Wine auctions

[Nefarious]

Anyone ever bought wine at auction? Never done it before, but I'm looking at buying a couple of cases of Port at a Christies Fine Wine auction.

Any hints, tips or advice?

I'm assuming that if I stick to big name auction houses then that ensures that the sellers are all large scale merchants and all the wines have been properly stored etc.

[Nefarious]

Bebs said:

I was the auctioneer at Christie's wine department from 1990 to 2006 so I know a little bit about it
What would you like to know?

If we're talking about, let's say Christie's (or somewhere else equivelantly top-end), can I safely see, say, a case of 63 Fonseca in the catelogue and just bid on it online/over the phone, knowing that it'll be exactly as described (i.e. A1), having been properly stored/transported etc etc?

(I've actually already taken the plunge and just bid on something coming up at the auction tomorrow, so fingers crossed I can rescue at least one case from the clutches of the investors and actually drink it!)