Christie’s to sell Burgundies from renowned British collector Ian Mill KC
Christie’s auction house is to sell a collection of Domaine Armand Rousseau alongside rare Burgundies from the cellar of Ian Mill KC, the renowned wine collector who made headlines when he sold more than £8 million worth of his collection in 2019.
The sale, which is taking place online until 13 March, comprises a single-owner collection of Domaine Armand Rousseau, a benchmark for Gevrey-Chambertin, including legendary climats, Chambertin, Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Clos St Jacques, Ruchottes‑Chambertin, with “notable depth” across the estate’s “golden era” in the 1990s and 2000s.
The sale also includes a curated selection of Burgundies from the cellar of Ian Mill KC. Mill is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable UK wine collectors who has spent more than 40 years pursuing some of the world’s greatest wines. His interest was originally sparked by tasting Domaine Leflaive’s Bâtard-Montrachet 1982 – a moment he described in a profile on JancisRobinson.com in 2020 as “revelatory”, sparking a lifelong determination “to find other such bottles and to drink them”. He became an investor in Morris & Verdin with his friend Jasper Morris MW, which was sold to Berry Bros & Rudd in 2003, and City restaurant Cabotte, and started to buy to invest as well as to enjoy his collection.
He sold his Bordeaux collection in the 2010s and soon embarked on building “the greatest possible Burgundy collection to sell at auction in due course”, buying “only the best wines in perfect condition from the best producers and only from the best vintages” that he personally enjoyed. This collection of around 7,000 bottles realised £8 million at Zachys auction house in 2019.
Since then, Mill has rebuilt his collection to around 10,000 bottles, and has opened a wine bar in California’s Sonoma County, while still continued to practise at the Bar, specialising in commercial, intellectual property and sport law.
Charles Foley, Specialist, Wine & Spirits at Christie’s Londonsaid the collection was a “hand-selected jewel box of some of the rarest and most treasured wines” in his collection, “a selection of highlights which he chose not to offer in earlier sales”.
“Ian Mill is an extremely important collector of rare Burgundy, from top producers of red Grand and 1er Cru, to white Burgundy, of which he has one of the most in depth knowledges of any collector,” he said.
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The latest release spans four decades of Burgundy, including the benchmark vintages of 1978, 1985 and 1993 among the reds – “vintages celebrated for their balance, complexity, and longevity, and increasingly scarce today”, Christie’s added, from leading domaines including Armand Rousseau, Georges Roumier and Denis Bachelet. The whites include “exceptional examples” from 1985, 1986 and 1992, sourced from Comtes Lafon, Coche-Dury, and Domaine Leflaive among others.
“Mature, well-provenanced Burgundy of this calibre and concentration is increasingly scarce, making this a notable moment for the secondary market,” Christie’s said.
While the focus remains on exceptional Burgundy, there are also some champagnes and select Rhone wines, “offered in small quantities and in fantastic condition”, Foley added, noting that Mill’s tastes were “extremely refined, but also varied”,
“He was always looking for new regions to explore and champion,” he said. This includes bottles of Côte-Rôtie, “magnificent” bottles from Domaine Jamet and Gentaz- Dervieux, and a selection of vintage champagne reaching back to the 1970s.
The sale also comprises mature Rioja, several classic Bordeaux collections, and a selection of rare spirits.
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