Bonhams Will Hold Three Burgundy-Focused Wine Auctions in Paris on Nov. 7

Bonhams said Wednesday that it will devote an entire day in Paris on Saturday, November 7, to three live wine auctions built around Burgundy and other major European producers, led by bottles released directly from the cellars of Domaine Hubert Lignier and two private collections.

The sales will be held at 6 Avenue Hoche in the city’s 8th arrondissement, starting at 2 p.m. Bonhams said the program will include 30 lots from Domaine Hubert Lignier, the second part of a high-end European cellar sale, and a final session focused on Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leroy.

The first auction centers on Hubert Lignier, the family estate in Morey-Saint-Denis that is closely identified with Clos de la Roche. Bonhams said the Lignier family owns about one hectare in the grand cru, spread across the Monts Luisants and Les Fremières climats, with vines that are 60 to 70 years old. The house described the direct release from the estate cellar as a rare offering in a market where provenance remains a central concern for collectors.

Among the headline lots is a three-bottle case of Clos de la Roche MCMLV 2017, estimated at €3,000 to €4,000. Bonhams said Laurent Lignier created the wine in 2017 as a tribute to his grandfather Henri. The cuvée comes only from 27 rows of pinot noir planted in 1955 in Monts Luisants, vines that later served to replant the estate’s vineyards in the 1960s. Bonhams said the parcel produces very small berries and yields just two or three barrels a year.

The sale is also due to include two Clos de la Roche “Trilogies,” one spanning the 1980s and the other the 1990s, each estimated at €3,000 to €4,000, along with a 1978 Charmes-Chambertin estimated at €1,200 to €2,200.

In a statement released by Bonhams, Amayès Aouli, the company’s global head of wines and spirits, said estate-direct wines from a domain such as Hubert Lignier are extremely uncommon and represent the type of provenance sought by collectors worldwide. He said the three sales share the same standard, with collections that have a clear history, bottles inspected by Bonhams’ European team under the direction of Eloïse Rusier, and wines that reflect a part of wine history.

Hubert Lignier, also quoted in the release, said respect for the soil is essential to revealing a great terroir and said he was pleased to work with Bonhams’ specialists to present the estate’s wines to buyers around the world.

The second auction, scheduled for 3 p.m., will offer the next installment of what Bonhams called an exceptional European private cellar. That sale widens the focus beyond Burgundy while remaining anchored in top-tier French and European bottles.

One of the most expensive entries in that session is a magnum of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2005, estimated at €35,000 to €45,000. Bonhams said the bottle comes from one of the strongest Burgundy vintages of the century and in a format that is especially prized by collectors.

Another major lot is 12 bottles of La Romanée 2006 from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, estimated at €22,000 to €28,000. Bonhams noted that La Romanée is a 0.85-hectare monopole with annual production of about 4,000 bottles and said the 2006 vintage has particular historical value because it was the first for which Louis-Michel Liger-Belair had full control over both the vineyard and the winemaking after the end of the estate’s contract with Bouchard Père & Fils.

The same session will also feature two bottles of Chevalier-Montrachet 2003 from Domaine d’Auvenay, estimated at €15,000 to €19,000. Bonhams described Domaine d’Auvenay as Lalou Bize-Leroy’s personal estate and said the wine comes from a 0.16-hectare parcel acquired in 1992. According to the auction house, the 2003 vintage produced only about 320 bottles.

Other highlighted lots in the afternoon sale include a group containing one bottle and two magnums of Champagne Salon 1995, estimated at €3,500 to €4,500, and 12 magnums of Didier Dagueneau’s Silex 2000, estimated at €3,800 to €4,800. Bonhams said Salon is made only in years judged exceptional and described Silex as the signature wine of Dagueneau, who reshaped the reputation of Pouilly-Fumé before his death in 2008.

A nine-liter bottle of Gantenbein Pinot Noir 2003 is also expected to draw attention, with an estimate of €2,000 to €2,500. Bonhams said Martha and Daniel Gantenbein, based in Fläsch in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, have used Burgundian clones since 1982 and operate entirely by gravity without pumping or filtration. The house said the estate’s annual production does not exceed 25,000 to 30,000 bottles, making a bottle in that size an unusual offering.

The third sale begins at 5 p.m. and will focus on a private collection devoted to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, with assortments covering vintages from 2006 through 2022. Bonhams said the collection offers nearly two decades of the estate’s wines. That session will also include several lots from Domaine Leroy, another name that sits at the top end of Burgundy collecting.

The November event continues Bonhams’ effort to position provenance and inspection at the center of high-value wine sales, especially at a time when buyers have become more selective about origin, storage history, and bottle condition. The auction house said its wine department has more than 20 years of experience and regularly stages fine-wine sales in the United States, London, Hong Kong, Paris, and Denmark.