Aulden Cellars-Sotheby’s September 20, 2008 sale of Finest and Rarest Wines achieved $2,867,397, well within presale expectations of $2.3/3.3 million*. The sale comprised 1,361 lots including wines from Bordeaux, Sauternes, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhône and California.

The sale’s top lot was a twelve bottle assortment of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1990, which brought $30,250 and was followed by two twelve bottle lots of Château Latour 1982 recently removed from professional storage, which sold for $19,360 and $18,150. An impressive private collection of Rarest Burgundy and Landmark Bordeaux saw strong results, bringing $238,672, easily exceeding the high estimate of $173,550. The sale’s top price for a single-bottle lot was achieved by a Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée Conti 1962, which fetched $13,310 against a presale estimate of $6/9,000.

Other highlights, with prices realized and presale estimates, included:

Champagne

3 magnums 1985 Salon le Mesnil — $10,285 (est. $3/5,000)
1 magnum 1961 Bollinger, RD — $4,538 (est. $2/3,000)
3 magnums 1982 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut — $8,470 (est. $4/6,000)
2 magnums 1989 Krug, Clos du Mesnil — $5,445 (est. $2/3,000)
Burgundy

2 bottles 1959 Musigny Vieilles Vignes, Comte Georges de Vogüé — $7,865 (est. $4/6,000)
4 magnums 1961 Romanée-St-Vivant, Joseph Drouhin — $6,655 (est. $1/1,500)
3 magnums 1964 Chambertin, Clos de Bèze, Joseph Drouhin — $9,075 (est. $3/4,000)
4 magnums 1964 Bonnes Mares, Clair Daü — $10,890 (est. $3,500/5,000)
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium

Posted: 09|28|08 at 9:30 am. Filed under: Auction News.