Ex-cellar La Chapelle to be offered at auction

Sotheby’s is to offer several lots of Hermitage La Chapelle that have been sourced directly from Paul Jaboulet Ainé’s cellar.

The 84 lots will go on sale as part of the auction house’s fine wine sale at the end of this week in New York and are expected to reach over US$250,000 with vintages ranging from 1959 to 2009.

The sourcing of wine directly from the estate’s cellars is part of a growing trend for wines with impeccable provenance and various sales from Lafite,  Latour and Bordeaux Wine Bank have all yielded strong returns.

Particular highlights include a magnum of 1959 with estimates of $8,000 to $11,000, six bottles of 1961 at $60,000 to $100,000, 12 bottles of 1990 at $6,000 to $9,000 and a Melchior of 2009 at $6,500 to $9,500.

Serena Sutcliffe MW, international head of wine at Sotheby’s, said: “La Chapelle is one of the truly great Rhône wines, and so I am delighted that the Frey family allowed Sotheby’s access to some of their most remarkable library of vintages.

“Together we have created this unique sale that gives all lovers of La Chapelle an extraordinary opportunity to buy this iconic wine over a period of six decades.”

Also appearing at the auction are 260 lots from the “legendary” New York venue, the Union Square Café.

With combined estimates for the lots expected to be in excess of $125,000, Sutcliffe commented: “When raiding the Reserve Cellar, we came up with great vintages of some of Italy’s most alluring wine names and regions, in years that could be poured at Thanksgiving in a few weeks, surely the most suitable moment to share delicious wine and food with family and friends.”

The auction also includes lots of Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italian and US wines.

Notable names and lots include:

• Lots 247-248: 2 Mathusalem of 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal, est.$9,000 – $12,000 each
• Lot 428: 12 bottles 1996 Salon le Mesnil, est $2,750 – $3,750
• Lots 306, 1414: 12 bottles 1982 Lafite, est. $37,500 – $50,000
• Lot 1417: 12 bottles 1989 Haut Brion, est. $12,000 – $16,000
• Lot 233:  8 bottles 1990 Richebourg, DRC, est. $7,000 – $10,000
• Lot 693: one bottle Romanée Conti, DRC, est. $10,000 – $20,000
• Lot 709: three bottles 1968 Sassicaia, est. $1,800 – $2,500
• Lot 713:  three bottles 1985 Sassicaia, est. $3,000 – $4,000
• Lot 1504:  three bottles 2002 Screaming Eagle, est. $3,500 – $4,500
• Lot 1377:  11 bottles 1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet, est.$7,000 – $10,000