"The Finest and Rarest Wines of France" Auctioned at New York Christie's

How much would a wine lover pay…for a bottle of the finest…and rarest wines of France?

The World’s appraisers made their bid…at Christie’s auction house in New York City.

[Robin Kelley O’Connor, Head of Wines for Christie’s Americas] :
 “This was such a global auction today.  Literally our buyers were from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, England, Brazil, France, of course the United States and Mexico…”

The sale focused on the finest and rarest Bordeaux, Burgundy and Nothern Rhône wines. The highest bid went to a Pétrus Vintage case from 1982 which contained dozen bottles.  The case sold for 58 thousand dollars to a private Asian buyer.

But what makes French wines so special?

[Robin Kelley O’Connor, Head of Wines for Christie’s Americas] :
“You can say the Greeks, the Italians, possibly have been making wines longer. But what the French have achieved, particularly in Bordeaux and Burgundy is an understanding of the soil”.

[Chris Adams, CEO, Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits, Manhattan]:
“The French put a lot of thought into what should they plant and where should they plant it.”


[Robin Kelley O’Connor, Head of Wines for Christie’s Americas]:
“Not every year, but many years, they have this magical, I would say,  formula of what the weather will bring. When they have great weather in the combination of great soil, they can produce great wines, and quite honestly is note every year.”

Chris Adams is the CEO of Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits in Manhattan. He explains why people covet French wines.

[Chris Adams, CEO, Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits, Manhattan]:
“I think what we have is the age old economic principle of supply and demand. There are certain vintages in the world… that only produce so much wine. And as more and more the world gets interested in these great wines, obviously the supply is static, that doesn't’ change”.

Who spends tens of thousands of dollars on a dozen bottles of wine?

[Chris Adams, CEO, Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits, Manhattan]:
“I do, regularly. As a Bordeaux buyer at Sherry-Lehman I spend millions of Euros on Bordeaux wines… as we see in the far east more and more people getting interested in these wines, we see It in South America, in Brazil and other places. There is a greater appetite for these wines than ever and we are going to see price increases that reflect that appetite.”

So, if you’d like to make a toast with a rare French vintage, you can prepare your bids for the next auction.

NTD News New York