Geneva auction confirms Lafite 82 price appreciation

Christie’s Geneva-based auction earlier this week raised a total of €1,308,242 (£1,169,153) making it the third highest result ever achieved by a Swiss autumn auction since sales began in 1975.

Notable sales included a case of Lafite-Rothschild 1982 which fetched £25,895. Only last week Christie’s London department auctioned a case of the same wine for £20,700.

The Geneva auction on Tuesday 14 November sold over 97% by value and 94% by lot and attracted over 200 buyers from 26 countries.

The sale contained a collection of wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; a selection of Hermitage La Chapelle directly from the reserve cellars of Paul Jaboulet and an impressive range of 19th and early 20th century Château Lafite from a Swiss cellar.

“The sale result underlines the expanding global demand for truly rare wines, especially those with the best provenance,” said David Elswood, international head of the wine department.

Elsewhere, on Saturday 14 November, Christie’s New York raised £1,740,051 from an auction containing mature vintages of top Burgundy and Bordeaux as well as Scotch.

“The rally in prices for blue-chip Burgundy and Bordeaux continued on Saturday at Christie’s third sale of the fall auction season,” said Charles Curtis MW, head of North American wine sales.

“DRC was the clear front-runner in price among fine Burgundy, with mature vintages of Lafite, Latour, and Pétrus among the stand-outs in Bordeaux prices,” he continued.

“A special section of fine spirits drew strong interest, especially for the very first US offering of the 1964 Bowmore Trilogy, which sold for $21,600,” he also recorded.

Patrick Schmitt, 19.11.2009