Private Cellar of Joseph Phelps to be Sold

WINE TALK
21

I was sorta interested in some of the older Insignias and Phelps Cabs, given they were coming right from his cellar and also given that my first “wow” wine was a 2000 Insignia that helped get me hooked back in the day.

So I’ve been following the auction off and on today, had 8-10 lots watched, but when the time came on each, I had to say no thanks! Yes, full, full prices.

22

Although I’ll admit I got sucked in and bought some 1977 Charles Krug Vintage Selection for $85/bottle all in – given the vintage I imagine it’s shot so I wasted my money, but when you see a Winebid type price at HDH it suddenly seems cheap even though it’s really not. Messes with your head. Oh well, it’s the first 1970s-era California Cabernet I’ve ever owned.

For $85 worth a gamble. Hope the wine is stellar but those other prices wow! I don’t think I would buy a $500 driver if they said every other one could break on the first swing.

23

Yeah, you never know. I assume the wine hadn’t left the Valley until auction time, so it’s got as good a shot as any out there.

24

I had the 75 a couple years ago at berns and it was superb.

25

Nothing particularly wrong with 1977 in California. A drought year, but Lenny of good wines made. Never found an older Krug wine worth talking about though.

26

Hart Davis Hart is the big winner today!

27

Auction prices in general seem to be incredibly strong, but these are pretty exceptional.

28

In a couple of notable horizontals my experience is that 77’s have outshined the more vaunted 78’s. The few I have had have been quite enjoyable

I’m not as old as Mark and I don’t know who Lenny is, but I’d take my chances on any well-stored 77 Napa/Sonoma Cabernet. [cheers.gif] [snort.gif] neener

29

Lenny is a creation of spellcheck. He has now taken on a life of his own alongside the other Napa greats, Mondavi, Tchelistcheff, Ric Forman and Mrs. Gladys Hockelheimer. champagne.gif

30

Me too, they were pouring it by the glass in the bar for a couple months

31

Prices seemed fairly in line today, though no longer the Phelps cellar. Lost a few lots that I prebid in line but not aggressively by one increment.

32

I love old California and was prepared to spend pretty big yesterday given provenance and some unicorns — as well as the winery recorked examples as I’m a drinker, not an investor and wouldn’t have to explain re-corking to anyone. I was involved on the Ridge Eisele bidding, but it got to an absurd point and I dipped out. Was shocked at how high the ‘75 Chappellet went … I put in a pretty strong pre-bid there and I wasn’t even within $1000 of the hammer.

33

I guess the Joseph Phelps '75 Cab I have in the cellar may be worth more than a dollar or two. Or maybe not, since it didn’t come out of his cellar.

34

I guess the Joseph Phelps '75 Cab I have in the cellar may be worth more than a dollar or two. Or maybe not, since it didn’t come out of his cellar.

I am sure that had a big impact but put in commerce corner with a start $1.00 bid! [cheers.gif]

35

The prices were silly.

Nearly everything went above estimate by a good margin, even fairly blue chip stuff.

Don’t play the auction game in December when the hedge fund set gets their Xmas bonuses and has time to (over)bid…

2 Likes
36

The prices were silly.

Nearly everything went above estimate by a good margin, even fairly blue chip stuff.

Don’t play the auction game in December when the hedge fund set gets their Xmas bonuses and has time to (over)bid…

With my teacher Christmas bonus of $0.00 I was not bidding on any of these wines. Must be nice to be able to afford to over bid on wines. I always think I would rather have a case of a wine than one old wine that might or might not be any good. At least with newer purchases I can get a refund for a corked bottle.

1 Like
37

[wow.gif] 2012 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, 40th Anniversary 1,300 - 1,900 1,600 1,912.00

A case of this crap went for almost $2,000! [wow.gif]

38

Was the buyer Joe B? He likes this swill.

39

Was the buyer Joe B? He likes this swill.

I would be too embarrassed to put my name down as the winner for a lot like that. I am sure Phelps got this as a gift. Looking at how much wine was on this auction I wonder how much of this was gifted.

40

What a difference a decade makes. Barney Rhodes died in 2008 and with the exception of things like 1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard there were plenty of bargains of CA cabs with impeccable storage. I did a tasting for friends and drank a bunch and there were no bad bottles. At these prices for the Phelps collection, I was just a spectator.

1 Like