Finarte brings 400 collectible wine lots to a Milan sale

Collectors of rare wine will have a strong Italian and French selection to watch this week in Milan, where auction house Finarte is set to hold its “Collectible Wines” sale on Sept. 16 with 400 lots in the catalog.

The sale is built around bottles and original cases from some of the best-known names in Burgundy, Bordeaux, Piedmont and Tuscany. According to the catalog, 245 lots are Italian, equal to 61.25% of the offering, while 135 lots are French. The remaining lots come from other wine-producing countries, including the United States and Australia.

The leading lot is a bottle of 1996 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which carries a starting price of 10,000 euros. Another Burgundy highlight is a bottle of 1990 Echezeaux Grand Cru by Henri Jayer, estimated at 5,000 euros. The French selection also includes a bottle of 2001 Musigny Grand Cru from Domaine G. Roumier, estimated at 3,000 to 7,000 euros, and a bottle of 2006 La Tâche from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with a starting price of 3,000 euros.

Among the Bordeaux names in the sale are a bottle of 2004 Pétrus from Pomerol with a starting price of 2,200 euros, a bottle of Château Margaux 2000 at 600 euros, a bottle of Château Latour 1949 at 500 euros, and a bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild 1988 at 400 euros. Burgundy is also represented by a bottle of Chambertin from Leroy at 800 euros.

Italian wine forms the largest part of the catalog, with a broad range that runs from Barolo and Barbaresco to Bolgheri, Brunello and Amarone. One of the main Piedmont lots is a bottle of 1993 Barolo Monfortino Riserva by Giacomo Conterno, listed at 700 euros. Other Piedmont entries include two bottles of 2001 Barolo by Bartolo Mascarello at 500 euros, two bottles of 1996 Barbaresco by Bruno Giacosa at 330 euros, and two bottles of 2020 Barbaresco by Gaja at 300 euros.

Tuscany is another major focus. Finarte is offering 12-bottle original wooden cases of Sassicaia 2006 and Sassicaia 2005 from Tenuta San Guido, each with a starting price of 3,300 euros. The catalog also includes a vertical of Ornellaia covering the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 vintages, listed at 960 euros, and a bottle of 2001 Masseto at 750 euros. A jeroboam of 1997 Le Pergole Torte by Montevertine is priced at 1,000 euros, while a bottle of 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva by Soldera adds another high-profile Tuscan name to the sale.

The offering also includes large-format bottles from Marchesi Antinori. A 5-liter jeroboam of 1981 Tignanello is listed at 900 euros, and a lot of six bottles of 1997 Solaia is also priced at 900 euros. From Veneto, two bottles of 1993 Amarone della Valpolicella by Giuseppe Quintarelli are listed at 500 euros. For sparkling wine, the catalog includes a bottle of 1995 Bruno Lunelli Riserva from Ferrari Trento at 800 euros.

Champagne collectors will also find a small number of premium lots. Among them are a bottle of Dom Pérignon P2 Vintage Rosé 2000 at 1,000 euros and a bottle of Dom Pérignon P3 Vintage 1992 at 2,000 euros. Outside Europe, the sale includes six bottles of Opus One Overture 2019 from Napa Valley at 540 euros and a bottle of 1995 Penfolds Grange Bin from Australia at 300 euros.

The catalog mix points to continued buyer interest in labels with long auction histories, especially Burgundy and top Italian estates. Finarte’s selection combines single bottles, vertical collections and original cases, a format that usually appeals to both private collectors and buyers focused on provenance and storage history. The presence of large-format bottles and older vintages, including wines from the 1940s through the 2000s, suggests the house is targeting bidders who want both drinking wines and cellar trophies.

The wine sale will be followed the next day by Finarte’s “Collectible Spirits” auction on Sept. 17, also in Milan. The top spirits lots include a bottle of Glen Garioch 1971 bottled by Samaroli at 6,000 euros and a collection of 17 bottles of Dupeyron Armagnac estimated at 4,000 euros. That Armagnac group spans nearly eight decades, from 1893 to 1970, and adds another group of long-aged bottles to a week in which Finarte is clearly aiming at buyers in the upper end of the collectibles market.