Premium wine retailer and auction house Langton’s is expecting to break a number of fine wine world records on October 6 when a Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 goes under the hammer. 

The coveted lot is the first vintage ever made of Australia’s most famous wine. In December 2021, a bottle of the rare vintage went under the hammer at a Langton’s online auction for $157,624, making it the most expensive bottle of Australian wine ever sold.

“Penfolds Grange is liquid gold in a bottle, and as the first vintages become rarer to find, we will continue to see demand increase,” said Langton’s General Manager Tamara Grischy. “We are expecting this bottle to fetch up between $140,000 to $160,000 which means it could break the existing world record.”

In total, attendees will have the opportunity to raise a paddle across 35 lots, including an extremely rare bottling of 1953 Penfolds Bin 86C ($28,000-$35,000), Penfolds G Series – g3, g4, g5 – Shiraz MV – three bottle set ($20,000-$30,000), an Armand Rousseau Chambertin collection (2005, 2009, 2015 – est. $25,000-$30,000) and 2012 Domaine G Roumier Grand Cru, Musigny ($20,000-$25,000).

“Australian and international very old fine wines, at least 30 years of age, are in great demand as the number of bottles available continues to decline,” Grischy said. “Also, sets of vertical vintages from well-known classic producers receive extraordinary demand as these offerings are very limited and hard to access which means it could be a night where many records are broken.” 

The auction will be the first time Langton’s hosts a live auction event, and will be held at The Eveleigh at Sydney’s Australian Technology Park, where guests will enjoy a decadent three-course meal with matching premium wines from leading brands including Penfolds, Wynns and Bollinger. 

All 200 tickets to the evening are already sold out, however, wine collectors from all over the world can take part in the auction via telephone bids. 

“Our ambition is to be Australia’s leading luxury lifestyle retailer,” Grischy said. “We are elevating our luxury wine and wine spirits offering, and now offer wine lovers once in a lifetime wine experiences like this live auction.” 

There are estimated to be around 40 bottles of the first vintage of Penfolds Grange in existence. This includes approximately 30 bottles that are part of complete sets of Penfolds Grange, which include all vintages of Penfolds Grange from 1951 to present day.

To find out more about the auction and all the lots, and register to be able to telephone bid at the live auction, head to langtons.com.au