Bonhams’ Paris wine auctions top €1 million with Burgundy bottles leading bids

Bonhams said its three live wine auctions in Paris on Nov. 7 brought in more than €1 million, with bidding led by sought-after Burgundy names including Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and bottles offered directly from the cellar of Domaine Hubert Lignier.

The auction house said the sales at its Avenue Hoche saleroom realized more than €1 million in total and drew international bidders. The day was built around three separate auctions focused on Burgundy and other European wines, with the strongest prices coming from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti mixed cases and older, rare bottlings.

The first sale centered on Domaine Hubert Lignier, the family estate in Morey-Saint-Denis known for Clos de la Roche. Bonhams said the offering included mature and recent vintages, some paired with annual allocations or private estate visits and tastings. The highest prices in that sale were two vertical sets of Clos de la Roche Grand Cru. One lot made up of the 1982, 1986 and 1989 vintages sold for €6,820, above its €4,000-to-€6,000 estimate. A second vertical of the 1991, 1993 and 1999 vintages also sold for €6,820 against the same estimate.

Amayès Aouli, Bonhams’ global head of wine and spirits, said the results reflected buyer confidence in provenance, a key issue in the fine wine market where collectors often pay a premium for bottles traced directly to a producer or a carefully documented cellar.

The second auction, titled Wine Excellence from an Impeccable European Cellar Part II, was a white-glove sale, meaning every lot sold. Bonhams said it totaled €540,000 and was sold 100% by lot and by value. The sale was led by a 12-bottle assortment case from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from the 2001 vintage, which sold for €52,080. A 12-bottle lot of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair La Romanée Grand Cru 2006 brought €37,200, well above its €22,000-to-€28,000 estimate.

Other notable prices in that sale showed demand beyond the top Burgundy names. A lot of 12 magnums of Didier Dagueneau’s Pouilly-Fumé Silex 2000 sold for €14,880, far above its €3,800-to-€4,800 estimate. Two bottles of Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet 2003 sold for €17,360. Bonhams also reported €5,084 for a lot consisting of one standard bottle and two magnums of Champagne Salon 1995. A 9-liter bottle of Gantenbein Pinot Noir 2003 from Switzerland sold for €3,472, beating its €2,000-to-€2,500 estimate.

The final live sale of the day focused on two private collections built around Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Leroy. Bonhams said that auction realized €489,862 and sold 95% by lot. The highest price was €55,800 for a Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2015 assortment case containing 12 bottles. Two more mixed cases from the producer, a 2014 set of 12 bottles and a 2017 set of 13 bottles, each sold for €49,600.

One of the most closely watched lots was a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 1945, which sold for €34,720. Bonhams said that price was more than double the pre-sale estimate. A three-bottle lot of Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulées 2014 sold for €11,160.

The Nov. 7 results underline how the top end of the wine auction market continues to be driven by scarce Burgundy, especially when the bottles come from a producer’s cellar or from collections with strong documentation. In the Bonhams sales, that pattern held across different formats and eras, from postwar single bottles to modern release assortment cases.

Bonhams also said an online sale, Bordeaux Icons and Beyond: A Private Collection of Rare Vintages, runs through Nov. 12.