When navigating the wine auction catalog, labels, and notes concerning them, are some of the more common notes encountered in the auction catalog. Fortunately, these notes are far more relative to collectors’ interests than some of the other condition notes.
Cosmetic Label Imperfections
The majority of wine label assessments are indications of purely cosmetic flaws on the label, with no effect on the value of wine inside the bottle. Wine labels are, after all, made of paper for the most part, and paper is easily damaged. Things like tears, nicks, scuffs, or markings will not alter the estimates on a bottle, and are unimportant to collectors who are buying to drink.
That said, we include these assessment notes because some auction buyers are looking for trophy bottles to add to their collections, and the cleanliness and preservation of the bottle labels are important to the aesthetic of their cellars. Or perhaps a buyer is looking for a birth year vintage as a special gift for a business associate or loved one, in which case they would prefer a pristine label. The importance of these cosmetic notes are purely at the discretion of the bidder.
If a label is torn, nicked, scuffed or marked in areas of the label that obscure important information about the wine – including the producer, vineyard or vintage – additional measures are taken to confirm the bottle’s contents. Typically the capsule will be cut to reveal the cork in this case, and if the visible cork is fully branded and authenticated, the bottle may be permitted for auction. The assessment notes will always indicate if the label is obscured and if the capsule was cut. If the cork cannot confirm the wine’s details in the case of an obscured label, the bottle will not be permitted for auction.
There are additional assessment notes used in a wine auction catalog for label condition classification, but we’ll save those for the next installment. For now though, put your new knowledge of wine auction catalog labels to the test. Head over to our sale schedule a pick a sale and start looking through the lots. And if you have questions, you can email us.
If you’d like to read up on other helpful tips for navigating the auction catalog, you can head over to our first installment on our assessment process. You can also check out our post on ullage, and what that means too.