Grange 1951 sets new Australian wine record

A bottle of Grange 1951, the first vintage by Penfolds’ founding winemaker Max Schubert, went under the hammer for AU$67,001 at Langton’s, setting a new record for Australian wine sold at auction.

The 1951 Grange has set a new record for Australian wine sold at auction

The record price smashed the previous high of AU$51,750 set less than a year ago, and the Dan Murphy’s AU$65,000 retail record in 2015, reported Business Insider.

The wine was sold as part of Langton’s Rewards of Patience auction on 24 June, which offered over 800 bottles of Penfolds wines including a vertical of Grange from 1951 to 2013.

The wine was the first ever Grange and made with 100% Shiraz by Schubert using grapes from Magill Estate and Morphett Vale. Production was limited to 100 cases at the time, and was given out by the winemaker to family and friends. Today fewer than two dozen bottles are believed to be in existence.

Another two high performers from the auction were a 1962 Bin 60A Coonawarra Cabernet-Kalimna Shiraz and a bottle of the 1952 Grange, fetching the same price of AU$12,000.

The vertical of Penfolds Grange was sold for AU$265,001.

All the wines had been checked at Penfolds Red Wine Clinics over the past 14 years where the wines are inspected, refilled and recorked, according to the report.