Andrew Lloyd Webber to sell final tranche of wine collection

Christie’s is selling the final tranche of wines from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wine collection to raise money to help disadvantaged secondary school pupils gain access to classical music. 

Lloyd Webber called it “the end of an era” to see the last great wines from his cellars at Sydmonton Court go under the hammer after the majority of his collection – composed of top Bordeaux, red and white Burgundy and some vintage Champagne – was sold in 2011.

The star of London’s West End is donating the hammer proceeds of the sale to The Music in Secondary Schools Trust (MiSST). The charity, which is  part-funded by The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, provides musical instruments, weekly tuition, and a classical music curriculum to pupils in 37 secondary schools in areas of significant deprivation.

He added that while some of the bottles had been there for over fifty years, music in schools was a subject “dear to my heart”.

“I am proud that I have supported nearly 30,000 children’s musical education and given them their first musical instruments. This auction will educate many more.”

The charity is aiming to boost the number of children it reaches to 50,000 by 2028.

Collection Highlights
The collection comprises bottles, magnums and large formats from some of the world’s most renown vineyards, notably Bordeaux and Burgundy. It includes some of the finest vintages of the past century. Charles Foley, head of sale at Christie’s said the collection was distinguished “by its rarity, provenance and historical significance” and gave collectors worldwide an “exceptional opportunity” to acquire iconic wines.

Among the Bordeaux highlights is a bottle of Château Margaux 1900 (estimate: £5,000–7,000); 3 bottles of Château Cheval Blanc 1947 (estimate: £10,000–15,000 per bottle); a Magnum of Château Haut-Brion 1961 (estimate: £3,000–4,000); Petrus 1989 (estimate: £10,000–15,000, 5 bottles); Petrus 1990 (estimate: £22,000–32,000 for 11 bottles); a bottle of Château d’Yquem 1949 (estimate: £1,200–1,700) and 12 bottles of Château d’Yquem 1990 (estimate: £3,500–4,500, 12 bottles).

The Burgundy section includes wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, including the 2005 vintage (estimate: £35,000–45,000 for 3 bottles); Romanée St Vivant 2005 (est. £10,000–15,000, for 6 bottles) and a bottle of La Tâche 1990 (est. £4,000–5,000); as well as wines from Domaine Rousseau, Trapet, Bouchard, Faiveley, Dujac, Clos de Tart, and Domaine d’Eugénie. White Burgundy is also represented with magnums of Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 2005.

Related news

Georgia to auction Stalin’s 40,000-bottle wine collection

Historic Polish vodka distillery heads to auction with £53m redevelopment potential

'Greatest offerings of rare and mature California wines' comes to auction