The room held its breath as the hammer fell at Ackers New York: a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti fetched an astronomical sum of over seven tonnes. This was no ordinary wine, but a liquid piece of history.
Text: Marjolein Schuman | Image: iStock
Only a few hundred bottles were produced, shortly after the war and just before the vineyard was replanted. What’s in the bottle is therefore irreplaceable – something collectors know only too well.
Year of Victory
The 1945 vintage, the famous Year of Victory, was legendary not only in Burgundy but also in Bordeaux. For example, in 2020, a 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild was sold for €256,000, although this was an impressive 3-litre bottle.
Despite economic uncertainties, great classic wines continue to retain their status as a safe investment. This is also evident from the latest auction at Christie’s of the wine cellar belonging to a obsessive collector: A 1982 Pétrus from Pomerol fetched €120,000, whilst a double magnum of 2011 Château Lafite Rothschild from Pauillac was withdrawn from the auction at €90,000.
Meanwhile, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti remains the undisputed frontrunner.
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