March 13th – New York – Christie’s Wine Department is delighted to announce: The Two Continents Collection: The Private Cellar of Irwin Kotovsky Online Part I, a single owner sale open for bidding April 6 – 18, 2023.
The auction features 581 lots representing the world’s most sought-after wines from the private cellar of Mr. Kotovsky, a passionate collector, who assembled a spectacular cellar over his lifetime. Wine for Mr. Kotovsky was about engagement, entertainment and enjoyment. A first generation American born of a Lithuanian mother and a Ukrainian father, Mr. Kotovsky was proud of his immigrant heritage. His interest in wine developed during his travels in Europe, specifically Paris, representing his Pittsburgh-based lighting business.
This broad collection covers some of the finest Bordeaux ever crafted; amongst the many highlights are multiple cases of 1st growths from vintages spanning the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and multiple back vintages of Petrus including 1962, 1966 and 1970. A number of cases of 1982 vintage Château La Lagune are featured in the sale and were a favorite of Mr. Kotovsky. Also featured in the sale are Mature Sauternes, with Château d’Yquem back to the 1955 vintage and some exceptional vintages of Château Climens and Suduiraut from the 1950’s.
A remarkable feature of the sale is the vast array of mature white Burgundy including Domaine Leflaive, considered one of the finest producers of white Burgundy, offered in multiple vintages from the greatest sites.
Additionally, the cellar includes esteemed cases of mature vintages of Chevalier Montrachet from 1991, 1998 and 2004. The sale will feature extensive Krug offerings with multiple cases of the 1985, 1988 and 1990 alongside mature offerings dating back to 1979.
Concluding the auction is one of the largest private collection of Madeira ever to appear at Christie’s, among the extensive highlights are multiple bottles of 1795 Terrantez and full cases of 1840 Malvasia Reserva Velha from Barbeito, and some ultra-rare 18th century bottlings from William H Fearing.
Chris Munro, Head of Department, Americas Fine Wine & Spirits, remarks, “We are delighted to be able to bring this fabulous collection to auction. With sales across two continents in the Americas and the United Kingdom our global buyers will be able to bid on lots of the very rarest wine from Champagne to Bordeaux from Burgundy to Port and Madeira. With wines spanning four centuries this is truly a once in a decade auction”
The sale will continue with: The Two Continents Collection: The Private Cellar of Irwin Kotovsky Online: Part II, which will be held in London in June. The second part will offer an impressive range of mature Bordeaux, exceptional white Burgundy, and rarest Sauternes; what sets it apart is the kaleidoscopic offering of rarest spirits and liqueurs – the finest Christie’s has presented since the sale of Cognac from the cellars of La Tour d’Argent more than a decade ago.
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s also achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019). Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.
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