Sir Alex in strong demand
Print11 July 2014
The recent sale of Sir Alex Ferguson’s wine cellar saw plenty of hectic bidding. The Hong Kong sale alone took in close to £2m, with the top lot being a methuselah of Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1997 which sold for $160,864 (US).
An imperial of Chateau Lafite 1986 made $14,282. Sixteen cases of Petrus 1988 sold for between $20,630 and $28,564. An interesting snippet for regular auction buyers: the earlier lots sold for the higher prices. Chinese buyers dominated the Hong Kong session, with American, Asian and British bidders prominent at the London leg.
In London, a magnum of Romanee Conti 2002 fetched £16,450. A bottle of Richebourg 1945 sold for £30,550, while a jerobaum of Romanee Conti 1966 was £23,500. Eight bottles of Chateau Margaux 2000 sold for £5,875 each. The total raised from both sales was £2,667,883, with the online sale result yet to be added.
The original estimate for the entire collection was £3m. With bank interest rates at historic lows, investor interest in vintage wine has been growing. Chicago auction house Hart Davis Hart is conducting the world’s largest ever wine auction this summer. There are 3,000 lots, including 100 lots of Mouton Rothschild as well as fine offerings from Italy’s Barolo region. There are various vintages of Penfold’s Grange and Dom Perignon.
Particularly interesting is a run of German wines which features names like Egon Muller, JJ Prum and Scholss Johannisberg, as well as single bottles from the 1930s to 1950s. German wine is not a regular participant in fine wine sales and this occasion could see some price benchmarks being set.
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