New York, 17 April — Immortal Vintages | 200 Years of Bordeaux, a landmark single-owner sale tracing two centuries of Bordeaux excellence, achieved $2.1 million today at Sotheby’s New York. The auction featured some of the rarest wines in existence and ranks among one of the highest-performing single-owner wine collections sold at Sotheby’s.
Surpassing its pre-sale estimate (est. $850,000 – 1.3 million) by more than double, the auction drew intense global participation, with determined collectors bidding online, on the phones, and in the room for some of the rarest and most coveted Bordeaux ever bottled, with ten world records set over the course of the sale.
Held at Sotheby’s global headquarters in the iconic Breuer Building, the white-glove sale offered over 250 exceptional bottles—a “roll call” of Bordeaux’s most revered châteaux and vintages—spanning from the pre-phylloxera 19th century, widely regarded as a golden age of winemaking, through to the modern classics of the late 20th century.
The sale was a remarkable success, with 100% of lots sold and 92% exceeding their high estimates. Bidding was truly global, with participation from collectors across more than 20 countries spanning North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Assembled over decades by a passionate collector with a creative background, the collection reflects both intellectual rigor and emotional curiosity. Beginning in the 1980s after a formative vertical tasting of Château Margaux, the collector pursued a lifelong mission to acquire, understand, and experience the world’s greatest wines. The result is a remarkably focused and cohesive cellar defined by connoisseurship, rarity, and intent.
A world record was broken twice for the two magnums of the famed Glamis Castle Château Lafite Rothschild 1870. The first achieved $106,250 (est. $30,000–50,000). Moments later, the second magnumbecame the top lot of the sale, realizing $200,000 (est. $30,000–50,000)—nearly seven times its low estimate—after nearly four minutes of competitive bidding between phone and online participants. This immaculate bottle has remained in original condition since its discovery at Glamis Castle. Notably, it has never been recorked or reconditioned, preserving the wine in one of the purest known states of Lafite 1870.
Both magnums boast exceptional provenance, having originated from the historic cellars of Glamis Castle in Scotland—the seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The estate maintained meticulous records, including a “Cellar Book 1885–1894,” which documents the purchase and laying down of 48 magnums of 1870 Lafite in 1878. When the Glamis cellar was rediscovered and brought to auction in 1971, the wines had remained undisturbed in dark, cold conditions for almost a century, contributing to their preservation. Bottles tasted from this storied cellar since the auction are widely regarded as the best preserved examples of this wine.
The sale was further distinguished by a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild 1865, among the oldest and most famous Bordeaux vintages ever brought to auction by Sotheby’s, which sold for $40,000 (est. $15,000–20,000), setting a new world record for a wine of its age and format. The bottle originates from the cellar of Sir George Meyrick in North Wales, where it had remained undisturbed for over a century before its first appearance at auction in 1970. Renowned for its depth of color and exceptional quality upon release, the 1865 remains one of the most revered pre-phylloxera vintages among collectors today.
