Dan Murphy’s Cellar, Lane Cove: New concept store with $160k bottle of wine, curated tastings

Dan Murphy’s is going premium in a rollout of new concept stores in Sydney with features including wine tastings, masterclasses and a stocklist boasting a $160,000 bottle of wine.

Dan Murphy’s is going premium in a rollout of new concept stores in Sydney with features including curated wine tastings and rare bottles of wine costing as much as a first home deposit.

The traditional Dan Murphy’s bottle-o will be reimagined as a high-end wine cellar when doors open to the new ‘Dan Murphy’s Cellar’ concept store in Lane Cove on Wednesday.

The outlet is the first in Sydney and will stock around 2800 products ranging from $20 bottles of wine to some of the world’s rarest drops costing as much as $160,000.

Store manager Walter Henao holds the $160,000 bottle of wine.

The store will also host a range of events such as masterclasses, wine education events, tastings hosted by winemakers, new vintage releases and food and wine pairing tastings.

Store manager Walter Henao – who has 16 years experience in the wine industry – said the concept store would cater to the “modern wine drinker”.

“Over the last couple of years, people are drinking less but drinking much better quality and they’re looking for that premium product,” he said.

A look inside the new store.

“We’re going to have some of the rarest wines from across the world but also wine from every single region and subregion in Australia.

“It will be heavily focused on wine, but we’ll also be leaning quite heavily on local distilleries and breweries.”

The store’s stockist will include one of an estimated 35 bottles of first vintage 1951 Penfolds Grange costing an eye-watering $160,000.

The store will also offer wine tastings.

There is also wine from Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanee-Conti estate, considered one of the world’s top producers, with some bottles costing as much as $20,000.

Dan Murphy’s managing director Alex Freudmann said the store would cater for changing customer demand over the last two years.

“During lockdowns when restaurants and bars were closed, many customers had more income at their disposal and chose to go up the shelf and treat themselves to a premium wine or vintage champagne to enjoy with dinner at home.

Dan Murphy’s said the new store will meet changing customer demand.

“Post-lockdowns, this trend of ‘drink better’ has continued, and we’re seeing more customer demand than ever for boutique wines, organic and preservative-free wines, zero alcohol drinks as well as craft spirits.”

The store is the first of its kind to open in Sydney with plans also underway for another high-end store in Martin Place.

Development works at the Lane Cove outlet have involved installing state-of-the-art wine cabinets, enhanced temperature controls, along with enomatic wine-serving machines.

A look inside the new store.

Mr Henao said the store was not just for wine aficionados with deep pockets.

“It’s important there’s a premium at different price points so if you’re coming to look at wine for $20 dollars we want to find the best $20 bottle of wine for you,” he said.

“There’s also an experiential aspect to the store and wine education and tastings are a very important part of that.

“We’ll have winemaker dinners, we’re going to bring in winemakers from across the country to showcase their wines and we’re looking at collaborating with local restaurants to offer food and wine events and masterclasses.”

The store is located at the former Figtree Cellars site at 231 Burns Bay Rd and will trade from 10am to 8pm from Sunday to Wednesday and 10am to 9pm on Thursday to Saturday.