Christie’s sale of Le Gavroche cellar raises £1.9 million

The wine cellar of London restaurant Le Gavroche raised £1.9m at auction last week, as part of a £2.269million sale by Christie’s last week.

The sale, which took place online, was divided into two parts, with items from the restaurant itself in part one, while the second half of the sale, which closed on 24 April, took in the extensive wine cellar.

670 lots were offered from the cellar, showcasing the international nature of the restaurant’s world-class wine cellar, with strong prices achieved for the exceptional selection of Burgundy wines, including seven bottles of Richebourg 1993 from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti which sold for £35,000, more than double the low estimate of £14,000-22,000. Other highlights included two magnums of Château Lafite Rothschild 1945, which sold for £15,000 against an estimate of £6,000-8,000, as well as a “pristine” collection of  Vintage Champagnes, including magnums of Krug 1971 & 1975  which topped its high estimate of estimate £6,000-8,500 per 4 magnums, by realising £9,375.

Tim Triptree MW, Christie’s international director of wines & spirits and Adam Bilbey, global head of wine and spirits at Christie’s said the exceptionally strong result was “a fitting tribute to the impeccable cellar of Le Gavroche”, as well.

“We are thrilled with the results of the sale, which is the first single-owner sale of what is an incredibly exciting season ahead,” they said.

Notable sales from the restaurant included its unique guestbook  featuring the signatures of guests such as Charlie Chaplin, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Barbra Streisand, going under the hammer  which smashed its £3,000-5,000 estimate to raise £37,800.

Around a third of bidders and buyers (34%) were millennials, the auction house said, with nearly two thirds (60%) of bidders  new to Christie’s.