‘Benchmark’ Bordeaux collection comes to London

A “benchmark” collection of fine Bordeaux from a European cellar is being offered by Sotheby’s in London next month.

The collection is dominated by blue chip claret, with a particularly strong offering from the storied 1982 vintage, and with a good number of large format bottles too.

Other regions get a look in too, with Sotheby’s saying the sale’s “final flourish” will include white Burgundy, red Rhône and a “cache” of Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne.

Taking place on 16 May, the sale will feature 194 lots worth an estimated £1.3 million.

Among the 1982 wines on offer are:

• 57 bottles, six magnums and one double magnum of Lafite
• 56 bottles and two double magnums of Latour
• 85 bottles and two double magnums of Mouton Rothschild
• 60 bottles and one double magnum of Margaux
• 84 bottles, one magnum and two double magnums of Cheval Blanc
• 23 bottles of Petrus

Other notable consignments include:

• 40 bottles of 1990 Margaux
• One double magnum of 1970 Petrus
• 48 bottles and 40 magnums of 1975 Petrus
• 26 bottles, four magnums and one double magnum of 1989 Petrus
• 23 bottles and 16 magnums of 1990 Petrus

Serena Sutcliffe MW, Sotheby’s honorary chairman of Wine, said: “These truly ‘bankable’ wines that made the formidable reputation of Bordeaux provide some of the greatest tastes we can ever experience. It is taxing, to say the least, to pick out glittering favourites among ‘The Battle of the First Growths’ and their equivalents on the Right Bank.

“The serious side of this great collection was in its acquisition and care, as provenance and storage are a given. Now is the moment for these landmark wines to be enjoyed to the full.”