Christie’s relaunches New York wine sales with impressive single-owner collection

Christie’s is set to relaunch its wine auctions in New York after they were paused, with the sale of one of America’s biggest wine collectors, which is expected to raise a minimum of $15 million. The auction house described the sale of the “legendary” vintages amassed by billionaire industrialist William Koch as a “once-in-a-generation sale”, whose passion and foresight allowed him to spend a lifetime amassing “significant quantities of the world’s most historic and collectible wines”. The Cellar of William I. Koch: The Great American Collector, which will take place over three days in the auction houses Rockefeller Centre showrooms, comprises 1,500 lots, including more than 750 large-format bottles and historic vintages from Bordeaux and Burgundy estates, along with a “significant selection” of wines from Champagne, the Rhône Valley, Italy, and the New World. Bordeaux and Burgundy make up the lion’s share, with wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, - including 45 Jeroboams and Methuselahs, Pétrus, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, Leroy, Henri Jayer, Armand Rousseau, Margaux, and Château Cheval Blanc. Christie’s global head of wine and spirits Adam Bilbey said Koch was a “one-of-a-kind icon in the world of wine, whose influence on the story of fine wine collecting is both profound and enduring”. “His vision and unwavering dedication to building one of the greatest wine cellars of our time will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come. It brings him great joy to share both his extraordinary wines and his remarkable collecting journey with a new generation of enthusiasts.” “The phrase "they don’t make them like that anymore" feels especially apt—both for this extraordinary cellar and for Mr. Koch himself,” he said. Among the highlights are two bottles of Chateau Lafleur 1982, which has an estimate of $26,000 - $38,000; four bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 (estimate: $38,000 - $50,000), a Jeroboam of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Montrachet 1986 (estimate $20,000 – $30,000); and six magnums of Petrus 1990 (estimate $38,000 – $50,000). Koch himself said that he hoped that the wine sale would enable collectors to “find something that speaks to you passion and that you are able to share it with the people you love.” Koch previously sold a chunk of his collection with Sotheby's New York in 2016, raising nearly $22m in a sale that for ran for 27 hours over three days. At the time it was the most expensive collection sold, easily topping its pre-sale high estimate of just over $15m and attracting more than 20,000 bids from around 740 buyers.