100% Sold Sale Brings in $5.6 Million Against Pre-Sale Estimates of $3.3-4.9M
(Chicago, IL) – Hart Davis Hart, America’s top wine auction house, continued its strong performance thus far in 2017 with a 100% sold April sale, posting $5.6 million in sales against a pre-auction estimate of $3.3-4.9 million. The sale was the world’s only commercial auction this year devoted exclusively to Burgundy. The intense bidding brought stronger hammer prices than any previous commercial auction of Burgundy. The record-shattering prices confirm both the current strength of the fine wine market and HDH’s standing as the top wine auction house in the world.
With a catalog that read like an encyclopedia of the region’s finest wines, HDH’s A Celebration of Burgundy auction presented bidders with opportunities to purchase wines from over 160 Burgundian domaines. Selections of DRC, Jayer, Coche-Dury and Rousseau brought intense bidding causing 99% of all lots to exceed their high estimates, breaking hundreds of world records.
As in the past, bidders showed incredible enthusiasm for the sale’s wide array of lots from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Featuring an impressive 30 vintages dating back to 1959 and encompassing all of the domaine’s Grand Cru vineyard sites, the sale’s DRC offerings achieved a total of $2.06 million (est. $1.2-1.8 million), claiming 9 of the sale’s top 10 lots by value. The case of 1989 Montrachet shattered world records by bringing in $77,675 against presale estimates of $45,000-65,000.
Prior to the auction, Hart Davis Hart hosted a dinner featuring the wines of Domaine Leroy, with special guest Eric Espuny, who has been managing the U.S. market for Domaine Leroy for the last three years. It was a magnificent evening celebrating one of the finest producers in Burgundy. The excitement generated by the dinner was clear the following day as the 120 lots of Leroy sold for $724,110 (est. $389,720-583,550). Twelve bottles of 1990 Chambertin from Domaine Leroy sold for $53,775, surpassing the previous record case price by over 70%.
HDH prides itself on representing some of the most knowledgeable and meticulous collectors in the world, and the consignors represented in this sale were no exception. One particularly impressive offering was “A Cellar of Legendary Wines with Important Provenance” (lots 454-613), which brought in $1.9 million against pre-sale estimates of $1-1.6 million. The wines in this collection were sourced from of the likes of Henry E. Singleton, Lenoir M. Josey, Norman Alexander, Herbert Bridges Harris, Jr., and Steven Verlin. The remarkable provenance and stellar quality of the wines on offer attracted fierce bidding from collectors, causing over 50 lots from the consignment to achieve world record prices. Highlights included a case of 1990 Chambertin, Armand Rousseau which sold for $38,240 (est. $20,000-30,000), three magnums of 1990 Bonnes-Mares, Georges Roumier which brought in $28,680 (est. $15,000-22,000), and three bottles of 1992 Corton-Charlemagne, Coche-Dury which garnered $14,340 (est. $6,000-9,000).
Additional highlights of the sale included:
• 52 lots of Armand Rousseau sold for $217,406 (est. $123,690-184,600)
• 52 lots of Comte Georges de Vogüé sold for $186,838 (est. $105,680-157,200)
• 7 lots of Henri Jayer sold for $181,640 (est. $114,500-171,200)
• 73 lots of Domaine Leflaive sold for $169,296 (est. $98,340-146,320)
• 22 lots of Coche-Dury sold for $144,057 (est. $81,580-121,200)
• 24 lots of Georges Roumier sold for $123,778 (est. $68,130-101,500)
• 12 lots of Emmanuel Rouget sold for $77,137 (est. $43,050-64,150)
• 17 lots of Michel Niellon sold for $76,181 (est. $30,140-45,910)
• 30 lots of Domaine Dujac sold for $74,449 (est. $42,010-62,469)
• 22 lots of Domaine Ponsot sold for $70,864 (est. $$40,650-60,900)
As the saleroom at Chicago’s award-winning TRU restaurant bustled with determined collectors, bidders around the globe participated in the auction using Hart Davis Hart’s state-of-the-art bidding app and auction website. The sale saw participants from across the U.S. as well as Hong Kong, Brazil, Taiwan, Japan, China, Denmark, and more.
Hart Davis Hart’s next sale will take place the weekend of May 13th and will span the gamut of European and New World wines. Consignments are still being accepted through the end of this week.
For more information on Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. or to arrange a media visit, please contact Chelsea Ball at 312.667.1161, [email protected] or visit hdhwine.com
