Sotheby's Finest and Rarest Wines Auction in London last week failed to match its pre-sale estimate of £2.59 million, having achieved less than £1.87 million. The sale, which featured a comprehensive collection of First Growth vintages, saw 15 per cent of lots unsold, including top vintages of Lafite and Margaux.
The table below compares First Growth auction prices to the Liv-ex Mid Price - our trade-to-trade transaction price. The Liv-ex Mid Price does not include merchant margins and represents the price merchants could expect to obtain when selling wine on the secondary market. Because we are approaching the results from a seller's perspective, the auction prices in our table are exclusive of buyer's premium.
As you can see, bidders were uninspired, with the majority of recent First Growth vintages fetching significantly less than the Liv-ex Mid Price.
All prices are for 12x75cl cases. Auction prices do not include buyer's premium.
Please note that Liv-ex will be at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair this week (3-5 November). You can find us at booth 3D-B26 in the Wine Investment Zone. If you would like to make an appointment with a member of our team, please contact info@liv-ex.com.
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