Historic Bordeaux on Offer at Hart's Phelps Sale

By Guy Collins

Historic bottles of Bordeaux, stretching back to the mid-19th century, are on offer as part of Hart Davis Hart Wine Co.’s auction of the personal estate of Napa Valley winemaker Joseph Phelps, scheduled for Friday.

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion. Hart has a bottle of its 1918 vintage in its December sale. Photo: Guy Collins

A single bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1865, recorked in 1953 and 1986 and bought at a Christie’s auction in March 1981, is on sale at an estimated price of between $11,000 and $17,000, according to the Hart online catalog.

The collection also includes a bottle of Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 1918, estimated at between $4,000 and $6,000, a bottle of neighboring Chateau Haut-Brion 1924, at between $1,200 and $1,800, and two bottles of Haut-Brion 1934, at between $1,400 and $2,000, made shortly before U.S. banker Clarence Dillon bought the estate.

Phelps was a major buyer at London wine auctions for his collection, and “the documentation of provenance and storage is truly exceptional,” Marc Smoler, Hart’s senior vice-president for client services, said in a phone interview.

There is also a bottle of Chateau Latour 1929, estimated between $2,400 and $3,500, and two bottles of Latour 1933, estimated between $1,500 and $2,200.