A Penfolds Grange 1951 went under the hammer last Sunday for a whopping $157,624, the most expensive single bottle of Australian wine ever sold.
The sale of the Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 broke the former record of $142,131, also for a bottle of Penfolds Grange 1951 sold earlier this year in July.
Both bottles are of the few in existence from the first vintage of Penfolds Grange ever made.
The record-holding bottle went under the hammer at the Langton’s Penfolds: Rewards of Patience auction.
Pioneering winemaker Max Schubert, who was listed in the top 100 most influential Australians of the 20th century, only made three or four barrels of the first vintage and gave away most of the bottles to friends.
There are estimated to be around 40 bottles in existence of the first vintage ever made of Australia’s most famous wine.
This includes 30 bottles that are part of complete sets of Penfolds Grange, which include all vintages of Penfolds Grange from 1951 to present day.
According to Head of Langton’s, Tamara Grischy, given their age, each and every bottle of the Penfolds Grange 1951 is different, and this bottle was in almost pristine condition after going through the Penfolds Re-corking Clinic in 2014.
“To have again broken the record for the most expensive bottle of Australian wine only months after breaking the previous record is an outstanding result,” she said.
“The label had only very minor markings, making it the perfect centrepiece wine, with its ullage, together with its pristine label, making this bottle as good as it gets.”
Ms Grischy said the buyer was delighted to have secured a piece of Australian wine history for their collection.
Other highlights in the Langton’s auction include Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz, Coonawarra-Kalimna 1962 that sold for $21,552; a Penfolds Bin 47 Grange Hermitage, South Australia 1958 that sold for $21,463; and a Penfolds Bin 46 Grange Hermitage, South Australia 1959 that sold for $8,574.
All prices listed include buyer’s premium, which is 16.5 per cent including GST and is paid on top of the hammer price.
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