An Adelaide wine collector today snapped up a full set of Penfolds Grange to add to an almost-complete set of the iconic Australian wine he already owns.
The buyer, an Adelaide-based small businessman, paid AUS$150,000 (£72,000, US$143,000) for the wines that covered all vintages from 1951 to 2002.
His original bid of AUS$140,000 was the highest offer, but but fell short of the reserve set by the seller, Adelaide marketing executive Noel Ryan.
The sale was then negotiated by auctioneer Mark Wickman of Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions.
Wickman said that the buyer already had an ‘almost full’ set of Grange.
The record price at auction for a complete set of Penfolds’ top wine is $176,000, set in 1998 at a sale held by Langton’s Wine Auctions of Melbourne.
Langton’s annual Penfolds online auction next month will include another Grange set and Wickman is also fielding offers for another set of Grange which is being sold privately.
Written by Chris Snow in Adelaide
