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Rare Wines at Auction

Publish Date: 21 Nov 2011

Christie’s results for a fabulous sale of an amazing private collection held at Geneva in Switzerland on November 15 showed that the fine wine market is alive and well, sovereign debt issues notwithstanding. Five magnums of 2011 Romanée-Conti realised $101,108, and went to an Asian private buyer. But from this point on the destination of some extraordinary lots did come as a surprise. Six bottles of Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle brought $98,580, and went to a European trade buyer. So did a vertical of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild from 1945-2007 (63 vintages), which sold for $88,469, underlining the great quality and extreme rarity of the ‘61 La Chapelle. 12 bottles of ‘82 Petrus went to a UK private buyer for $69,511, as did the first two lots of 12 bottles of ‘82 Chateau Lafite (for just under $60,000). Two more lots of one dozen ‘82 Lafite went to a UK trade buyer, and only one lot 12 bottles of ‘82 Lafite went to an Asian private bidder.  Contemporary folklore would have you believe that Asian buyers would be at the forefront of the queue for ‘82 Lafite, but life is not that simply, it would seem.

Authored by: James Halliday

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