Included in tomorrow’s ‘Wish List’ auction at Adam’s, St Stephen’s Green are a couple of dozen lots of wine, after the jewellery and the fur coats. I cannot speak with any authority on the quality of the gems or the minks but anyone seeking a fine wine bargain would need to tread carefully. There’s some good stuff here, no doubt, but there are some right clunkers too.

We have always had a soft spot for Lynch-Bages in this country and anybody with some spare cash (do such people exist anymore?) could pick up a dozen from the good 1995 vintage in the original wooden case. It’s drinking nicely now but another decade in the cellar will do it no harm at all. The estimate is €1,000-€1,500. That’s about on target for this wine now and you would be doing quite nicely if you were to get it at the bottom end of the estimate.

A bottle of Mouton-Rothschild 1948 (est €1,500-€2,000) looks less attractive. Sandwiched between the superb 1947 and ’49, 1948 was a reasonably good vintage, but give me a case of the Lynch-Bages any day. To be avoided at all costs are the two bottles of Lafite-Rothschild 1967 (est €600-€800). Michael Broadbent, doyen of old-wine critics, once wrote of 1967: “A peroxide blonde of a vintage; initially attractive but the black roots soon began to show.” And of the Lafite itself: “thin and tinny.” Enough said.

I was lucky enough to drink Angélus 1989 a couple of weeks ago and it was superb, beautifully evolved yet still vigorous. (Angélus had a near-starring role in the James Bond film Casino Royale recently.) There’s one bottle in this auction (est €150-€200) and if it is in good condition, with a good fill level, then it would be worth a punt. If you do manage to snare it, do not be tempted to serve it on Christmas day. The occasion will overwhelm it. Save it for one of the quiet days after Christmas and let the bottle be the special occasion. Serve it with a simple steak bereft of fancy sauces.

Tags: Auction, Lynch-Bages, Angélus