Questionable experts at auction houses?

[Heather Hathwell]

Someone sent me a link to a blog about a phony Sex Pistols art poster that is/was part of an upcoming auction at Christie's in NY. A number of people had posted comments, about how easy it was for anyone to recognize it as a fraud (among the reasons, that clubs never printed the years on flyers back in the late 70s, or the fonts were just plain wrong), and among those comments came another comment about how a prior auction offered an "autographed" copy of a Jimi Hendrix album.... only problem was, this comment said, the album didn't even come out until 2 years after his death.

So one has to wonder, okay maybe the poster thing is a little tricky for an auction curator to catch on to, but the Jimi Hendrix album? And if such an error can be made that is presumably so easy to spot, what of wine auctions, art auctions? Is it just bad luck at Christie's or is this problem happening at all houses? We've heard of stories of people trying to pawn off refilled recorked/sealed large format bottles.... what of labeling discrepancies? Apart from provenance in general how do you really know that something is in fact the product it is advertised to be? It's an interesting thing to think about.

[Eric Menchen]

I bought a "Kopke 1960 Vintage Port" at auction that turned out to be a colheita. All you had to do was look at the bottling date on the back of the bottle to figure this out. Makes you wonder. In this particular case, I wasn't too disappointed. I paid $60 for what I thought was something going for $300 at retail. As a colheita, retail prices look like $200. Still a bargain, and I like Colheita

[Moses Botbol]

The auction house should take it back if it was a fraud or not as described.

One time I bought a case of Vesuvio, OWC, and it did not come with all trinkets that are normally packed with Vesuvio. I complained to the auction house that if it's Vesuvio OWC, it must come with these things... To them, that just means a box; nothing more...

At our Croft Vertical last year, there was a "vintage" bought that obivously was not a Croft Port, yet alone port at all. Tasted like something of another fruit wine. The auction house did refund the money. I drank a 1908 Dow that was far from being port at all. Strange orange hue with the most metallic foul taste I have ever had. No sediment as well. In this instance, the auction house refunded the money. I heard they drank it which is quite hard to imagine...

Ultimately, the bidder has to know what they are bidding on, but the bidder should feel confident that the auction house will make right on any mis-advertised issues.

[Steve Pollack]

For an interesting book on the topic, check out "The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine". Not very flattering for Michael Broadbent or Christie's, I'm afraid.

[Glenn E.]

My first two purchases at auction ever both contained major errors.

Purchase #1 was supposed to be a 1965 Warre's VP. This was long enough ago that I didn't know Warre's didn't make a VP in 1965, but people here sent me PMs when I mentioned it and I contacted the auction house. The checked and confirmed that it was in fact a Warre's Grand Reserve (Colheita), not a VP, and refunded me the difference between my bid and the minimum bid. (They offered a full refund and return shipping.)

Purchase #2 was supposed to be a 1985 Fonseca with signs of seepage and a 1985 Sandeman in perfect condition. I paid reasonable amounts for the two bottles, but when they showed up the conditions were reversed. Obviously that's a bonus for me, but I notified the auction house of the error anyway because it was the same place as purchase #1. They were suitably contrite, but I pointed out that I'd now made 2 purchases from them and they both contained major errors.

I've since had no problems with them, possibly because there's a warning flag next to my name in their database.

[Moses Botbol]

I saw a case of Ramos Pinto 1970 in OWC. The listing said the bottles had SOS, and when we opened the case, not only did the bottle come straw, they were the most prestine bottles one could wish for... Not to mention an excellent vintage from Ramos Pinto.

I wish I was able to preview bottles before bidding. Many times I they over-estimate the negative to play it safe, but I wouldn't necessarily want to gamble on that and the bottles ended up being as described.

I have bought other cases with SOS and found it to be true, but not as bad as imagined.

[Eric Ifune]

"The Billionaires Vinegar" is an eye opening read.

[Andy Velebil]

"The Billionaires Vinegar" is an eye opening read.

Yes it is

[Eric Menchen]

"The Billionaires Vinegar" is an eye opening read.

Yes, I may just have to read that. I read the pages Amazon would let me see, and it seemed light, easy, and entertaining.

[Roy Hersh]

What concerns me most about auctions is that all they really have to go on is the appearance of the bottles. Only with VERY rare wines will they open bottles to sample to ensure quality of the rest of the consignment. This is why I'd rather trust a few companies that specialize in buying complete cellars or significant parcels. They go to the cellar, check out the conditions, open bottles and pay for them upfront and do their homework asking many questions. I'd rather pay them 5-10% more (although their prices are generally as good as any auction house) than pay an auction house that goes by appearance.

Why?

What if I was a jerk and decided to unload a case of my 1983 Cockburn's at auction. I realize that 7 of the last 8 bottles I pulled from other cases and a handful tasted from other people's cellars ... have been corked. Now, at auction, all they see are these gorgeous bottles that have been in my care for about 2 decades. Perfect fill labels, capsules and corks. The unsuspecting buyer sees a 26 year old VP in great condition and hears they're from a very respected cellar consignment, and in "pristine" condition. They go and plunk down their $700 + fees and win the lot. But they wind up hating life as soon as they bring the first bottle to some big tasting to impress their friends. This happens all the time with white/red wines. People intentionally dump their known bad wines on auctions. Some have worse reputations than others. Some do open bottles from unknown sellers. But the vast majority are there to "pass it on."

I like Bordeaux and Burgundy and Veneto wines a ton. Most of my friends have purchased bottles from auctions and although the bottles may look great ... when you've had a specific wine a handful of times or more ... and then try a bottle that looks good but once decanted shows prem-ox for a great Chevalier Montrachet what do you say? This is the reason that I avoid most auctions for all but Madeira at this point.

There are many great deals at auction, but I don't care if it is Christie's, Sotheby's, Zachy's, Acker ... you sub in the name of your favorite ... they all make mistakes and allow bad bottles to pass from seller to buyer. It is just the percentage that we never really know the truth about. Is it 5% or 10% or higher? They'd likely say it is 2% but we know that is nonsensical.

[Moses Botbol]

What if I was a jerk and decided to unload a case of my 1983 Cockburn's at auction. I realize that 7 of the last 8 bottles I pulled from other cases and a handful tasted from other people's cellars ... have been corked. Now, at auction, all they see are these gorgeous bottles that have been in my care for about 2 decades. Perfect fill labels, capsules and corks. The unsuspecting buyer sees a 26 year old VP in great condition and hears they're from a very respected cellar consignment, and in "pristine" condition. They go and plunk down their $700 + fees and win the lot. But they wind up hating life as soon as they bring the first bottle to some big tasting to impress their friends.

The Cockburn is not a good example. Your wines are excellent bottles, it's that particular vintage which is not good. How else are you to pawn them off then? :devil: