Fact: most wine sold in Australia is drunk within 24 hours of purchase. The definition of 'most' in this instance is not 51% or even 75%, but is in the region of 95%. It would appear that most of us just can't wait. However, what do you do when you want to try something a little bit older, or taste some previous vintages of a younger wine that you've just discovered? When the cellar you've been creating over the years is suddenly bare, where do you go?

Fortunately, there is a healthy secondary wine market in Australia. This means that there are people across the nation with wine collections, or part collections, that they wish to sell and there is a range of on-sellers and auction houses that will help them get their wines to market. The foremost of these in Australia is Langton's.

Celebrating its 20th birthday in 2008, Langton's made its first foray into the secondary wine market in 1986 with no real competitors to speak of. Even with a more mature secondary wine market now, Langton's has stayed ahead of the pack in both service and technology (it broke new ground by taking its auctions online long before anyone else in the wine industry). In addition, the Langton's Classification of Australian Wine is the 'unofficial honour roll' of Australian fine wine. As a result, Langton's has developed a reputation for being the doyen of secondary fine wine market in Australia.

Western Australia holds a special place in the Langton's offer, being singled out as the only state in the nation in which they have classified a collection of Great Wine Estates. As described by Langton's, "The Great Wine Estates of Western Australia is a union of the state's top wine marques pulled together under the imprimatur of Langton's. Together, the twelve Estates represent the leading force of fine wine in Western Australia." They are: Cape Mentelle, Cullen, Devil's Lair, Howard Park, Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Pierro, Vasse Felix, Voyager Estate and Xanadu from Margaret River, Plantagenet from Mount Barker and Houghton from Great Southern.

Each year, the Great Wine Estates are represented in an en primeur auction of the top wine from each estate from that year's vintage. Readers may remember that this auction used to be a live event, which was last hosted at Voyager Estate in 2005. Nowadays, the en primeur auction is carried out online, giving a broader audience access to those wines for sale.

However, in keeping with the live auction tradition, the Great Wine Estates will be hosting a charity auction and tasting event in Perth in March 2009. The lots for this event will include several must-haves from each of the producers, as well as the now famous artistic Imperials (6-litre bottles). An Imperial from each of the 12 producers is uniquely decorated with a complementing original artwork. The Voyager Estate Imperial has been decorated by Allery Sandy (see below and the snippet on page 7). Proceeds from the auction of all lots are donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Busselton Medical Research Foundation, established by the late Dr Kevin Cullen and a long-time beneficiary of the auction. The event will also provide the only Perth opportunity to taste some samples of upcoming vintages not yet released to the public.

Both the live and online auctions give fine wine enthusiasts the chance to experience some of the greatest wines, both current and upcoming, from Western Australia's eminent producers. It only happens once a year so if you would like to know about it in advance of the 2009 event, please let us know by emailing cellardoor@voyagerestate.com.au or calling on 08 9757 6354, or become a member of Langton's at www.langtons.com.au.