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Bonhams sells rare bottle of La Tâche for US$150,000
A rare 5.5L bottle of 1972 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche sold for US$150,000 this week – the highest price for a single bottle of wine ever sold by Bonhams auction house.
Large formats from the prestigious estate are extremely rare, the auction house said and this is the first time a 5.5L bottle from the 1971 vintage has ever been offered at auction. It achieved it’s low estimate of US150,000 – 200,000.
The lot was one of three large format bottles from the famed Burgundy domaine in the Iconic Wines from Passionate Collectors sale, which ended on 17 June.
The two other large format bottles of DRC in the sale comprised a 6L bottle of DRC La Tâche from 1994, which achieved it’s low estimate of US$20,000, and a 6L bottle of DRC Richebourg from 1994, which sold for US$15,000, against an estimate of US$14,000- 18,000.
A 12-bottle case of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 1990 was the nest highest lot, reaching its its high estimate of US$50,000.
Other highlights of the sale came from the collection of renowned international wine critic and collector Josh Raynolds, which achieved US$173,500 overall. This included three bottles of George Roumier Musigny 1999, which sold for US$32,500 (against an estimate of 20-25,000) and six bottles of Jacky Truchot Morey St. Denis Clos Sorbe Vieille Vigne 2001, which achieved US$7,500.
Bonham’s said the online sale saw buyers registering from 11 countries across the Americas, Asia, and Europe including “a substantial” increase in new buyers – who bought 22% of the lots offered. The sale achieved US$521,363 overall, with 95% sold by lot.
To date, the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction remains a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti, which achieved a record US$558,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in 2018. The astonishing price was mainly due due to its extreme rarity – there were only 600 bottles produced that year, which was the last year older vines were used before the vineyards were replanted.
Bonhams’ Wine & Spirits department has recently been expanded and reshuffled following the appointment of Amayès Aouli as global head of wine & spirits in January and Marie Keep as head of wine & spirits for the Americas more recently.
Read more:
Bonhams wine head: ‘I want to see bottles circulating among collections’ (thedrinksbusiness.com)