Christie’s & Sotheby’s Wine Sales Up
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) — Global wine sales by Christie’s International rose 22 percent to a record $71.65 million this year, as demand remained strong for top Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone vintages.
Christie’s European sales fetched a total $44.43 million and its U.S. auctions raised $27.22 million, the auction house said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Sotheby’s reported on Dec. 13 a 32 percent increase in its sales to $49.29 million.
The higher volumes at auction mirrored price increases for investment wines, driven by demand from wealthy collectors in newer markets such as Russia and China, as well as the U.S. and Europe. The London-based Liv-ex 100 fine-wine index has risen 39 percent since the start of this year, with prices surging in the first seven months before flattening out and slipping back.
Demand “was pretty sustained throughout, particularly at the top level,” said Serena Sutcliffe, head of Sotheby’s international wine department.
The top lot of the year sold by Sotheby’s was a jeroboam of 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, equivalent in volume to six 75- centiliter bottles, which sold for $310,700 in a New York auction.
The most expensive case sold at Christie’s was a 1961 Hermitage, La Chapelle that sold in London in September for 123,750 pounds ($245,330), a world auction record for a Rhone and for any wine case sold in Europe.
Christie’s held 39 sales during the year in the U.S. and Europe, including record sales in Geneva, Amsterdam and Los Angeles, as well as an auction at the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy.
The top case auctioned at Sotheby’s was a 1990 Romanee-Conti, which fetched $262,900 in New York.
Source: Bloomberg.com
Other Network Sites: Wine Reviews, Ratings & Wine Prices | Wine Videos | Wine SEO