Live Auction in NY | October 23, 2026
Continues Celebration of 60 Years of Wine and Spirits Being Offered at Christie’s
October 1, 2026 (New York) — Christie’s is honored to present The Distinguished Cellar of an American Connoisseur, a live auction of 350 wine lots being held at Christie’s Rockefeller Center in New York on October 23.
The anticipated auction features a “roll call of the world’s greatest wines,” according to Chris Munro, head of wine and spirits for Christie’s in the Americas, including classic vintages of Romanée-Conti, rare, mature vintages from Domaine Leflaive, and one of the most comprehensive collections of Guigal’s La La’s to appear at auction, including many full cases.
The collector compiled the extraordinary collection of unique old and new world wines over decades, bringing a keen eye and commitment to provenance to many of the most important wine auctions over the last 50 years.
Top lots in the auction include six bottles of Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin 1991 and three bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti 1999. Both lots are estimated to achieve $60,000-80,000.
Additional significant lots in the sale include a magnum of Louis Roederer, Cristal Rose 1996 (estimate: $1,400-1,900), 12 bottles of Petrus 1982 (estimate: $38,000-48,000), and 12 bottles of Domaine Leflaive, Chevalier-Montrachet 1989 (estimate: $24,000-35,000).
The Distinguished Cellar of an American Connoisseur is part of Christie’s year-long celebration of 60 years of the auction house offering fine wine and spirits. The anniversary will commence at Christie’s Hong Kong on October 10, with the sale of The Cellar of the Hon. Henry Tang, a landmark single-owner auction that comes nearly six decades after Christie’s held its inaugural wine auction on October 11, 1966 in London. This pioneering moment helped shape the modern fine wine auction market and laid the foundations for the world’s first standalone wine department.
Chris Munro, Head of Wine & Spirits, Americas, comments: “As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern wine department we are delighted to present The Distinguished Cellar of an American Connoisseur. Of the many highlights the sale includes a roll call of the world’s greatest wines, Château Latour 1961, Mouton Rothschild 1945, La Mission Haut-Brion 1961 from Bordeaux, classic vintages of Romanée-Conti and rare, mature vintages from Domaine Leflaive. Elsewhere the sale includes one of the most comprehensive collections of Guigal’s La La’s to appear at auction including many full cases. New World classics are also represented with fifteen vintages of Penfold’s flagship Grange back to 1966. Our collector bought from some of the most important auctions ever held during his decades of collecting with a very keen eye and fastidious attention to provenance and condition. One of the most important sales to be held in recent times and a fitting tribute to our 60th anniversary celebrations.”
About Christie’s
Christie’s is the leading global auction house for art, luxury, and collectibles. Founded in 1766, Christie’s has a 260-year heritage, offering exceptional objects from the world’s greatest collectors, and a commitment to the highest levels of service and expertise.
Christie’s offers approximately 50,000 objects a year through trusted live and online auctions spanning more than 80 categories of art and luxury —including 20 and 21 Century art (Post War and Contemporary, Modern and Impressionist art), Old Masters, prints, photographs, jewellery, handbags, wine, watches, cars, design, rare books, guitars, memorabilia, manuscripts, and much more—with prices ranging from $500 to over $100 million. Christie’s also offers Private Sales, and has an unparalleled network of specialists across fine art, luxury, and collectibles providing clients a full portfolio of global services, including art appraisal, financing through Christie’s Art Finance, and education.
Christie’s has a physical presence in nearly 50 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, with flagship international salerooms in London, New York, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva, offering free, public pre-sale exhibitions of objects being offered. Visitors also interact with Christie’s via christies.com, exploring upcoming auctions, current exhibitions, latest stories about objects, collections, and collectors, featured artists, selling guides, and more. Millions watch livestreams of Christie’s auctions, captivated by the excitement, magic, and drama of auction, and participate via online bidding at all price points.
Christie’s regularly leads the auction world in market share across numerous categories, with record-breaking sales and a focus on great collections. Christie’s has sold 3 out of the 5 most important single-owner collections in history, achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction, and has set numerous records across all categories.
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