Bonhams Fine & Rare wine sale on 6th December at New Bond Street, London will feature some exceptional wines from private European cellars. The sale will include several outstanding European collections, with a remarkable range of rare Spanish wines from 1925 to 1982, top Italian wines and 12 vintages of Lebanese Chateau Musar from 1979 to 1994.
Castillo Ygay Reserva Especial 1925
Rare Rioja in the sale comprises Castillo Ygay 1925 , Marqués de Riscal 1946, 1950, 1964 and 1982, Viña Tondonia 1961, 1964 and 1970 as well as Vega Sicilia from 1953, 1964, 1966 and Reserva Especial. A case of Castillo Ygay Reserva Especial from 1925 is estimated to sell for £3,000 – 3,600.
Other unusual highlights of the sale include 22 cases of the Lebanese wine Chateau Musar from a remarkable private collection. Chateau Musar is produced in a winery just 15 miles north of the now war-torn capital Beirut. Despite repeated conflicts in the past and current tensions in the area, the Chateau has produced wine every year, except 1976 and 1984.
Italian wines are also well represented with many of the top producers from northern Italy and Tuscany included in the sale. Leading the Italian section are 12 vintages of Sassicaia, as well as Masseto, Brunello di Montalcino from Argiano and Biondi-Santi, Barolo and Barbaresco from Ceretto, Gaja and Elio Grasso. The top lots of Sassicaia are three cases of 1997, each estimated at £1,400 – 1,600.
In addition to exceptional wines from Spain, Italy and Lebanon, the sale includes a range of top French Bordeaux and Burgundy, Cognac and Australian wines. Burgundy highlights come from domaines such as Chevillon, Dujac, Fourrier with the top lot in the sale a case of Romanée-Conti 1988, estimated at £70,000 – 90,000. The top Cognac in the sale is a rare bottle of Pierre Frapin Cuvee 1888 Grand Cru Cognac, bottled in a crystal glass decanter with 24 carat gold stopper, estimated at £2,400-3,000.
Richard Harvey, International Director of Bonhams Wine department said “Our December Fine & Rare Wine sale follows on the heels of a successful sale in Hong Kong at the end of November. It is always a pleasure to offer such an exciting and varied selection of fine wines from around the world, with some particularly remarkable European collections in this sale. Our December sale offers people the chance to stock their cellars in time for the Christmas festivities.”