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by Manos Angelakis
Collectible Wine Auctions
Affluent bidders from 15 countries including Belgium, Brazil, China, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the UK and, of course the US, fiercely vied for 931 lots from the incredible wine collection of Grae and Steven Verlin.
Through the years, the Verlins have acquired many of the best vintages in the world. Some of the most sought after offerings in the auction included 3 double-magnums of the legendary 1982 Lafite Rothschild, 1 imperial of 1989 Château Haut Brion, 12 750 ml. bottles of 1990 Château Cheval Blanc, 3 magnums of 2003 Romanée St. Vivant, numerous lots of Château d’ Yquem, Dom Pérignon, Cristal, Guigal and many others.
The auction was held in Chicago at Tru, an award-winning restaurant, with a live internet feed to the interested parties around the world, including New York City, where I viewed the proceedings and tasted some of the wines. The pre-sale estimate of the lots auctioned was $2.3 to $3.4 million. The final aggregate price was $3,914,952, with 100% of the lots sold.
This remarkable auction for only a part of the Verlin Collection was held by Hart, Davis, Heart Wine Co., a Chicago wine retailer and auction house specializing in collectible wines. They reportedly led the wine auction industry in 2007, with 7 auctions that achieved an enviable 99.3% sell-through rate of hundreds of cases of top Bordeaux and Burgundies, Champagnes and other top collectible wines.
The live internet feed made it possible for spirited bidding from not only the standing-room only Chicago crowd, but also phone bidders from around the world, including those at W Union Square, New York, that were attending “A Wine Affair with Grae Verlin”, a tasting of a broad selection of wines available at www.hdhwine.com the Hart, Davis, Hart website.
Grae Verlin will be hosting another auction of parts of her collection on February 29, and March 1st.
However, Hart, Davis, Hart is not resting on their laurels. On February 2nd 2008, they will begin another round of auctions with the sale of approximately 1,100 lots of extremely rare Bordeaux and Burgundies, including 126 lots from the cellar of renowned collector Dr. M. Lee Pearce, M.D.
The lots offered will include older Bordeaux and Burgundy wines from the 1950’s, ‘60’s, and ‘70’s. Further offerings from other collectors will include 2 separate lots of 1982 Château Petrus, a bottle of 1943 Romanée Conti, 9 bottles of 1948 Château d’ Yquem, 6 magnums of La Tâche and others.
The live auction will also take place at Tru.
Auction catalogues are available through the website www.hdhwine.com or by calling Hart, Davis, Hart, at (312) 482-9996. Bids are welcome by phone, fax, and through the website’s live-bid technology. That is, of course, if you can not attend the auction in person.
I will be following the events and reporting on the auction results.
¡Salud!
© January 2008 The Oenophile Blog. All rights reserved.
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