If you are looking for some positive news in the world of fine wine, you should turn your attention to the auction markets – international or otherwise. The auction markets have always had a fickle element to them and obviously can throw up some surprising results.
In the current environment, no one would expect anything to sell for five or six times its high estimate, whatever it was and whoever had owned it, especially in the sober confines of an online auction. Only last week, Christie’s (London) whose estimate for five bottles of Domaine Comte Georges De Vogüé’s Bonnes Mares 1962 was £6,000-9,000, sold the lucky vendor’s lot for £47,500! Alongside it, from the same venerable Parisien cellar, lots of the good Comte’s Musigny ’53, ’66, ’69 and ’70 all sold for between 4 to 6x the high estimate – heady stuff indeed!
These lots, and therefore Burgundy, grabbed the headlines in the wine press but Bordeaux was not to be left out. A 2-bottle lot of Latour ’52 went for 7x the upper end prediction and countless lots of old Bordeaux went for well above their high estimates. Old white Burgundies also did surprisingly well, some Leflaive Clavoillons ’91 selling for a 5 times multiple being the highlight. The age of these wines was the key as young vintages largely sold within the predicted ranges or not at all, although the auction was 89% sold. Provenance obviously played a big part but surely, it’s the rarity value of these old treasures that brought the bidding competition to the fore here. All in all, a damn fine result!
The Wine Market Journal, a U.S. based subscription service reporting on all kinds of online and live auctions across the States and globally, reports “During the first 7 weeks of 2025, we have seen wine auction prices rise convincingly, with our broad indices rising 3-5% in the U.S. during this period.” Their report goes on to say that their findings are across the board (of wine regions) and that DRC prices have been convincing. This may be explained by buyers wanting to accumulate stock before Mr. Trump announces any new tariffs, but whatever, this is good news.
Closer to (my) home, down in sunny Sussex, I put a cheeky bid in some village Chambolle from Roumier, ’93 vintage, despite finding nothing but discouraging tasting notes. The estimate was £300-400, the hammer – £2,400!
Click here to read more of Miles’s market report.
