Château Pétrus Drives Record Breaking $1.5 Million Fine Wine Auction at Heritage

Event sells more than 99 percent by value and lot

DALLAS, Texas (September 25, 2018) — More than a dozen world records fell, and nearly 40 percent of the lots sold for more than their pre-auction estimates to lift the final total for Heritage Auctions' Fine & Rare Wine Auction to $1,534,971. The 742-lot event sold 99.7 percent by value and 99.18 percent by lot.

"Bordeaux dominated the auction market about 10 years ago, but has taken something of a back seat since then," Heritage Auctions Rare & Fine Wine Director Frank Martell said. "But many of the great recent vintages — 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998 and even 2000 were still exceedingly young but now are drinking exceptionally well — are reaching maturity. The Bordeaux results below, including Petrus and Mouton, all fit into this group."

Château Pétrus produced the top six prices in the event, including Château Petrus 2000 Pomerol Bottle (12), which passed its pre-auction high estimate when numerous bidders drove the final sale price to $51,660, while Château Petrus 2000 Pomerol Bottle (12) brought $49,200.

Another Château Petrus 2000 Pomerol Bottle (12) also drew $49,200, while Château Petrus 1990 Pomerol Bottle (12) yielded $44,280 and Château Petrus 1998 Pomerol Bottle (12) closed at $38,130.

The auction included a broader focus on lower-production Burgundy, with big names like DRC and Leroy enjoying a significant bump recently, a boon that has extended to producers like Liger-Belair, Cathiard, Groffier and Boillot, particularly to their more mature wines. For example, six bottles of J.F. Mugnier Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses cleared the high pre-auction estimate by more than 51 percent when it finished at $4,920, while two bottles of 1990 A. Cathiard Romanee St. Vivant nearly doubled the high pre-auction estimate, closing at $2,214.

Among the records that fell in the auction:

• Vosne Romanee 2008 Les Chaumes, Liger-Belair Bottle (4): $2,460 — a record $615 per bottle

• Romanee St. Vivant 1990 A. Cathiard Bottle (2): $2,214 — a record $1,107 per bottle

• Clos Vougeot 1992 Leroy Bottle (1): $1,476 — a record $1,476 per bottle

• Chambolle Musigny 2003 Les Amoureuses, J.F. Mugnier Bottle (6): $4,920 — a record $820 per bottle

Other top lots included, but were not limited to:

• Château Petrus 1998 Pomerol Bottle (8): $25,830

• Château Mouton Rothschild 2000 Pauillac Bottle (11): $23,370

• La Tache 2012 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Bottle (6): $23,370

• Musigny 2005 Vieilles Vignes, Comte de Vogue Bottle (12): $14,145

• DRC Assortment 2002 containing one bottle each of Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux, Romanee St. Vivant, Richebourg, La Tache and Vosne Romanee Cuvee Duvault-Blochet Bottle (6): $14,145

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.

The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has over one million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of four million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.


Steve Lansdale, Public Relations Specialist
214-409-1699; SteveL@HA.com