Petrus Wins the Day; the Auction Totals CHF 3.5 Million
Auctioneer and Chief Executive Officer of Baghera/wines Michael Ganne, selling lot 170 in the A BEAUTIFUL DAY auction.
TOTAL: CHF 3,491,335 /$ 3,918,674 /€ 3,654,380. Sold by lot: 92 %
Lots sold: 482| Lots on offer: 523. Sold by value: 119%
Geneva, 10 October 2023 – A Beautiful Day, A Wine Story of Epic Substance, an auction of prestige wines organized by Baghera/wines, took place in Geneva on Sunday 8 October. A total of 523 lots, including countless large formats, were offered at auction. The overwhelming majority of these lots, some of the most coveted wines in the world, found buyers among a passionate and particularly active clientele. Dominating the top ten, Petrus, 1989, 1990 and 2000 vintages alone accounted for an eighth of the auction total. Broadcast live-streamed from the Beau Rivage in Geneva, the auction, which was open to the public, fetched CHF 3,491,335 /$ 3,918,674 /€ 3,654,380, one and a half times its lowest estimate.
The two subtly intertwined chapters of this auction, the first dedicated to Burgundy wines and the second to Bordeaux wines, aroused great enthusiasm among the community of fans of exceptional wines. The top lots were hotly contested, and all came close to their highest estimates. While the rest of the lots offered in the ‘A Beautiful Day’ sale were well received by both live and telephone bidders – with online bidding on the increase – live auctions continue to hold their appeal, particularly through the live broadcast in Singapore.
The auction’s top lot, lot #170, a set of three 1990 Petrus double magnums, sold for CHF 67,200, just shy of its highest estimate. The second highest lot, lot #166, a set of six 1990 Petrus magnums, sold for CHF 56,400. The top ten, made up entirely of Bordeaux wines, totalled nearly CHF 463,800.
At the close of the auction, Michael Ganne and Julie Carpentier, founders of Baghera/wines and auctioneers, said: “We have been sensing this renewed interest in the king of wines for several months, and the mere mention of the name Petrus is enough to arouse everyone’s enthusiasm! Once again, our teams have been rewarded for their skill – and the trust that is being built up between our customers, buyers and sellers is tremendous. Giving everyone the chance to fulfil a dream, whether it’s for drinking – which we hope with all our hearts – or for keeping, these wines are the most exceptional of their kind on the market today. We would like to thank the enthusiasts behind the collections we have presented, not only for the coherence of the whole, but above all for the exceptional conservation conditions, a parameter on which Baghera/wines’ daily work is based.”
Baghera/wines is Europe’s leading auctioneer of exceptional wines and spirits, and its teams are renowned for their legitimacy and their precise expertise.
ABOUT BAGHERA/WINES, EXPERTS IN EXCEPTIONAL WINES
European leader in rare wine auctions based in Geneva, Baghera/wines offers a new approach to sales of exceptional vintages by placing conviviality and sharing at the heart of their events. For the past five years, passionate experts Michael Ganne and Julie Carpentier have developed a bureau dedicated exclusively to rare wines, and which guides collectors in all aspects of enhancing the value of a collection.
In 2018-19, the historic sale of Henri Jayer’s personal cellar, to date the world’s most important wine auction ever (CHF 34.5M), followed by an unprecedented sale exclusively dedicated to the wines of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and then by the final bottles from Domaine René Engel, propelled Baghera/wines to the position of European leader in wine auctions.
The experienced team working with Baghera/wines’ experts offers excellent tailor-made professional advice to international collectors passionate about rare fine wines including the organization of master classes, as well as careful selection of wines for private tastings, dinners and events combining music and wine. In September 2020, Baghera/wines officially inaugurated its new Geneva establishment, incorporating a private club and boutique dedicated to fine wines, within the Beau-Rivage hotel, Geneva. In October 2022, the company further developed its activities in Asia, with the opening of Baghera/wines Singapore Ltd. in Singapore. The entity began holding physical and online auctions from December 2022. In 2023, Baghera/wines France was set up to organize auctions in France, and a second club dedicated to collectors and events was inaugurated in Nuits-St-Georges.
