Christie’s to auction Avery family cellar

This October UK auction house Christie’s is to auction the Avery family’s cellar which is regarded as “one of the finest…collections of old and rare wine ever to appear at auction.”

John Avery MW

The auction features 900 lots of wines spanning the Old and New Worlds with particularly deep collections of classic Bordeaux and Burgundy including specially selected barrel and cuvée bottlings by the Averys themselves.

The Averys are Bristol’s foremost fine wine merchants, founded in 1793 and still operational to this day. John Avery MW (1941-2012) in particular was a pioneer for importing wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the US into the UK – many of which are now household names.

The current members of the family have decided to part with a large part of the collection to make way for newer vintages.

Michael Broadbent MW, who founded Christie’s wine department in 1966, is a close friend of the family and remarked: “This is undoubtedly one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of old and rare wine ever to appear at auction.”

Highlights of the sale include 1875 Lafite, 1923 Richebourg and parcels of old Champagne, Rhône and vintage Port.

There are also five bottles of 1945 Clos de Tart, eleven bottles of 1945 Château Latour and five of the famous ’45 Mouton, “extensive” vintages of Penfolds Grange, 1990 Petrus, 1982 Cheval-Blanc and 1971 Lafleur.

The sale will take place in London on 20 October.