Burgundy leads NYC sale

The concluding third sale from the private collection of tech entrepreneur James Clark has made US$4.1 million in New York, bringing the total from the sales to over $8m.

Held in New York at the weekend, the third sale involving wines from Clark’s collection was dominated by fine Burgundy, with over 800 lots from Leroy to Robert Arnoux being offered.

More than 60% of the lots were sold above their high estimates, and 30% of the lots were sold to online bidders.

There was strong bidding for Leroy, the combined wines of which made $340,132, while those of Dujac made a total of $199,888 and the wines of Robert Arnoux far exceeded their pre-sale estimate for a combined total of $84,692.

The sale’s top lot was a 12-bottle case of Domaine Dujac’s 1996 Clos Saint Denis ($18,600), equal to 12 bottles of Arnoux’s 1985 Vosne Romanée ‘Les Suchots’.

Jamie Ritchie, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Wine, commented: “Sotheby’s is honored to have been entrusted again with selling a selection from the Exceptional Cellar of James H. Clark. In addition to the impressive results for Rousseau, Roumier, Leroy and Dujac, we were excited to see great interest for producers that are often overshadowed, such as Robert Arnoux and Hubert Lignier.

“Many of the worlds’ great collectors showed their appreciation for this magnificent collection with feverish bidding across platforms, especially online which accounted for nearly 40% of all bids. Sotheby’s Wine concludes its record-setting 2018 auctions with Finest and Rarest Wines on 8 December in New York.”