Fine wine news

Christie's is to take the unusual step of selling French fine wine alongside French fine art today (January 25th).

It will mark the auction house's first wine sale of 2012 and will feature rare cases of Bordeaux first growths and some Burgundy.

Highlights of the sale, which have been selected to show the 'art of winemaking', include a selection of Chateau Petrus from the 1970-2005 vintages. One case of 1982 Petrus has a top estimate of $65,000 (£41,648) and the lots are expected to attract a lot of attention after Christie's sold a case of 1961 Petrus for a record $144,000 last October.

In total, the Petrus up for auction later today will fetch between $301,000-419,000 if they are all sold.

Elsewhere, a full case of 1982 Lafite-Rothschild carries an estimate of $35,000-45,000, while six magnums of Latour could go for slightly less at $30,000.

Not to ignore the current fascination with Burgundy, Christie's is to sell a selection of wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, including mixed cases of vintages from 1990-2001.

Top lot, with a top estimate of $40,000, is a DRC vintage 1990 assortment.

Commenting on the choice to follow a French art auction with a French fine wine sale, Robin Kelley O’Connor, Head of Wines for the Americas at Christie’s, said it was a "salute to France".

"In each of our respective categories, these French classics have been experiencing a surge of interest as they continue to delight both established and new generations of collectors from around the world," he said.

"Among the great winemaking countries, none is so closely associated with the art of creating 'bottled poetry' as France."

He noted that the New York sale will attract buyers from Asia, Europe and the Americas and suggested that it will reach the high estimates after the auction house had a record-breaking year in 2011.

Posted by Paula Henderson