Fifteen magnums of Shafer's Hillside Select garnered the top bid of $42,000 in the Napa Valley Vintner's inaugural online auction of library wines, which drew bidders from around the world.
The Napa Valley Vintners first online library wine auction concluded on Saturday, raising $933,000 from nearly 500 bidders from 12 countries.
Direct From the Cellar, the Napa Valley Library Wine Auction, began on Feb. 11 and ended on Saturday with a live-streaming online auction through Zachys auction house.
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The week-long event offered 96 lots, many of rare and large format collections from Napa Valley producers. The Napa Valley Vintners created the online event after cancelling their annual Auction Napa Valley fundraiser in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re overjoyed to have exceeded our fundraising goal, yet the real success of this auction was the far reach and opportunity for the global wine community to discover the depth of remarkable wines made in Napa Valley,” said Linda Reiff, president and CEO of Napa Valley Vintners.
Joining bidders from 41 states were wine enthusiasts in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, United Kingdom, Denmark, Switzerland and Mexico.
Drawing the top bid of $42,000 was the Shafer “Ultra Rare Family Legacy” lot of 15 magnums (1.5 liters) of its flagship Hillside Select from 2000-2014.
The Opus One lot of 5 imperials (6 liters or eight bottles of wine each) of its Red Blend from five vintages went for $40,000.
A mixed format lot of 25 bottles of wine from Thomas Rivers Brown sold for $36,000, while lots from the Oakville Winegrowers (25 magnums) and the Rutherford Dust Society (22 magnums) went for $30,000 and $22,000, respectively.
“This auction showcased the caliber of age-worthy wines Napa Valley is known for and demonstrated that collectors around the world believe in the investment value of the Napa Valley name,” said Jeff Zacharia, president of Zachys.
The new event included five online educational sessions, hosted by Antonio Galloni, that attracted 1,000 from 28 countries. Recordings of all sessions are available at NapaValleySessions.com and at Vinous.com.
Teresa Wall, spokeswoman for the Vintners, said that based on the success of their inaugural event, they will plan to present it again. The Vintners will also announce a replacement for Auction Napa Valley later this year.
Next up is the Premiere Napa Valley barrel auction for the wine trade taking place June 1-5.
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Napa Valley Wine Insider Digest: Feb. 27, 2021
Sasha Paulsen
Features Editor
Sasha Paulsen has been features editor at the Napa Valley Register since 1999. A graduate of Napa High School, she studied English at UC Berkeley and St. Mary's College and earned a Masters in Journalism from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
