Romanée-Conti Wines Fetch Record Prices at Sotheby's Auction

Sales totaled $4.68 million, with bids reaching well above estimates

Peter D. Meltzer
Posted: November 7, 2005

The largest selection of Domaine de la Romaneé-Conti (DRC) wines ever offered at auction fetched more than $2.7 million at Aulden Cellars-Sotheby's in New York on Nov. 5. The consignment hailed from a private collection that also included treasures from Burgundy and the Rhône. Altogether, the 1,496-lot sale brought in $4.68 million and was 96 percent sold. The DRC contingent was 100 percent sold.

The DRC lineup included a dizzying 1,530 750ml bottles, 152 magnums, 54 jeroboams and 35 methuselahs. According to the Sotheby's wine department, that theoretically worked out to 14,000 glasses of Romanée-Conti at about $200 a glass. It's no surprise that the sale attracted a bevy of Burgundy aficionados, many of whom were relentless in their bidding tactics, setting numerous records in the process.

The 80 top-grossing wines of the sale all hailed from Romanée-Conti. A case of DRC Romanée-Conti 1989 brought a record $85,188 (175 percent above its Wine Spectator second-quarter 2005 Auction Index average). A methuselah of DRC Romanée-Conti 1999 fetched a record $76,375 (up 197 percent), as did a dozen bottles of DRC Romanée-Conti 1996 (up 141 percent). A case of DRC Montrachet 1996 was snapped up for $41,125 (up 133 percent), yet another record. Other highlights included a case of Domaine Ramonet Montrachet 1997 at $7,931 (up 74 percent), a dozen bottles of Emmanuel Rouget Échézeaux 1990 at $7,638 (up 52 percent), and a case of Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 1990 at $10,575 (up 42 percent). Although many wines sold well above estimate, there were several buying opportunities for savvy bidders. Four cases of J. J. Confuron Clos Vougeot 1999 were snapped up for $588 (down 37 percent), and a case of Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui 1999 from Anne Gros sold for $1,058 (down 25 percent).