700 EUR for a 750 mL bottle of Schubertslay Kabinett. Holy…
I did!
I liked the auctioneer’s comment when the bidding started at 100, “you’ll have to bid higher. For 100 you’ll get a sip”
He always switches to English when telling people to check their bank accounts and increasing the bids, “there should be a 7 in front” 
Keller almost done- one lot left with historic potential. Brace yourself for some jaw-dropping, record breaking results.
Had the 18 the other night it was stunning!
And yet another record-breaking year for Keller. Note the Schubertslay Auslese is a first-time offering.
N28 Keller 2019 “Feuervogel” Reserve Sylvaner 1,5 – 400 Euro
N29 Keller2019 Schubertslay VDP.GROSSE LAGE Alte Reben Riesling Kabinett 0,75 – 700 Euro (550 Euro last year)
N30 Keller 2019 Schubertslay VDP.GROSSE LAGE Alte Reben Riesling Kabinett 1,5 – 4,610 Euro (4,550 Euro last year)
N31 Keller 2019 Schubertslay VDP.GROSSE LAGE Alte Reben Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 0,75 – 1,631 Euro
N32 Keller2019 Schubertslay VDP.GROSSE LAGE Alte Reben Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 1,5 – 5,220 Euro
Three fine estates with the three final lots to come in a few minutes.
It’s not even fun to follow this madness.
And here are the final three lots,
N33 Kruger-Rumpf 2019 (Bingerbrücker) Abtei 1937 Riesling Spätlese 0,75 – 51 Euros (45 Euros last year)
N34 Schäfer-Fröhlich 2018 FELSENECK Riesling Auslese 0,38 – 160 Euro
And finally, the rarity of the sale- an Eiswein from 2007,
N35 Dr. Crusius 2007 Traiser Rotenfels VDP.ERSTE LAGE Riesling Eiswein 0,75 – 521 Euro
The excitement over the Dr. Crusius Eiswein was palpable. I must confess I have not seen the wines in the United States before. Can anyone tell us more about them?
All in all a great day and a great sale! Congratulations to the growers and to the VDP team. I hope everyone got what they wanted!
It is just the beginning I imagine. There was some minor mention in the Mosel sale, but frequent mention today urging online bidders to be timely in getting in their bids- specifically advising that “this is not eBay” where you just bid a bit and keep going up, up. That you have to bid big and early- basically laying your cards on the table.
I say this because it has been my understanding in the past that the vast majority of bids are given to commissionaires 2-3 days prior to the sale for organization and compilation, with limited spot bidding during the sale- and even then through commissionaires.
Clearly that has changed this year. From what I could observe the commissionaires are still collecting the bids, but with people around the world having in some cases access to bid live during the sale without being in the room. And those bidders were clearly having a big impact- especially on the most sought offerings.
Even in a post-COVID world, I cannot imagine things going back to the way they were before this year. And that, I think, will spur further interest in the VDP auctions- but in the same way that the wine auction world in general has affected the markets most. Namely- the handful of wines that have been annointed as A-list will climb farther and faster, with a lesser effect on most other things- but still up across the board overall.
Time will tell…
Dr Crusius is a very nice family run estate. Last year they auctioned a beautiful Beerenauslese of which I bought 6 as it was excellent (and relatively cheap at about €80 for a half bottle).
They were kind enough to send me a sample of the Eiswein as it couldn’t be tried at the auction this year. If I’m honest I wasn’t impressed by it, nor were those tasting with me. It lacked the acidic backbone needed to stand up to all the residual sugar and tasted pretty much like a Sauternes to me. I thought Eiswein normally didn’t have much (if any) botrytis but this one definitely did. Anyway, well done on them for achieving this result!
I hear you but at least be happy that one you were very early on Germany and you have a great cellar that will last you for the rest of your life and two that unlike the madness in say Burgundy at least this is going directly to the growers.
Thanks for posting the results Tom. What a great auction. Really wonderful that the VDP was able to find a way to make this happen.
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Yeah, at least the right people are getting the money. I just cannot see the point anymore, unless someone has money to completely burn.
People do have money to burn. In other crazy auction news this week:
That’s money to nuclear meltdown.
Someone with far more money than they need is a really dedicated fan of the late Justice Ginsburg, obviously.
Ah end-stage capitalism…
Glad to pick up a couple of bottles anyway with my no limit bid, but ouch, those prices are high!
Was hoping the shafer frohlich would go a bit lower since it wasn’t 2019…ah well.