Ultra rare 1869 Yquem sold in London

Four bottles of extremely rare 19^th century Yquem have been sold in London for a combined £35,838.

Kept in the cellar of an English country house for the last 50 years, the bottles were initially valued at £5,000-£6,000 apiece but were eventually sold for £8,959 each.

Bonhams international director of wine, Richard Harvey MW said: “1869 was a great year for Château d’Yquem, regarded by many as the world’s finest dessert wine. Examples of this vintage rarely appear at auction and collectors took full advantage of the opportunity to acquire such a legendary wine.”

Overall, the sale made £566,080 and other top-selling lots were six bottles of 1974 Romanée-Conti, a case of 1972 La Tâche and a case of 1982 Mouton Rothschild.

A collection of old Port and Cognac “from an historic cellar in the north of England” realised a further £28,435, with four bottles of Grande Fine Champagne Cognac selling for a combined £10,000.