A Test of Claret Price Formulation in Auction Markets

Examines the information determinants on the hammer price of a remarkable collection often vintages of Château Léoville‐Barton, spanning 1981–90, which came up for auction at Christie's, South Kensington, during the early part of 1994. The vintage ratings of three leading wine writers and the Christie's guide prices were modelled as predictions of the hammer price. The results indicated that the auctioneer's guide prices had greatest explanatory power in terms of the variation in the hammer prices, but the vintage ratings provided by the wine authors were also significant