This 12-bottle case of 1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti sold for €75,000 ($80,362).
Sotheby's this week concluded two groundbreaking wine auctions in France, featuring rare bottles from the esteemed collection of Pierre Chen, a renowned connoisseur and collector.
The auctions, held in Paris and Beaune, the town at the center of Burgundy’s wine production, achieved a combined total of €3.3 million ($3.6 million), marking the highest value ever reached for a single-owner wine collection sold by Sotheby's in France.
The "Live in the Vines" auction in Beaune, the first single-owner wine auction in Burgundy, focused on premier Burgundy wines from Chen's cellar and brought in €2 million ($2.1 million). This event followed the "The Ultimate Champagnes" auction in Paris, the first-ever auction dedicated solely to Champagne, which realized €1.35 million ($1.45 million).
Both auctions saw strong international participation, with buyers from 29 countries and many lots exceeding their estimated values. Notably, Asian buyers accounted for over 70% of the total spending.
The success of these auctions underscores the enduring appeal of rare and prestigious wines among collectors worldwide and the growing significance of Asia in the global wine market.
Pierre Chen
The Burgundy auction set multiple world records, including prices for bottles from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) and Domaine Armand Rousseau. The Champagne auction also broke records, with high prices fetched for magnums of Dom Perignon and Salon Le Mesnil.
These auctions are part of "The Epicurean's Atlas," a series of sales featuring Chen's extensive wine collection. The series will continue with auctions in New York in September and Hong Kong in November.
