Acker Merrill & Condit Auction

The Acker Merrill & Condit Golden Cellar Auction was held this past weekend in New York. Of the top 20 grossing lots, 15 were Burgundies. A total of more than 15.5 million dollars worth of wine was auctioned, the second highest grossing wine auction ever.

The top lot was a Methuselah of 1999 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee Conti fetching $127,050. A Methuselah holds 6 liters or 8 bottles of wine.

12 bottles of 1962 A. Rousseau Chambertin brought $108,900, 12 bottles of 1978 H. Jayer Echezeau sold for $72,600, 12 bottles of 1969 A. Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze went for $66,550 and 6 magnums of 1999 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache brought $58,080.

One could make a good argument for robbing a stock portfolio and investing heavily in 2005 Burgundies from top producers like Romanee Conti, Comte de Vogue, A. Rousseau and so forth. The thirst for fine vintages of Burgundy seems to spiral upward unabated and it is easy to imagine healthy returns on such an investment in the future. Sad to say, but great Burgundy today is more likely to be traded like a stock than drank as a heavenly beverage.