How to sell burgundy champagne and Bordeaux wines in Australia
Selling pre-owned expensive French Wine from Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux in Australia and achieving a high price or a price close to retail is difficult.
Ultra high end wines such as:
Burgundy:
– Domaine de la Romanee Conti (DRC)
– Domaine Armand Rousseau
– Domaine Dugat-Py
– Domaine Comte Georges de Vouge
Champagne:
– Dom Perignon
– Salon
– Krug
Bordeaux:
– Haut Brion,
– Cheval Blanc
– Chateau Mounton
– Rothschild Pauilac
– Chateau Margaux
– Chateau Lafite
take time to sell because demand for them isn’t really there. Wine collectors will buy them, the wines will sell but generally buyers aren’t prepared to pay high prices for them. It could be said that a bottle of French wine sold on the secondary wine market is only worth what someone is prepared to pay. The most popular French Wines from the better vintages such as 89, 90, 00, 05, 09 and 10 do achieve reasonable prices on the secondary wine market but you will probably still sell at a loss if you purchased them from a retailer.
Chinese interest in high-end wine has grown substantially over the past decade. An example is a surge in the secondary wine market price of Penfolds Bin 707. As little as six years ago 750ml bottles traded for around $100 to $120, now they achieve anywhere between $330 and $400. Magnums of Bin 707 could be purchased for $250 at auction but now they fetch more than $500. Middle-Class China is ever-expanding and reaching out to the world. Chinese Wine Collectors in Australia want the best but will only pay a certain price. They don’t pay overs. They only want the best vintage wines too.
If you are investing in wine you should have a long term out look, more than 15 years, even then there is no guarantee for a return. Some labels may rocket up in value but it is rare, I guess it is all about supply and demand, reviews, established brands etc.
The secondary wine market is flooded with high end wine. Every month wine auction houses list wines for sale and clear them out. It’s all about turn over, get them in and get them out asap. It is the buyer who sets the price, not the wine auction house. They want to achieve the best price for you, customer service is always good and honest. Wine auction house’s pretty much offer the same advice and service with Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux wines.
In September 2017 I sold the following Domaine de la Romanee Conti (DRC) wines. They were pre-owned, that is they were purchased by a collector in Sydney from a retailer in Melbourne and sold to a collector in Queensland after owning them for a few years.
1x 2009 DRC Romanee Conti
1x 2010 DRC Romanee Conti
1x 2009 DRC Montrachet.
The vendor paid approx $18000 for each Romanee Conti and $5500 for the Montrachet. A total of $41500. I had the following offers for them. The four offers were from four reputable wine traders who I highly respect and deal with every week. It’s just an example of what someone is prepared to pay.
$3000 for each bottle of the 2009 and 2010 Romanee Conti.
$12000 for each bottle of the 2009 and 2010 Romanee Conti.
$34000 for all three bottles.
I eventually sold all three bottles for $36500. The sale was completed in under one week.
Personally I believe this was an exceptional return for the vendor. The arrangement for commission was unique. I was paid with wine which totalled about 5% of the value of the sale. I didn’t take 25% like other auctioneers. The vendor was delighted with his return and the commission and I was wrapped with the wines I received.
Domaine de la Romanee Conti DRC wines are now in high demand. As little as 4 years ago I could barely move them, now I have regular enquiries as to their availability. If you have any and want to sell them, drop me an email [email protected]