A remarkable cellar put together over ten years by an US businessman whilst working in London heads Bonhams sale of Fine & Rare Wines on Thursday 1st December.
A Piedmontese by birth his interest started with wines from the top producers of Barolo and Barbaresco; Aldo Conterno, Giacosa, Sandrone, La Spinetta and Voerzio among others. Tuscany is also well-represented with several vintages of Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Masseto.
Moving on from Italy he found a kindred spirit amongst Burgundy growers such as Rousseau, de Vogue, Dujac, Leroy and Domaine de la Romanee Conti. There are also remarkable white Burgundies from Coche-Dury and Lafon and Chateauneuf from most of the top estates. A particular outstanding feature of the collection is the wide selection of Californian wines, starting with some early vintages of Ridge and running right through to the heights of Harlan and Screaming Eagle.
The afternoon session of the sale offers a further cross-section of high value as well as more everyday wines with the emphasis on Bordeaux. The 1982 vintage of Chateau Lafite, Mouton Rothschild and Pétrus are offered in case quantities, and there are also case lots of Lafite and Mouton 1996 and three bottles of Le Pin 2000. From Burgundy, there are case lots of Romanee-Conti 1985 and 1988 as well as more recent vintages from the Domaine coming from a private cellar in France.
More top Barolos from Sandrone, La Spinetta and Voerzio are offered under bond and there are several vintages of Chateau Musar, from Lebanon, as well as some old Massandra. As usual, there is a broad selection of wines from the Rhone valley and a strong seasonal section of vintage ports, dating back to 1911.
The 1100 lot sale finishes with a range of vintage Armagnac and Cognac; the latter achieved spectacular prices in our last sale in October.
