Adelaide couple buys rare Penfold Grange set for record $260,000

A full set of Penfold Grange wine has sold for a record $260,000 at auction to an Adelaide couple.

Retired couple John and Leanne Davison were the winning bidders at du Plessis auction house in Mile End, Adelaide.

With bidding starting at 200,000, the Davison’s patiently waited next to 50 other enthusiastic punters before auctioneer Mark du Plessis settled the couple’s bid of $260,000 (plus buyer’s margin).

Plessis said the rare collection had been pieced together over 25 years by an Adelaide building industry figure who was an avid wine collector.

“Interest came from everywhere from Hong Kong to interstate, but I’m very happy it stayed here,” Mr du Plessis told AdelaideNow.

John Davidson said he was glad the collection was staying in his home state.

“Grange is iconic in South Australia. It had to stay here, for sure”, he said. “I am a collector and I’m very happy and excited about it, but the main thing is we’ve kept it here.”

The amazing Penfold Grange set. Photo source 7NEWS.

Leanne Davidson commented on the purchase: “He could have bought one about 10 years ago, but I didn’t remind him (the auction) was on and one of his friends bought it instead and he didn’t speak to me for three months. I didn’t have to remind him this morning."

The set contained 62 bottles, including the first experimental 1951 vintage made by Grange’s creator Max Schubert through to the latest release 2012 vintage made by current Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago — which was rated 99/100 points in the latest Halliday Wine Companion.

The growth in value of Grange sets has been unpredictable due to its rarity. In 1988 a set from 1952-1982 sold for a record Australian price of $16,500 and in 2002 a full collection, then from 1951-1996 vintages, sold for $190,680.

Just a fortnight ago, an online buyer paid $51,750 for a single bottle of Penfolds' Grange Hermitage.

With a bottle containing roughly five glasses of wine, that's about $10,000 per glass!

The ’51 Grange was created in limited supply, with just two to three barrels by Max Schubert at the winery's Magill Estate.

Bottle of the rare Penfold Grange Hermitage. 

With only a handful of bottles remaining in existence today for sole collection and investment purposes - the rare bottle was initially tasted, re-corked and signed by Schubert himself, as well as today's chief winemaker Peter Gago.

"With collections, people very much look upon this '51 as being the first, in inverted commas, legitimate Grange," Gago told the ABC.

"People will pay a lot of money for that very rare, first experimental '51."

Moreover, in 2016 a bottle of this '51 was sold by Dan Murphy's for a record $65,000 retail.

Ever wondered what a glass of wine like this would taste like? It appears not even the buyers will know – these keen investors are only interested in adding the wine to their collection, not drinking it.

''There are much better Granges from a drinkability perspective available at a much less expensive price," said Gago.