By Guy Collins
Historic bottles of Bordeaux, stretching back to the mid-19th century, are on offer as part of Hart Davis Hart Wine Co.’s auction of the personal estate of Napa Valley winemaker Joseph Phelps, scheduled for Friday.
A single bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1865, recorked in 1953 and 1986 and bought at a Christie’s auction in March 1981, is on sale at an estimated price of between $11,000 and $17,000, according to the Hart online catalog.
The collection also includes a bottle of Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 1918, estimated at between $4,000 and $6,000, a bottle of neighboring Chateau Haut-Brion 1924, at between $1,200 and $1,800, and two bottles of Haut-Brion 1934, at between $1,400 and $2,000, made shortly before U.S. banker Clarence Dillon bought the estate.
Phelps was a major buyer at London wine auctions for his collection, and “the documentation of provenance and storage is truly exceptional,” Marc Smoler, Hart’s senior vice-president for client services, said in a phone interview.
There is also a bottle of Chateau Latour 1929, estimated between $2,400 and $3,500, and two bottles of Latour 1933, estimated between $1,500 and $2,200.
