Hold that toast: $150,000 wine pulled from auction

An Imperial of a 1961 vintage of Château Petrus had been estimated to sell for six figures at auction Sunday.

By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A bottle of wine had been expected to go for about $150,000 Sunday, but, just hours before the sale was to take place, the auction house decided it wasn't quite ready to sell.

Edward Roberts International auction house decided to withdraw the bottle from the Chicago auction in order to solidify its authenticity in light of recent news about fraudulent wine. Once more information is gathered and all documentation is in order, the bottle will be auctioned some time this winter, according to the auction house.

The Imperial of a 1961 vintage of Château Petrus - an Imperial is the equivalent of eight regular bottles - had been expected to sell for $150,000 at the auction held Sunday at the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago. At that price, it would have been one of the most expensive bottles of wine ever sold at auction.

(For the record, the most expensive bottle sold to date was a 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild that fetched $310,700 at Sotheby's in February of this year, according to Vinfolio.)

The Château Petrus was part of a large collection of bottles of Bordeaux that also includes a Jeroboam (equivalent to six regular bottles) of 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild, and Magnums (equivalent to two regular bottles) of 1921, 1947 and 1961 Château Petrus; 1945 and 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild; and 1961 Château Latour-A-Pomerol.

As wine has grown more popular, more and more producers are getting into the market with inexpensive offerings designed to be consumed immediately, pushing overall prices down steadily.

But at the same time, demand has soared for premium wines, which are produced in limited quantity and released in moderation - resulting in record breaking prices.

"There are really two kinds of wine now, one is for drinking, and the other is for collecting. Like rare stamps, collectible wines can take on inexplicably high price levels," said Princeton University economics professor Orley Ashenfelter who publishes a wine newsletter called Liquid Assets.

"I drink my wine and use my postage stamps to mail letters, and I continue to marvel at those who don't."

Collectors on the other hand, may want to make a bottle of this caliber the showpiece of a high-end wine cellar without ever intending to drink it. Rather they would hope to resell it in the future, hopefully for a profit, Ashenfelter said.

The price of a good bottle of wine is largely based on the cost of production, according to Natalie MacLean, editor of a wine newsletter and author of Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.

Factors from the quality of the vineyard property and its orientation (an eastern exposure provides more gentle sunlight) to the type of barrel (oak or otherwise) and length of the cork, all contribute to the price a good bottle can command.

But, "after a certain point the pricing becomes irrational," said MacLean. The value of luxury wines are based more on factors such as prestige, rarity and reviews.

Of the high-status wines on the market, the Château Petrus is considered among the best. That's because it's from the prestigious right bank of the Gironde river in the Bordeaux region of France.

In addition, large bottles, like an Imperial, are rare and can command a significant resale premium over standard bottle sizes, according to MacLean. Many also believe that wine in bigger bottles ages more slowly and therefore has a longer life.

And on top of that, 1961 is ranked among the best vintages for Bordeaux, and its peak drinking window is right now, making it a prime buy.

"There's no saying where the price could go," according to Edward Robert Brooks, managing director of Edward Roberts International auction house, which is managing the sale. "Blue chip collectibles in any category tend to fare well."

In terms of an investment, "wine is one of the few collectibles you have to destroy to enjoy," he added, and as the number of available collectible bottles diminishes over time, those remaining will be worth more.

MacLean nevertheless warns against buying a wine like this as an investment. "Flipping is always risky," she said. Although, worst case scenario, "you could always drink your liquid assets."  Top of page

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.