Today, Langtons has officially launched Champagne: Auctioning the World’s Finest in partnership with Champagne expert and writer Tyson Stelzer.
The auction, which will be conducted entirely online over the next two weeks up to Sunday 8 December, hopes to double Langtons’ own company record of $210,951 for the largest single-region auction conducted in Australia, which was achieved by its Danny Younis Champagne collection in September last year.
“There’s no doubt Australians have always had an affinity for Champagne, but we’ve seen this desire grow exponentially across the last decade so we are excited to feed this appetite with the largest ever Champagne-dedicated auction,” said Michael Anderson, Head of Auctions and Secondary Market at Langtons.
“Avid collectors will be able to bid on rare and exclusive Champagnes that will add a new depth to any growing collection or make an unrivalled start to a new one."
Highlights from Langtons’ latest auction include the Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs 1971 Magnum, which is expected to sell for $10,000 to $12,000; the Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Brut Karl Lagerfeld Edition 1998, expected to fetch $8,000 to $10,000; and the Krug Vintage Brut 1996, which should reach $1,500 to $2,000.
According to John Noble, Director of the Champagne Bureau Australia, Champagne continues to offer tremendous opportunity to Australian retailers and venues.
“Australia is still the sixth largest market for champagne in the world,” John Noble told Drinks Trade.
“Champagne exports have declined in 2023 and 2024, but what is happening here is people are still looking to drink champagne because of an emotional connection to the wine, to the brand, to the experience, but also the taste.”
Despite declining volumes, the growth of Champagne over the past two decades is pronounced, reaching 10.5 million bottles in 2022, up from 890,000 bottles in 2001. Furthermore, Australian consumers are increasingly demanding variety, with more than 135 Champagne houses, 187 growers, and 15 coopératives now being imported.
John Noble believes Australia’s wine trade should be championing this diversity when communicating Champagne to trade.
“The professionals that we target - so the people who are the coalface of wine service and wine sales - when you look at the influence they have on the consumer, they're the ones who can showcase these emerging ideas around champagne,” John Noble told Drinks Trade after this Champagne masterclass.
“If a consumer is trying to understand what the next step is, talking to these people about these types of Champagne I think is really valuable… People know what Champagne tastes like (they ‘know’ that it tastes like brut non-vintage, it's 90% of our market [and] is what Champagne brands are about) but the consumer that wants to move from there to something else might only know a prestige cuvée or might only know a wine that is prohibitive because of its price and availability.”
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This month, one of Australia’s most complete 50-year verticals is going under the hammer
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