Australia's most wanted

For love or money, building a wine collection pays dividends. NED GOODWIN reveals the Australian fine wines to put away.

- NED GOODWIN

Icon is a big word. Impactful, powerful and resolute. But it is not immutable, fashion influences perceptions of quality just as quality , to a great extent, determines fashionability. The Langtons Classification is the barometer of it all when it comes to Australian wine. Solely based on consumer demand in the secondary market and the pricing that dictates, the Classification is dictated by consumer demand alone. There are no arbiters of taste in the form of a tasting panel, group of critics, Masters of Wine or anything else. The performance of all domestic wines sold at Langtons’ auctions, both online and physical, is collated and disseminated. The results are corroborated and appropriated to the tiers within the Classification with the caveat that there must have been a minimum of 10 vintages released before any wine is included. There are “First Classified” (21 wines) and “Second Classified” (79 wines) or the equivalent of a First and Second Growth, or Cru, in French verbiage.

EBB AND FLOWS