Penfolds Grange set to break auction record

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 10 December, 2019

A complete 65-bottle run of Penfold’s Grange is predicted to sell for at least £180,000 when it goes under the hammer this week.

The bottles feature in an 1,800-strong online auction of Penfolds wines being held by specialist wine-auctioneers Langton’s, which estimates that the set – which runs from 1951 to 2015 – could go for as much as £206,000.

With six days to go, bidding opens at £164,000.

If the auctioneer’s estimate is reached it will be a new world record for a set of Penfolds. In 2018, a 63-bottle run from 1951 to 2013 sold at Langton’s for £179,500.

The value of complete sets of Penfolds Grange has rocketed in line with Penfolds growing as a premium global wine brand.

“In 1995, I remember selling a set for $30,000,” Tamara Grischy, head of auctions at Langton’s, said.

There has been interest in the sale worldwide, and in particular from the UK, China and Hong Kong, added Grischy.

The auction – named Rewards of Patience – also features two single bottles of the first 1951 Penfolds Grange vintage, each of which carries an estimate of some £33,000.

“It’s very rare to see one bottle, let alone two, of the first Grange,” said Grischy. “This is a historic vintage, and represents the beginning of modern Australian wine. It is believed there are less than 20 bottles in circulation.”

The auction begins on Tuesday, December 10 at 5pm Melbourne time and closes Sunday, December 15 at 7pm.

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