A Benchmark Year for Wine & Spirits at Waddington’s

By: Joann Maplesden

Carpe Vinum — Words from Our Fine Wine & Spirits Team

Lot 215 – DOMAINE ARMAND ROUSSEAU CHAMBERTIN 2017Côte de Nuits. Grand Cru. 

Winter is finally upon us, which means cozy nights by the fire with a glass of vintage port or a smoky single malt. It also means reflecting on the outgoing year and looking forward to the arrival of 2021 and all the hope it brings.

This year has been trying for all of us, but thankfully everyone at Waddington’s is healthy and we sincerely hope you are too.

what was notable about 2020?
(apart from the pandemic…)

Three things come to mind that we are grateful for:

1. The outpouring of well-wishes, positive comments, patience and understanding shown by you, our buyers and consignors.

2.  Achieving four white-glove auctions (‘white glove’ means 100% of the lots offered are sold – a rare accomplishment in the auction industry) this year, and setting new records for the auction total for our department – twice.

3. Helping to raise nearly $500,000 with your help, for the Grapes For Humanity Charity Wine Auction in support of the hospitality industry.

It is a phrase that is often repeated, but we simply could not have done it without you. Thank you.

A few of our favourite Stats from the fine wine auctions

As you know, we love stats. Here are a few of the more interesting statistics from our quarterly wine auctions in 2020:

  • 1,896 lots offered
  • 99.5% of all lots offered found buyers
  • 19,183 bids placed in total for our wine auctions
  • 95.24% average over the global fair market value for all lots sold

standout lots from our 2020 fine wine auctions

March

Lot 28: 12 bottles of Lafite Rothschild 1986 (in original wood case)
Estimate $15,000 – 20,000; Realised $20,400

June

Lot 215: 3 bottles of Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin 2017
Estimate $4,000 – 4,500; Realised $8,400

September

Lot 270: 3 bottles of Château Latour 1982
Estimate: $4,500 – 5,000; Realised $6,660

December

Lot 417: An Imperial of Château Margaux 1990
Estimate $9,000 – 10,000; Realised $17,160

 

A few of our favourite Stats from the fine Spirits auctions

Lest we forget about fine spirits, here are a few statistics from 2020 reflecting the growing interest in this category.

  • 92.3% of all lots offered found buyers
  • More bottles were offered this year, with an average of 32% more lots per auction when compared to 2019
  • The amount of bids per auction also increased, on average by 34%
PAPPY VAN WINKLE FAMILY RESERVE KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY 20 YEARS (ONE 750 ML, OC) Buffalo Trace Distillery. Frankfort, Kentucky

standout lots from our 2020 Spirits auctions

March

Lot 31: Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 25 years
Estimate $800 – 1,000;  Realised $3,000

June

Lot 143: Seagram’s Crown Royal Rare Old Canadian Whisky
Estimate $200 – 400; Realised $4,200

September

Lot 143: Remy Martin Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac
Estimate: $2,300 – 2,600; Realised $3,900

December

Lot 97: Pappy Van Winkle Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 20 years
Estimate $1,600-1,900; Realised $4,800

interested in Consigning to our auctions?

Waddington’s consistently outperforms the international wine market. For example, in 2020 on average, our hammer prices were 95.24% over the international market, and we fetched outstanding prices for superstar wines such as Pétrus, Le Pin, Lafite Rothschild and many Super Tuscans.

March 2021 Auction Consignment Deadline

The consignment deadline for our March Fine Wine and Fine Spirits auctions is January 8. The fine wine auction is nearly at capacity but we will still consider well-cellared consignments of blue chip, first-growth wines.


Contact us

For more information about our seamless and transparent consignment process please visit our Fine Wine & Spirits Consignment Page, or contact us at [email protected].

 

Wishing you all the best for the holiday season –
Joann, Devin and the Fine Wine & Spirits Team.

 

 


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