A Winemaker’s Cellar Soars Above Expectations!

 

Any questions about the state of the market were silenced on Friday, November 11th, when A Winemaker’s Cellar: The Collection of Peter Hut sold for $7.2m against a pre-auction estimate of $4.9m. Including the multi-vendor portion of the auction, over $9.6m was realized at 95% sold.

We’ve said it before and now proven it: Zachys’ ability to package and promote single-owner auctions is unparalleled in the market and makes them truly recession proof.

In a packed saleroom of 130+ bidders at Danny Meyer’s Manhatta restaurant, the auction began at 10am and didn’t end until nearly 9 hours later.

The top lot of the day was 12 bottles of 1945 Mouton Rothschild, which sold for $200,000.

Four unique lots of 12 each of 1959 Lafite Rothschild sold for $87,500 a piece, a record for the wine (outside of Chateau-direct auctions) and a world record for a 12-bottle case of the wine. It was also the highest price paid since Zachys’ Lafite-direct auction of 2019.

Among dozens of other lots, world records were set for 1989 Petrus in Imperial ($87,500), 1990 Petrus in Imperial ($81,250), and a 12-bottle wooden case of 1993 La Tache at $68,750.

The energy in the room was palpable, and wines at every price point soared past their pre-auction estimates. 8 bottles of 1961 Beychevelle sold for $15,000, 10 bottles of 1961 Talbot sold for $5,250 and 6 bottles of 1961 Ducru Beaucaillou sold for $13,750.

Jeff Zacharia, CEO of Zachys comments, “I first met Peter over 30 years ago, so this trip was a walk down memory lane for me. It was truly an honor to present the auction in a way that respected Pete’s memory as a man and as a wine collector. We have to thank the family for entrusting us with this responsibility. The results of the auction speak for themselves: when the wine is rare, the market is at an all-time high. We’re looking forward to auctions in both New York and Hong Kong in December.”

Be sure to check back on the blog for more!