S
otheby’s Wine in Continental Europe is delighted to present Monumental DRC I From Bottles to Methuselahs I Exceptional Provenance, an outstanding private collection of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the most prestigious and sought-after Domaine in Burgundy.
All those vinous gems were purchased on release, directly at the Domaine and have been stored undisturbed within a professional, temperature-humidity-controlled warehouse on the Continent, where they were inspected by Sotheby’s Wine Experts in June 2022. Most of the wines are in original wooden cases and were banded until inspection.
It is a great privilege to offer such a comprehensive selection of the wine world’s most illustrious wine. This sale features rare and sought-after cases in a variety of bottle formats, including magnums, jeroboams and rare methuselahs.
This wonderful selection of wine comes from a much larger collection, that has been assembled with a focus on quality and provenance, by a truly knowledgeable, passionate wine lover.
An offering of this magnitude is ultra-rare and shall please all DRC devotees, collectors and wine connoisseurs from around the world.
Monumental DRC I From Bottles to Methuselahs I Exceptional Provenance will open for online bidding on June 17th at 2pm CET, culminating in an online-streamed, live auction on Thursday 30 June at 2pm CET.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Wine Department for advice and assistance.
Romanée St. Vivant 2004 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (1 JM30)
Estimate: 12,000 - 16,000 EUR
Lots 1-43: Bottles from mythical vintages - 1990 to 2010
Lots 44-56: Magnums - from 2002 to 2010
Lots 57-58: Jeroboams - 1999 and 2004
Lots 59-60: Rare Methuselahs - 1999
A great Domaine de la Romanée Conti sale inspires reverence. However, it has to be admitted that it also creates a sense of wild excitement, because these glorious wines do not ‘grow on trees’ - yes, they ‘grow’ in vineyards, but not in great quantities! It is always with an intake of breath that we see and inspect a collection of DRC wines that come with the perfect passport of impeccable provenance. Then you add the element of noble vintages and the mosaic of all the Domaine holdings and you have lift off, the extraordinary richness and variety of Grands Crus (with one splendid 1er Cru) that are the stars of Burgundy. The only regret is that this unrivalled wine area is so small, albeit magnificent, and demand is, unsurprisingly, global.
This historic Domaine has, happily for us all, benefited from ownership of the highest reputation. The vintages in this sale cover the period when co-owner Aubert de Villaine was presiding over this astounding terroir and his meticulous care and attention to detail have marked the array of crus and years we are now offering. During this period, all the advantages of an early move to organic principles and minimum, but judicious, intervention have been the hallmarks of management. The extraordinary vineyard sites and a philosophy of both flexibility and tradition have done the rest.
So, we proceed from 1990 to 2010, with all the great stops along the way. We also progress from bottles to magnums, jeroboams to Methuselahs, the Côte de Nuits to the Côte de Beaune, and from red to the renowned, but rarely seen, Montrachet. It would be a pointless exercise to pick out favourites – I do not get enough practice anyway! However, the irresistible 1999s in large format would have to be contenders – but then I would have to bypass the 2010s, which are wonders of the world even if we know we should be sage and try not to pull their corks for a few more years so that they can reach their apogee.
We are sure that these unforgettable wines will find new homes amongst International connoisseurs of Burgundy’s finest Domaine.
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