Chris de Burgh sells wine collection

Christie’s has announced that it will be selling Chris de Burgh’s wine collection as part of its Fine and Rare Wines auction in March. The collection is valued at over £200,000.

The collection includes 320 bottles and 84 magnums, mostly red wines. The auction as a whole is expected to realise over £750,000, with individual lots valued between £500 and £90,000.

Taking place on 24 March, the sale will include a number of unique lots including a case of 1945 Lafite, presented in its original case and packaged with the same straw that has protected the bottles since the end of the war. It is valued at £12,000 to £16,000.

The highest-valued lot (£70,000-£90,000) is a vertical of 62 magnums of Mouton-Rothschild 1945-2005, which de Burgh first bought in 1996 when the vintages ranged from the ’45 to 1985 and he has subsequently added to the collection over the years.

Also for sale is a case of 1961 Latour (£20-30,000), a case of 1989 Grand-Puy-Lacoste at £600-800, a case of 1983 Ducru-Beaucaillou for £500-600 and several bottles of Yquem that were among de Burgh’s first acquisitions for his cellar.

De Burgh is the latest celebrity to part with a sizeable chunk of their wine cellar, the last being Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber last month.

“I started thinking about selling a selection of wines from my collection about five years ago,” de Burgh explained. “Looking at the economics of the wine trade and how the business of selling wine fluctuates, I decided now was the right time.

"Every wine I’m selling I’ve actually tasted, one way or the other, so I know what I’m missing, but I think the time has come for someone else to enjoy them in my stead.

“My wife, daughter and I much prefer to drink white wine, but I’ve greatly enjoyed collecting all sorts of varieties, and vintages, from all over the world. I’ll be having an intense review of my cellar to fill the spaces made by this sale – I can now focus on the remainder of my collection.”

Rupert Millar, 03.02.2011