Sotheby’s to offer wine cellar of New York sculptor Joel Shapiro
Sotheby’s is to auction the wine collection of celebrated American sculptor Joel Shapiro next month, in a sale that should raise in excess of US$700,000.
Richard Young, Sotheby’s wine head of auction sales (Americas) said the contemporary artist had “an extraordinary eye for producers long before they became universally celebrated”, amassing his collection “with both passion and patience”.
The collection comprises a selection of blue-chip Burgundy and Bordeaux wines alongside what were then obscure but are now “highly coveted” wines from sought-after producers from Piedmont, Rhône, the Loire Valley, and Napa Valley.
“What makes this sale truly exceptional is not just the pedigree of the wines, but also their impeccable provenance and preservation, with full cases in pristine condition and bottles that have essentially been resting untouched for over two decades,” Young said. “It is a collection that reflects true connoisseurship, and one that today’s collectors will immediately recognize as both rare and deeply personal.”
The sale, which will take place on 6 March 2026 in Shapiro’s native New York, is expected to raise US$700,000.
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Among the highlights are Burgundies from “standout vintages” including 1996 and 1999, as well as Bordeaux from 1990 and 2000, many in full six and twelve-bottle cases, making thing an increasingly rare find, Sotheby’s said. This includes: an originally banded 12-bottle wooden case of 1993 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche (estimate: US$30,000–$42,000), preserved in “remarkable condition, exhibiting exceptional fill levels; six bottles of 1996 Georges Roumier Bonnes Mares (estimate: US$6,000–$9,000); a rare 12-bottle case of 1999 René Engel Grands Échézeaux (estimate: US$15,000–$20,000), offered in its original carton; and single bottle lots of Jean-Louis Chave Cuvée Cathelin from the 1995 and 1998 vintages (estimate: US$3,000–$5,000 per bottle), made in limited quantity from some of the finest parcels on Hermitage in the Rhône Valley. “These bottles are widely regarded among the most profound and sought-after Syrahs ever produced,” Sotheby’s said.
Shapiro was born and bred in New York, working from a studio in a former electric substation in Long Island City to produce contemporary bronzes that “blur[red] abstraction and figuration”. A retrospective of his work was held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, on Madison Avenue in the early 1980s, in a building which is now home to Sotheby’s headquarters, The Breuer Building where the auction will take place.
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