Acker Merrall Kicks off Fall Auction Season with Strong Sale over 96% and $3.2 Million Sold in NYC

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acker Merrall & Condit, the world’s premier wine auction house and America’s oldest fine wine merchant, announced strong results for the company’s first Fall 2012 auction. With over 900 lots offered and more than $3.2 million in sales, the foundation has been set for another excellent Fall season for wine auctions worldwide.

“It was a great start to the Fall auction season”

The two top lots in the auction represented the ongoing global demand for the great estates and vineyards of France. Leading the results was a beautiful, original wood case of the legendary 1953 Lafite. That case sold for $34,400 and was the first 12-bottle case of this wine to come to auction in over two years. The #2 lot was from the great Burgundy estate Leroy, a 12-bottle original wood case of 1962 Romanee-St.-Vivant, selling for $29,520. An extremely rare case of 1959 Faiveley Musigny from a great European cellar was the third highest selling lot at $27,060, followed by two cases of the great 1971 Petrus, both in their original wood case, which sold for $23,370 and $22,140 respectively. Bordeaux was a strong performer throughout the auction, winning fourteen of the top lots with Lafite having six in the top twenty-five. DRC led Burgundy’s top lots, as always, with five lots of Romanee-Conti and La Tache showing the never-ending appetite for this iconic estate.

Among the 64 new world records, important benchmarks were set by three vintages of Ramonet’s Montrachet, and the great 1999 red Burgundies made their presence known with world records from Dujac (Clos de la Roche), Roumier (Bonnes-Mares) and Rousseau (Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques). And collectors clearly want the top 2009 red Burgundies as the DRCs Romanee-Conti, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanee-St.-Vivant and Montrachet all set world records, as did Roty’s Charmes Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes and Jadot’s Griotte-Chambertin. Fourrier’s 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques far exceeded its high estimate of $3500 for a 3 bottle case of magnums by selling for $10,455, including buyer’s premium, to a NYC based collector – a new and emphatic world record.

Collectors from around the world sought these and other lots in the sale on Saturday. The internet played a big part of the auction, with 21% of the winning bidders bidding live over the internet, accounting for 23% of the total lots and 30% of the total dollars in Acker’s ‘Kickoff Classic’ auction, which seemed to accomplish its goal.

“It was a great start to the Fall auction season,” said Acker Merrall & Condit’s CEO, John Kapon. “There was strong demand and action for every type of wine. The excitement over rare Burgundy and older vintage wines led the way, and deservedly so. Older California and Spanish wines were also sizzling, but the great names of Bordeaux and Burgundy are still the world’s most collectible. While it was an exciting, packed room that was bidding and drinking actively, I couldn’t help but notice how the internet is continuing to play an increasingly bigger role each auction – this time over 30% of the dollars in the sale were won 'live' by an internet bidder. This is a trend we expect to continue, and we look forward to expanding our web platform in 2013. By the way, my wine of the day was the 1975 Petrus -- it was incredible and the best of the 21 wines I remember.”

Acker Asia’s next auction will be in Hong Kong on September 21^st and 22^nd.

About Acker Merrall & Condit

Founded in 1820, Acker Merrall & Condit is America’s oldest fine wine merchant and the world’s largest wine auction house. With affiliates in New York, Chicago and Hong Kong, the companies hold more than fifteen auctions a year, including Internet auctions. They are devoted to helping their customers buy and sell the best wines, and also to sharing with them the experience of enjoying wine. In recent years, the company has greatly expanded its services to education, tastings and the formation of wine clubs. Starting out as a family business, three generations of the Kapon family have been dedicated to bringing the best from the vine to their customers.