Our November Fine & Rare Wine auction featured the first instalment of this year’s Drinks Trust Charity auction and stunning wines from the greatest producers around the globe.
Cream Of The Crop
This year’s two part Cream of the Crop Charity Auction began with rare bottles and bespoke hospitality experiences. All proceeds will go to support The Drinks Trust charity in helping those in need in the drinks industry.
Experiences included tickets to Strictly Come Dancing Live which sold for £340, Balfour Winery’s Winemakers Wine and Dine Experience which sold for £340 and a Six Month Wine Club Subscription courtesy of Majestic Wines which sold for £320.
As well as experiences there were bottles such as Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2002 with The Art of Vintage book (one of only 150 copies) featuring stunning photography which sold for £160. Kylie Minogue fans enjoyed bidding on a signed magnum of Kylie Minogue Cotes de Provence Rose 2020 from the popstar’s own Provence estate that fetched £85. A jeroboam of Echezeaux Grand Cru 2015 from Maison Roche de Bellene fetched £380 and a case of Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 2016 from Australia’s Barossa Valley sold for £300.
Don’t miss the next opportunities to help a great cause, bid on superb whisky and spirits lots and experiences in our December 2022 auction.
Big Bottles
We love auctioning large format bottles, in November we had everything from Champagne magnums of Pol Roger, Louis Roederer and Krug, to a towering Balthazar of Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial, which fetched £700. Two Pol Roger 1996 Cuvee Winston Churchill magnums fetched £460 and £470 a piece, while the charity lot of a trio of Hermitage La Chapelle 2007 magnums from Paul Jaboulet Aine raised £460 and a Louis Roederer Cristal 1999 magnum sold for £450.
Bordeaux
As ever, many of the most highly prized lots came from grapes grown in the vineyards of Bordeaux, and there were plenty to choose from. Chateau Petrus 2011 sold for an impressive £2,800, while the ‘100 pointer’ Chateau Haut-Brion 1989 sold for £1,550.
There was an (almost) vertical tasting line-up of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, with vintages between 1984 and 1989, only missing a 1987. These fetched between between £300 and £600 with the highest price inevitably going to the stunning 1986 vintage, another Parker 100 pointer.
Another highlight was a pair of Chateau Cheval Blanc 1989 which sold for £360 and £370 respectively.
Around The World
Here are just some of the great vintners from all around the globe that featured in the November wine auction: Hermitage 1999 from the legendary Rhone producer Jean Louis Chave sold for £450 and Batard Montrachet 2006 from Domaine Leflaive that fetched £470.
A clutch of ‘Super Tuscans’ from Bolgheri Sassicaia and Antinori Tignanello attracted plenty of interest and there were lots from the lesser known vineyards of Europe that deserve more attention: the limited edition Ispita 2011 Crama Oprisor from Romania fetched £55.
From across the Atlantic there was Opus One, which is a collaboration between France’s Baron Philippe de Rothschild and California’s Robert Mondavi, fetching £310 each. From Australia we had Penfolds Grange 1998, described by Robert Parker as ‘a wine that flirts with perfection’, which sold for £360.