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DRC continues to lead sales at Sotheby’s

Auction house Sotheby’s has revealed that Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was the leading wine label it sold in 2019, accounting for US$27m in sales.

As reported last December, the auctioneer made $118m in sales in 2019 with several record-breaking sales along the way, including $1.9m paid for a bottle of Macallan Scotch whisky.

Breaking down its sales in a recent report, Sotheby’s revealed that – not for the first time – super star Burgundian estate Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was the most lucrative wine label over the course of the 2019 sales calendar.

The prestigious domain’s wines accounted for 44% of all the Burgundy offered by Sotheby’s last year and made $27m – 22% of total sales by value – with an average price of $5,855 per bottle.

Sales of Scotch malt whisky The Macallan and another famed Burgundian producer (this time of white Burgundy) Coche-Dury amounted to $8m each – though the average price for a bottle of Macallan was $24,744.

The wines of Armand Rousseau, Leroy and Roumier were also Burgundian estates in the top 10, with combined sales of $12m. In total, Burgundy represented 50% of sales in 2019.

First growth Mouton Rothschild was the leading Bordeaux label, accounting for 20% of all claret sales and worth $6m.

Petrus meanwhile racked up $4m in sales and Lafite a further $3m. Bordeaux sales overall were a little slower than usual, representing only 26% of total sales (down from 46% in 2018) and with prices down 36% on average. Nonetheless, Sotheby’s said it expects to see Bordeaux “reclaiming market share through increases in both price and volume over the next few years as supply of Burgundy normalises and appreciation of top quality Bordeaux gathers momentum”.

The most popular Champagne was Dom Pérignon, which accounted for 57% of all the Champagne sold and for a total of $3m.

Ornellaia was the leading Italian label that Sotheby’s offered (due in part, no doubt, to a partnership between the two companies), Screaming Eagle was the leading USlabel, Vega Sicilia from Spain and Guigal in the Rhône.

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