Petrus pushes Sotheby’s sale past £1m
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Sotheby’s first London wine auction of the season exceeded its pre-sale high estimate to reach £1,019,383.
It pre-sale estimate of £693,885-£876,005 was smashed by demand for Petrus, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and other fine claret.
The top lot was a case of 1989 Petrus, which sold for £28,200 (far exceeding its high estimate of £18,000), while two bottles of 2006 DRC Romanee-Conti sold for £16,450 and nine bottles of 1966 DRC Echezeaux sold for £11,515. Other best-selling lots included Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, Lafleur, Cheval Blanc and Lafite.
Sotheby’s head of wine Stephen Mould said: “We saw a very strong start to the season with keen interest from buyers around the world eager to snap up an array of wines from different regions. Two private collections led the sale, the first featuring top Bordeaux and Burgundy of excellent provenance from a country house cellar.
“Prices for mature Bordeaux, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leflaive soared over their estimates thanks to competition from bidders in the room, online and on the telephone. Elsewhere, red and white Rhône from Chave and Italian wines from Giacomo Conterno were also in demand.”
