Mr Raptis, the former head of vascular surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, has launched legal action against Watson Fitzgerald and Associates for negligence, as well as breach of contract and its statutory duty.Supreme Court documents state his collection has reduced in value by at least $312,000 after the “significant heat event” allegedly caused by a company worker last year — a claim the firm denies.
He is seeking damages, replacement of all the damaged wine with “identical bottles”, costs and interest, according to his statement of claim.
“(Mr Raptis) was the owner of vintage and collectable wines,” his claim, lodged with the court in January, states.
“The actions of (the company) led to (his) cellar suffering a significant heat event which has caused the wine to be damaged or destroyed.”
The documents state Mr Raptis contacted the company on September 16 last year, advising the temperature in the nearly 10sqm cellar — serviced by an air-conditioning unit and humidifier — was “slightly increasing”.
An unnamed worker then inspected the unit in the inner suburban house, where a compressor was found to be faulty and needed replacing.
The documents state that at 10am that day, the worker switched off the power to isolate the compressor unit before it was dismantled, removed and a new one installed. The worker then said he would return the next day to complete the job.
But Mr Raptis argued the work caused the humidifier to continue working despite power to the cellar fan being turned off.
“As a consequence of the humidifier remaining on, (it) continued to discharge steam into the cellar to retain the set level of humidity,” his claim argues.
“Because (when) the increase in heat condensation occurs, this reduces the humidity in the cellar and the humidifier continued to … discharge steam into the room.”
At 9am the next day, his wife, Anna, saw “large amounts of condensation” in the corridor outside the cellar while water had leaked under the door and into the hallway.
“The heat was sufficient that (Mr Raptis) was unable to immediately enter the cellar. Large amount of steam escaped from (it),” his claim states.
After turning off the humidifier, Mr Raptis entered the cellar 30 minutes later, where a reading showed the temperature was 30C.
He claimed that as a result of his wine being subjected to a “high temperature”, his collection has “dramatically lost value” because it was heat-affected.
A wine broker, Graham Wright, from Oddbins, had valued the collection at $430,000. It is today worth $118,000.
The wine had changed in taste and his ability to cellar the bottles had severely reduced, Mr Raptis argued, while the company had failed to adequately undertake the work within a day.
“Because these issues cannot be measured without destruction of the wine, (he) has lost the capacity to maintain (it) for his own consumption over time,” he adds.
In its statement of defence, lodged with the court last month, the Torrensville-based company denies the claims and asked for an order dismissing the case.
It claimed Mr Raptis was advised the humidifier was faulty and needed replacing and argued the wine was not exposed to a high temperature or any adverse conditions for longenough.
“If the wine or any portion of it is damaged (which is denied), such damage was caused by factors unrelated to matters alleged against (the company),” it argued.
Mr Raptis and his wife declined to comment. The firm’s co-owner Albert Watson said the matter was with his insurers. The case returns to court in October.
10 of the collection’s best
Penfolds Grange — More than 80 bottles across various vintages ranging from 1968-1982. The most prized include the 1971 and the 1976 of which the cellar holds multiple bottles.
Penfolds 2004 Bin 60A —Only two vintages of this Bin (a cabernet/shiraz blend) have ever been released. The 1962 has been called the greatest wine ever made in Australia. This 2004 is very close to that as well.
Henschke 1991 Hill of Grace — The most revered single vineyard red made in Australia — and an adored vintage.
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz — Various vintages. A much loved robust Barossa wine.
Yarra Yering Dry Red No 1, No 2, and No 3 plus others (Various vintages) — Arguably Victoria’s most respected red, from the Yarra Valley; extraordinarily long lasting.
Mouton Rothschild (1978, ‘79 and 2004) One of the most respected producers of the famed Bordeaux region of western France; a relative newcomer to the traditional Classification of the region.
Haut-Brion — Arguably the most famous of the Bordeaux Graves region producers.
Chateau Margaux — Considered the standard bearer for the appellation of Bordeaux which takes its name, and known over the centuries to have made legendary reds.
Cheval Blanc — Another fine Bordeaux estate with an enviable international reputation.
Chateau d’Yquem — A small but highly prized set of five bottles of the world’s most famous sweet white wine.
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