THE Christie's broker who sold an 1863 double magnum of Chateau Lafitte to Howard Park founder Jeff Burch and his friend was horrified to find out they drank it.
THE Christie's broker who sold an 1863 double magnum of Chateau Lafitte to Howard Park founder Jeff Burch and his friend was horrified to find out they drank it.
"These wines aren't for drinking, they're for trading," the broker said, having decided to offer the pair half as much again for the £15,000 bottle to buy it back.
"All the wines are for drinking and we drank it," Mr Burch replied to the astounded broker.
"For £5,000 we'll send you our tasting notes," he added.
Wine collecting is considered a safe investment that has retained its value over the years, regardless of the economic conditions.
Mr Burch, who founded Howard Park Wines and Madfish Wines, said he was brought into winemaking through his passion for collecting wine.
While a large proportion of wine collectors are collecting for their own enjoyment, it's at the top of the market that significant financial returns can be made.
"The value growth is very attractive, but only at the absolute top end so we're talking mainly 50 of the top Bordeaux estates, top-end champagnes. There's demand especially with the Russian market," Mr Burch said.
Fine wine director at wine auction house Langton's, Andrew Caillard, said the trends of wine collecting were a lot less eccentric in Australia than in Europe.
"Here [Australia] there is a different and realistic approach as opposed to accumulating wines just because you can do it," he said.
Mr Caillard believes the majority of wine collectors view it as an investment in lifestyle.
"They want to drink beautiful wines at dinner with their friends. The fact that it makes a return is icing on the cake," he said.
For most wine collectors, the social dimension of tasting wines and sharing the experience with other connoisseurs is a crucial aspect of their passion.
"Wine collectors always surprise. I meet them at wine drinking clubs and tastings and it covers a wide spectrum of people - doctors, lawyers, dentists, people in business, lecturers, teachers," Mr Burch said.
Thirty-year-old Karratha-based electrician Dominik Marczak started collecting wine when he was still under the legal drinking age; today, his collection is nearing 17 pallets.
"Wine to me is a very personal thing. I meet great people, have been to great places and to very memorable dinners. It's opened up doors that may have been closed for me before," Mr Marczak said.
Bob Winterbottom, a Claremont-based dentist, has been collecting wine since his early 20s.
Now aged 59, he has a 4,000-bottle collection and is a member of three different wine clubs.
"If you have a $500 bottle of wine, you want to share it with people who appreciate what you're doing and would do the same for you at the end of the day," he said.
The owner of Mt Lawley liquor store La Vigna, Michael Tamburri, is able to source fine wines for customers, and is an avid wine collector himself.
"I'm fascinated by wine because it's intriguing. It's the most memorable thing that you could try, and you could try it tomorrow and it could be most disappointing thing," Mr Tamburri said.
Mr Burch explains the historical connection one has when drinking great European vintages.
"1945 [vintage] has got such historical content, especially if it is a Burgundy or a Bordeaux because it's the end of the second World War; they've [France] had three or four years of [German] occupation. They had no equipment, no fertiliser, no glass, no people to do things in the vineyards, the war's finished and then they had a brilliant vintage and the wines have been made in basic premises.
"You have the opportunity all these years later to pull the cork; the last time it went in it was the end of World War Two, so that's a wonderful historical connection point," he said.
But wine collectors know they won't be able to enjoy their asset in its entirety, which is part of the tradition, according to Mr Burch.
"The traditional collectors feel they have a responsibility to their children. Someone told me one day, 'your responsibility Jeff, is that you're drinking the wine that your father and grandfather put down. You have to select wines that your son and grandson will drink."