Wines & Spirits

Irish auction house Victor Mee (19% buyer’s premium) holds regular sale of pub memorabilia and collectables but the online-only October 5-6 offering was on another level.

The oldest bottle released from The Macallan Distillery – and the oldest age statement whisky ever offered at auction – has sold for a premium-inclusive £756,400 in London.

Tate Ward in Shoreditch, London, was set up in 2019. Among the lots coming up in its Fine Wine and Spirits sale on December 7 is a bottle of 1893 Castarede Armagnac.

Whisky has been a booming market in recent years, says Simon Jones, associate director at Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne.

Henry Adams in West Sussex will hold The December Auctions Fine Wines & Spirits sale on December 17.

This lot comprising four whiskies estimated at £30-50 ended up selling for £1050 at Sheffield Auction Gallery (20% buyer’s premium) on October 30.

A “10-year-old Laphroaig, something still readily available today” had a little bit of extra appeal when it came up for sale in west London, however.

In the wake of record auction prices – the first £1m bottle of whisky and a $500,000 bottle of wine – four auction specialists discuss the lively market for fine and rare wines and whisky. Here, two whisky specialists outline the market trends: Graeme Maxwell of McTear's and Mark Littler, independent antiques and whisky broker.

Pouring wine at the table from a standardised machine-made bottle is a relatively new custom. For centuries before the Victorian era, wine was typically bought and stored in the barrel and decanted into bottles or jugs only before use at the table.

In the wake of record auction prices – the first £1m bottle of whisky and a $500,000 bottle of wine – four auction specialists discuss the lively market for fine and rare wines and whisky. A potted history of wine-related antiques follows. First up: Richard Brierley of Forum Auctions and Sam Hellyer of Chiswick Auctions on the wine market.

Forum Auctions is expanding into the wine and spirits market with the purchase of the assets of Bid for Wine from Stanley Gibbons.

The season, the spirit in question and the location of the sale put this bottle of Lagavulin whisky, below, into the spotlight.