Single Cellar Wine Auction Soars Over High Estimate at Hart Davis Hart
Published April 3rd, 2009
A single cellar auction of French Classics from a Magnificent Cellar brought heavy bidding at Hart Davis Hart in Chicago this weekend. The auction realized $2,673,549, far surpassing the pre-sale auction estimate of $1,607,600-2,412,060. Underscoring the strength of the bidding, 227 of the 590 lots hammered over the pre-sale high estimate while only 17 of the lots hammered under the low estimate. The most expensive lot of the day was a case of 1978 Montrachet from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti which brought $45,410 against a pre-sale estimate of $26,000-38,000. A large selection of rare 1959 and 1961 Bordeaux brought spirited competition between bidders in the room, on the phone, and over the Internet against a strong order book, with a case of 1961 Haut Brion realizing $23,900 against an estimate of $9,500-14,000. “A bidder who had hoped to buy a significant amount of wine today joked after the auction ‘I guess the wine recession is over’,” said Paul Hart. “While certainly this was a special auction with added interest, there does seem to be significant cause for optimism.” Bidders participated from 39 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Hart Davis Hart again saw strong interest from Internet bidders who participated from all over the world via HDHLive.com. “This was a very exciting collection that we were honored to represent,” commented Chairman John Hart. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such spirited competition as we saw today.”
Next Auction
May 16, 2009
Bidding Information
Auction catalogs are available through the website or by calling Hart Davis Hart (hdhwine.com
