The Henley Group -aboutus

Platinum Wines provides a complete service in building private collections of both boutique and blue chip Australian vintage wines, tailored to our clients' individual tastes and investment objectives. We assist our clients with their wine investments from beginning to end, starting with sourcing the appropriate wines, purchasing them from the vineyards, shipping them to Hong Kong, storing them at Crown Wine Cellars in Shouson Hill, and finally identifying the best time and market to on-sell these wines for you - that is if you haven't already been tempted to drink your profits!

Through our expertise and established sources, Platinum Wines has access to the best, high-end, limited production, collectible Australian wines. In dealing with such quality products it is necessary that our service matches this high standard, thus, we insist on excellence at every level. Platinum Wines employs a wine tasting panel on the ground in Australia, to supply us with informed opinions about the wines we offer. All our wines are cellared at Crown Wine Cellars in Shouson Hill (www.crownwinecellars.com), Asia's leading bonded wine facility. This gives our clients the peace of mind knowing their wines are stored in the optimum conditions.

On becoming a client of Platinum Wines, you will be assigned your own personal portfolio manager who will contact you as wines that suit your specific requirements become available. We endeavor to educate our clients in the world of fine wines and provide information on the winemakers and the regions in which they operate, together with tasting notes, valuations, critics' ratings and awards.

Our clients range from those who already appreciate the character and complexity of a fine red wine, to those looking to build a portfolio for capital appreciation and future sale, to those whose understanding of wine is basic but are looking for a new interest. Whatever the scenario, Platinum Wines offers you the benefit of our knowledge and experience.

What better way to begin your wine portfolio than with a collection of 1 case of Penfold's Grange 2001, 2 box sets of Kilikanoon's Flagship wines and 2 cases of Classic McLaren's La Testa Shiraz 2001.

Penfold's Grange is one of the most highly respected blue chip wines to come out of Australia with collectors queuing each year, before it is released, to add it to their collections. We are expecting this wine to receive one of Parker's highest ratings.

The La Testa Shiraz is a boutique investment driven wine that again has received acclaim from both Parker and Halliday being named as one of Australia's Top 100 Wines.

The Kilikanoon collection is an exclusive release to the Hong Kong market with all the wines within the collection looking to score 95/100 by Parker. Altogether, a highly valuable addition to even the most discerning collector.

To enter this competition exclusive to Henley Group newsletter readers please click here

Development of the wine market in Asia

Wine has been one of the top-performing asset classes for many years, with demand outstripping supply being the major economic factor behind its history of solid returns. The ability of wine to outperform other assets is inevitably linked to the ability of this asset to continue to benefit from the supply and demand basics.

The Asian economy is buoyant at this time and Asia's business elite are spending more and more of their income on wine. According to Vinexpo's latest figures, Asia's wine consumption is expected to grow at twice the world average over the next two years.

Customers in the Asian market only want the finest and rarest wines and are happy to pay whatever prices to get them. It is a lifestyle commodity that eludes status and prestige. With their massive buying ability and willingness to spend there is no doubt that the big Asian buyers are having a huge effect on the distribution of power in the international wine market. In Asia, demand at the top end of the market is incredibly strong and the fine wine end of supply is already extremely stretched.

Below are some examples of how Australian wines have performed in the market over the last decade:

The Power of Parker

Wine critics have been seen to have a huge influence on the wine industry. If a wine is rated well its popularity, price and value will increase dramatically. By far the most influential wine critic and scoring system is that of Robert Parker Jnr and his 100 point scale.

Robert Parker's influence is said to be "unparalleled in the history of wine journalism" by Decanter magazine. His bi-monthly newsletter, The Wine Advocate, was first published in 1978 and now has a profound effect both on prices and market demand for fine wines around the world. By the late 90's Parker had achieved great status and acclaim in the wine world and his 100-point system was already firmly established as the common method for wine critics and ubiquitous connoisseurs within the industry.

Robert Parker's influence on fine wines cannot be overstated, as one observer once said "When Robert Parker spits, the world listens."

"The man with the paragon palate. for countless wine lovers, Robert Parker's tastes are infallible." - Time Magazine

"Parker is the most influential wine writer in the world today." - Los Angeles Times