Berry Bros & Rudd’s first auction hailed ‘a resounding success’

The UK’s oldest fine wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd, saw a “resounding success” for its inaugural auction, after all the lots sold to raise a combined total of £534,925.

The first auction from Berry Bros. & Rudd Auctions comprised the wine collection of Ian Mill, KC, who said the results “fully justifies both BB&R’s decision to enter the wine auction world and my decision to entrust to them the sale of part of my collection”.

Geordie Willis, the director in charge of the new venture said the team knew that offering “such an esteemed collection of wines for the launch of our auction business would be exciting, but we are delighted with the response from customers new and old from all over the world.”

In total, over 575 lots were offered in the auction, with 27% sold either at, or above their pre-sale high estimate. Meanwhile the average hammer price amounted to more than 120% above the reserve, BBR said. Overall, the sale attracted bidders from 40 different countries, and Willis confirmed that there was already interest in the company’s next auction, which will be held next year.

Mill’s collection featured Burgundies

A breakdown of the sale saw £97,125 achieved for the 115 lots dedicated to vintage Champagne from houses including Krug, Dom Perignon and Cedric Bouchard, averaging more than £844 per lot, with a single bottles of Dom Pérignon Oenothèque from 1964 and another from 1969  selling for  £2,200 each.

There were 24 lots of Bordeaux, raising £23,320, and 136 lots of red Burgundy from vintages spanning 1955 to 2020, including red wines from the 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1999 and 2002. A magnum of 1969 Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche trebled its high estimate of £2,500 to achieve £7,500, while overall the red wines from Burgundy raised £199,420. However, two star lots – a bottle of 1996 Musigny Grand Cru from Domaine Georges Roumier a 2001 Musigny Grand Cru from Domaine Georges Roumier – only achieved their low estimates (£7,000 and £5,500 respectively).

Among the white Burgundies – which included wines from the 70s to early 90s as well as more recent vintages such as 2014 and 2017 –  some struggled to reach their low estimate. For examp,le, a bottle of 1982 Montrachet Grand Cru from Domaine Ramonet sold for £3,250, £350 short of the low estimate, while a bottle of 1997 Meursault Les Narvaux from Domaine d’Auvenay fetched £400 less than the low estimate, achieving £3,000. However, the most valuable lot among the white wines from Burgundy, six bottles of 1999 Meursault from Domaine Coche-Dury sold for £4,200, around £200 above the lower estimate.

The sale was rounded off with wines from the Rhône, Alsace and California, along with Scotch whisky and Cognac.

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