Interest in lesser years grows as big names slow down

Sotheby’s held a small fine wine auction last week that was notable more for the surprising success of “off” vintages – especially for Château Lafite – rather than for smashing records.

There were, of course, some big results. A case of Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1988 was sold for £52,900, a case of Pétrus 1982 for £36,800 and a 1990 for £32,200.

Likewise, cases of Lafite and Latour 2000, 2005 and 1996 made healthy returns at anywhere between £10,000 and £14,000.

However, these prices are hardly surprising considering the quality and popularity of those vintages but in fact most of those sales, including the DRC and Pétrus, fell well within their estimates.

Indeed, two bottles of Lafite 1982 only just made it over their low estimate and a magnum of Lafite 1985 remained unsold.
 
So while at first glance less impressive, the case of Lafite 1991 selling for £8,280 actually made over £1,000 on its high-end estimate. In a similar vein, bottles of Mouton Rothschild and Palmer 1991 all crept over their estimates as did cases of Lafite and Latour 1993 at £7,820 and £3,680 respectively.

Even the 1997 wines did well, a case of Lafite settling at £8,280 (high estimate £6,500), Palmer £862 (£720) and Margaux £3,220 (£3,000).

This year’s auctions have so far seen strong if not outright startling figures, as was the case last year. With the possible exception of Hong Kong, prices for the big name châteaux in London and New York appear to be settling down. The interest in less celebrated vintages is widely considered to be a classic Far Eastern trait as names are sought above supposed vintage quality.  

With an upcoming auction in New York on 7 May it will be interesting to see if these trends continue.

Rupert Millar, 28.04.2011