Clare Valley property, Kenfield, sold at auction last week for $5.587 million – significantly above pre-auction expectations.
The 423 hectare property, which is renowned in the Auburn area, was offered by the Kench family, in eight individual lots.
It offered buyers an opportunity to pursue broad acre cropping, viticulture and grazing.
Historic Quelltaler Estate – the home of Annie’s Lane – paid $4.352m for Lots 5, 6, 7 and 8, comprising 312.8ha, to expand its red wine growing area.
The Kenfield purchase takes the company’s vineyard holdings to more than 600ha in the Clare Valley.
“The opportunity to acquire A grade red wine country in Auburn on the terra rossa soils of Clare is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Quelltaler Estate managing director Warren Randall said.
” “We plan to plant approximately 225ha to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Mataro varieties.”
Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 were bought by two local faming enterprises with prices ranging from $4000-$4800 an arable acre.
The auction was conducted at the Clare Country Club by Elders auctioneer Phil Keen.
“The power of auction enabled the market to be rigorougly tested and the competitve tension rose dramatically resulting in prices well above pre-sale expectations,” he said