A bottle of prized 1951 Penfolds Grange Hermitage has sold at auction for almost $52,000

broaceh (50)in #steemit • 7 years ago

Melbourne-based MW Wines auctioned off the experimental drop to an unnamed private collector for $51,750 on Wednesday, making it one of the most expensive bottles ever sold in Australia.

MW Wines has told Fairfax it was a "staggering" price.

Fewer than 20 bottles are believed to still exist from 1800 bottles of the very first vintage, which Penfolds' chief winemaker Max Schubert originally gave away to his family and friends.

(A similar bottle of the 1951 vintage Penfolds Grange Hermitage to the one sold at auction. Image: Dan Murphy's)

Experts believe that while the 51' drop is believed to be one of the finest reds ever made, it's now probably passed its taste peak – not that it's likely the collector who bought it will crack the cork for a taste.

A bottle of Grange from Penfolds has always attracted eye-rising price tags. In 1952 when the first vintage was released for sale, it was priced just under the equivalent of $1 – an asking price that many at the time scoffed at.

Twenty-four years later their 1976 vintage went onto shelves priced at $20, which at the time made it staggeringly more expensive than any other bottle on the market.

But it wasn't until wine auctions exploded in the 1990s that the price of a vintage Grange began to remarkably outstrip all others. It became known for being "the" expensive wine, used to impress travelling diplomats and lubricate lucrative business deals.

This reputation became infamous in April 2014, when the then-NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell sensationally resigned after a corruption commission found he failed to declare a $3000 bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange he received from Australian Water Holdings executive Nick Di Griolamo.