Zachys sales top US$85m in 2020

Fine wine auctioneer Zachys saw total sales of just over US$85 million in 2020 across 40 sales, which included the company’s first sales in London and a full barrel of Burgundy.

The auction house sold 173,847 bottles in total across 30,204 lots and 40 sales. Out of that total, 10,217 lots were Burgundy which realised $36.4m overall, including the year’s top lot, a 228-litre barrel of Domaine Fourrier’s 2019 Chambolle Musigny Les Sentiers which went for $179,674.

Bordeaux was the next best-selling region ($27m in total sales), followed by California ($9.9m), Tuscany ($2.3m), Champagne ($2.1m), the Rhône ($1.9m) and Piedmont ($1.7m).

Unsurprisingly, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti led sales by value ($11m), followed by Lafite, Mouton Rothschild, Petrus and Armand Rousseau.

The house held two sales in London this year in what were its first auctions outside of the US. President Jeff Zacharia, said: “London and continental Europe has been an important consignment area with us for years. After much planning, 2020 saw the launch of our London saleroom with two auctions: the single-owner collection from the cellar of the Michelin three-star Enoteca Pinchiorri, one of the top restaurants and wine destinations in the world.”

It was at the second London sale in September that the barrel of Fourrier was sold as well.

Asia meanwhile continued to be an important driver of business, representing 46% of global sales. Hong Kong remained the most important market in the region, representing $23m of the final total (27%). Mainland China meanwhile realised $8.9m, Taiwan $3.9m (10% and 5% of the final total respectively, while Thailand, Japan, Singapore were also steady markets.

Zacharia said: “This year, it feels a bit strange to talk about wine auctions. That said, I take pride in how Zachys continued to do what we do best, and at a very high level. And while our first order of business in 2020 was keeping our families, co-workers and clients safe, I’m delighted that we were also able to grow our business during a very challenging time. We confronted the challenges we faced in 2020, and surmounted them.

We believe the auction market in 2020 was buoyed by the fact that everyone was at home, online shopping, and reallocating some of their dining budgets away from restau- rants and travel and towards fine wine. As of now, the 25% import tariffs on certain Eu- ropean wines has also helped increase the price of wines already landed in the US—that is, wines in your cellar. These two factors, accompanied by a strong stock market, will continue into 2021.”