Heritage Wine Auctions Top $12 Million in 2018

DRC leads December auction, which boasts 97+% sell-through rate

DALLAS, Texas (December 27, 2018) — Heritage Auctions' nearly $1.7 million Fine Wine Auction Dec. 7-8 in Beverly Hills, California, raised the 2018 total for the Wine Department to more than $12.7 million.

With sell-through rates of 97.3 percent by value and 98.18 percent by lot, the December event reached a final total of $1,692,648, pushing the annual total to $12,769,217 not including private sales.

"Our December auction continued the outstanding results we have enjoyed in recent years," Heritage Auctions Fine & Rare Wine Director Frank Martell said. "As our base of collectors has grown, including internationally, Heritage Auctions' presence in the wine collecting community has continued to thrive and grow."

In the December sale, multiple collectors bid on Romanée-Conti 1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bottle (2) until it closed at $29,520 to lead the auction, which reached sell-through rates of 97.3 percent by value and 98.18 percent by lot, climbed to a final total of $1,692,648.

"This auction was a perfect finish to 2018, which was an exceptionally strong year in wine," Martell said. "This year has featured a strong market, especially in the top-end vintages, and that was reflected in the prices realized in many of the top lots in this sale."

Romanée-Conti produced the top two results at the auction block, and seven of the top 10. Another pair of bottles from the Burgundy estate, Romanée-Conti 1989 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bottle (2), prompted active bidding before finishing at $27,060.

One of the most actively pursued among the auction's top lots, Chateau Petrus 1989 Pomerol Bottle (6) (2) generated a flurry of bids before bringing $23,370, while Chateau Haut Brion Blanc 1989 Pessac-Leognan Bottle (12) kept climbing before selling for $20,910.

Three lots, including two from DRC, brought identical results of $19,680: Montrachet 1996 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Bottle (3), Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982 Pauillac Bottle (8) and Romanée-Conti Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bottle (1).

Other top lots included, but were not limited to:

· Romanée-Conti 1978 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bottle (1): $18,450

· Chateau Latour 1982 Pauillac Bottle (11) $18,450

· Romanée-Conti 1976 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Bottle (2): $17,343

· Chateau Petrus 1982 Pomerol Bottle (4) $16,605

"Interestingly, this is the best time I can remember in my career if you are collecting ancient and legendary vintages," Martell said. "1959 and 1961 Bordeaux, for example, pose a particularly delectable value compared to more recent and less historically important vintages. In general, the buying community has unfairly come to hold prejudice against fills that are not in the neck, but wines that are 50-60 years old are always going to show some ullage. If the color is correct, this is a great time to be drinking the classic vintages."

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