Dan Murphy’s unveils its first premium Cellar store, featuring a $160,000 wine

Dan Murphy’s Cellar has today opened in Lane Cove, which is the first of the drink retailer’s new premium concept stores, complete with a curated range of hard-to-find bottles displayed in a sophisticated, high-tech setting.

“We know that customers are drinking better, which is why we wanted to create destinations where wine lovers can discover and access some of the best wines from Australia and the world,” said Dan Murphy’s Managing Director Alex Freudmann.

Dan Murphy’s Cellar in Lane Cove ranges some of the world’s rarest wines, including a bottle of 1951 Penfolds Grange, which was the first Penfolds Grange ever made, and retails for $160,000. There are estimated to be around 35 bottles of the first vintage of Penfolds Grange in existence in the world. 

The Cellar also ranges Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, widely considered to produce the world’s best Pinot Noir, with some drops at $20,000 per bottle. In total, the Cellar has a range of over 2,800 different products, however, about 350 of these are so rare that the Cellar only has one or two bottles available. The Cellar’s most premium wines can be found in its Icon Room, which houses fine wines starting from $150.

“We're expecting some wine loving customers to travel interstate to visit us to discover the range and access the wines we have in this store. We can, of course, arrange for safe and convenient home delivery of these highly coveted drops as well,” said Dan Murphy’s Cellar Lane Cove store manager Walter Henao - an experienced sommelier with a WSET diploma. 

Technology has been used to enhance the customer experience and to preserve the wines; the entire Cellar is fully temperature controlled at 17C degrees which is considered the ideal temperature for storing red wine, it also features state-of-the-art wine cabinets for storing other varieties at their ideal temperatures and enomatic machines to enable tastings of premium wines.

All team members of Dan Murphy’s Cellar are educated or experienced in wine, with some having been sommeliers at some of the best restaurants in Sydney or having worked in wineries. Customers will also be able to connect with them directly when they’re not in store thanks to the Merchant’s Signature Service, a personalised virtual clienteling service which is new to Dan Murphy’s. 

“Customers will be able to live-chat with the Cellar’s experts directly from our cellar during opening hours, which will help us to offer a highly trusted and personalised service digitally,” store manager Walter Henao said. 

Discovery is at the heart of the Cellar, with on-demand tastings available any day of the week. The Cellar will also be hosting a range of events, including wine masterclasses, winemaker hosted tastings, new vintage releases and food and wine pairing tastings. 

“As a wine professional, I’m excited to be part of this new amazing concept! My team and I look forward to helping customers find the perfect wine at all price points, whether that’s $20 or $200,” Walter said. 

The new store concept is inspired by Dan Murphy’s founder Daniel Francis Murphy’s love and passion for wine, as he would travel the world to bring his customers new tastes and discoveries. 

Dan Murphy’s Cellar is located on 231 Burns Bay Rd, Lane Cove.

Opening hours are Sunday to Wednesday from 10am to 8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 9pm.

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