Almost 8,000 bottles from the wine assortment of billionaire William ‘Invoice’ Koch are to be supplied by Christie’s throughout three days of auctions in New York from 12 June.
With a low estimate for complete gross sales at $15m (£11.2m), it’s a recent window into the cellar of vinous treasures amassed by Koch over a number of a long time.
Legendary Bordeaux wines going beneath the hammer are set to incorporate a four-bottle lot of Mouton Rothschild 1945 and six- magnum case of Petrus 1990. Every lot carried an estimate of $38,000 to $50,000.
4 bottles of Mouton Rothschild’s 1945 ‘victory classic’ will characteristic within the public sale. Picture credit score: Courtesy of Christie’s Pictures Ltd. 2025.
There shall be greater than 750 large-format bottles in complete, together with greater than than 45 jeroboam and methuselah bottles from Burgundy’s fabled Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC).
Highlights are anticipated to incorporate a three-litre jeroboam of DRC, Montrachet 1986 grand cru white wine (estimate: $20,000 to $30,000), and a magnum of Henri Jayer, Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux 1990 (estimate: $24,000 to $38,000).
‘One of many biggest cellars’
Adam Bilbey, Christie’s international head of wine and spirits, praised Koch’s dedication to ‘constructing one of many biggest wine cellars of our time’.
Koch advised Christie’s, ‘Constructing — after which consuming — this cellar has been one in every of my life’s biggest joys. But it surely doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know there may be extra down right here than I might ever drink, even when I threw a celebration each evening.’
He has beforehand auctioned bottles from his assortment, most notably in 2016.
He started amassing advantageous wine within the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties, telling Christie’s it was a time when ‘the worth of a pleasant Petrus, Mouton, Lafite or Latour wasn’t past the technique of a latest graduate with a comparatively modest earnings’.
Alongside amassing, Koch has been significantly outstanding within the struggle towards counterfeit advantageous wines. He was a prosecution witness through the trial of Rudy Kurniawan in 2013.
Purchaser thirst in a troublesome market
The Invoice Koch announcement marks a high-profile return to the New York reside wine public sale scene for Christie’s.
Positive wine costs have misplaced floor in a difficult market since late 2022, amid studies of consumers typically being extra selective.
Nonetheless, Christie’s not too long ago noticed each lot discover a purchaser at a sale of wines from luxurious watch pioneer Jörg G Bucherer.
Held in Geneva in April, top tons included Petrus 1970 (12x75cl, unique wood case), which bought for £32,500 (excessive estimate: £26,000), plus six magnums of Château Haut-Brion 1989, which fetched £22,500 (excessive e: £20,000). Ultimate sale costs embrace the client’s premium.
Edwin Vos, worldwide head of Christie’s wine division, advised Decanter, ‘If you get to that stage of rarity, with a [collector] title and a narrative behind it, there’s nonetheless lots of people on the market who’re prepared to attempt to purchase a few of these tons.’
Vos was not too long ago in New York to assist the workforce organise the Invoice Koch wines for public sale. ‘At one stage we had a wall of DRC wines,’ he recalled. ‘It’s some of the high-level collections I’ve ever seen.’
Costs for a number of high-profile wines have risen over the long-term because the secondary market has expanded. The Liv-ex 100 index, which tracks a few of the most collectible wines, has greater than tripled in worth since 2005.
