Many glances in the Bad Kreuznacher Cineplex revealed incredulous astonishment when the hammer fell after a bidding battle last Saturday at a price of 16,100 euros for a bottle of Pettenthal vintage 2020 from the Flörsheimer Weingut Keller.

Before the auction, it was no secret for those in the know that the starting price of 600 euros only had a symbolic meaning, because the Keller winery, located in Rheinhessen, has been known in the industry for years for close networking with wealthy international customers.

Gerald Braunberger

Editor.

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The Pettenthal parcel near Nierstein also covers less than a third of a hectare. In addition, because of the dry August, the harvest last year was very small. Of course, the short supply and the large bottle format also favored the high price. Because under lot 26, only three bottles in the double magnum format (3 liters) were offered. Nevertheless, the hammer price clearly exceeded expectations.

The reputation of a well-known winery, a deliberately short supply in an unusual format and the interest also international buyers in German Riesling, which has been observed for years, already had the price for a double magnum bottle of Zeller Kreuzberg vintage 2020 from the Rhine-Hessian winery Battenfeld Spanier at 8,100 euros driven. The winery only made two bottles available for the auction, one of which was intended for the German and one for the international market.

The organizers of the event, which was held in front of an audience for the first time since 2019, were the members of the Association of German Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) based on the Nahe. Wines from goods from Rheinhessen, the Palatinate and from the Ahr were also offered. Not only rarities were in demand: the total hammer price was just under 1.7 million euros, almost half of which was for wines from Guts Keller.

The day before, an auction of the "Großer Ring" took place in Trier, to which VDP members from the Moselle, Saar and Ruwer belong.

In Trier, too, predominantly young Rieslings from large sites were offered.

The hammer price was just over 1.7 million euros.

Here, a Trockenbeerenauslese from Maximin Grünberg (2018 vintage) was awarded the highest bid at 7850 euros.

Wine auctions have a long tradition in Germany: The auction in Trier was held for the 134th time.