
rock group Tool at a Barossa valley auction in 2003.
The 1975 is considered a
good yet tannic Grange and whilst some bottles may be getting too old to drink,
the greater volume in an imperial means that it will take longer to age and the
buyer should still have a decade or so more to enjoy it, if they happen to open
it of course.
The auction can be accessed live online, commencing at 10am New
York time on Saturday the 21st September 2013.
New York is 13.5 hours behind
Adelaide and 14 hours behind Sydney and Melbourne.
Register for bidding at
Sotheby's and view the auction online:
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2013/finest-and-rarest-wines-n09011.html