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Bottle of Penfolds Grange 1951 sells for record $80k

A rare bottle of 1951 Penfolds Grange has sold for a record AU$80,386 (£45,758) at auction, smashing the previous record of $78,000 (£44,400) set earlier this year.

A full set of Grange from 1951 to 2013 also fetched almost $350,000 at Langton’s online auction, which closed on Sunday night. Last year, a full set of Penfolds Grange sold for a record $260,360 to an Adelaide couple.

“This auction had something for everybody, from potential bargains to rare vintages to a selection of unique bottles like the pristine 1951 Penfolds Grange,”  said Langton’s general manager, Jeremy Parham.

The 1951 Grange vintage is particularly sought after due to original Penfolds chief winemaker Max Schubert, and the timing of its ‘release’.

The 1951 was first ever vintage of Penfolds Grange Hermitage. However at that time, Schubert was not selling his wine commercially. Instead chose to pass on the vintage to family and friends. It was only later that Penfolds became a force to be reckoned with on the fine wine market.

Consequently, there were very few of the 1951 vintage in circulation. They are believed to be less than 20 bottles of the vintage left across the world.

Most recently, Penfolds announced the launch of its ‘2018 Collection’, which features the 2014 Grange and 2016 Bin 707.

The latest Grange, Australia’s most famous and one of its most collectible fine wine labels, is the 64th consecutive release and includes grapes from a brand new source.

In total the collection covers five vintages, seven varieties and 15 regions.

The latest slew of releases naturally includes the Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016 Magill Estate Shiraz, 2015 St Henri, 2016 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon and Kalimna Bin 28 Shiraz among others.

The white wines in the collection are also growing in stature. The 2016 vintage of Penfolds’ top Chardonnay ‘Yattarna’ is now out, so too the 2017 vintage of the Reserve Bin A Chardonnay.

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