Bid for Wine launches live auctions for London

Online auction site Bid for Wine has announced its first live auction to be held next week.

Managing director, Lionel Nierop, told the drinks business that he had in the past been put off holding a live auction because of the expense but a little research appeared to show that there was a ready market in London.

“The question was ‘why not live auctions?’,” said Nierop. “There are plenty of regional sales houses that do very well and the London crowd will buy at auction.

“I had always stayed away because of the expense but after some research I found that many people want to sell at auction but aren’t tech-savvy enough to feel comfortable online but also don’t want to sell through the main guys so the gap was there.”

Nierop has also been sure to put together a list that has broad appeal and caters for differing budgets, with some lots such as a case of 2005 Branson Coach House Coach House Block Shiraz valued at £180-£240 a case, to a single bottle of 1982 Henri Jayer Richebourg at £3,600-£4,300.

‘There’s always a danger with lists to go for exclusive stuff but the market for things like old Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is quite small,” he continued.

“There’s something for everyone hopefully.”

The list is instead limited to 291 lots covering the Rhône, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Australia, California and Spain.

Despite this desire to keep the auction accessible, the list includes a great many prestigious names from across the regions represented.

There are single bottles of 1982 Krug (£300-£350); 1998 Bollinger Vieille Vignes Françaises (£315-£380); five bottles of 2005 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons with a bottle of the 2004 (£440-£500); collections of Ridge and a vertical of Penfolds Grange; a case of 1990 Palmer (£1,800-£2,000); single bottles and casesof Mouton Rothschild and Margaux; four bottles of 1961 Margaux (£400-£600 apiece) and a case of 1989 Lafite (£5,500-£6,500).

Provenance is also hugely important at present and Nierop has been sure to gather wines from trusted sources, which for this auction number 20 in all.

The majority of stock has been bought en primeur from merchants in France or the UK and since then either stored in bond or laid down in a cellar.

“A huge amount of the stock is single owner,” Nierop continued. “Most are long-standing clients and a lot is from The Wine Society members too. We’ve gone for gold plated provenance.”

The sale will take place on the evening of Wednesday 27 June and is being held at Bacchanalia TWS, a 10 minute walk from Blackfriars.

Doors will open at 6.30pm with the auction beginning at 7pm. For more details and to see the full list, click here

Online and phone bidding will also be available and Nierop is hoping that buyers from overseas including from Bid for Wine’s Singapore branch will be taking part.