Acker Merrall & Condit, hoped that their Icemen Cometh sale would get 2012 off to a good start for them. Today they comfirmed that their second-ever Chicago auction, held January 28th, had broken a number of records, despite its small size.
Featuring a grand range of the world's finest and rarest wines in smaller and mixed lots, the sale saw enthusiastic bidding from collectors both present and through all sorts of media worldwide resulting in a near white glove sale: 98% of lots were sold resulting in a sales total of $1,846,836.
 1985 DRC Burgundy Echezeaux Romanee-Conti La Tache DRC assortment |
John Kapon, Acker's CEO, was enthusiastic: "The success of today's sale confirms that the wine market is still alive and well, and that Chicago collectors are among the world's smartest and most savvy. While the sale was smaller than our usual standards, it was significant."
He continued: "We offered some stunning wines today, and the crowded salesroom jumped all over them. To set ninety-two new world records in a sale of this size is a testament to both the diversity of our auctions, as well as the wine spirit in this town. Chicago is passionate about wine and so are we - the energy in the room was great."
Top lot was, as expected a 1985 Assortment Case from the Domaine de la Romanee Conti. DRC Burgundy is always coveted, and in this case enticed a bid of $46,360 from the audience. We predicted that the dreamy mix of Romanée-Conti, Echezeaux and La Tache would prove absolutely irresistible, and so it proved.
Surprising some, the top ten included not only more DRC Burgundy and some fine Bordeaux (Chateaux Margaux and Latour) but also contributions from Italy and California: the great Bruno Giacosa and California’s 'Parker Perfect' 1997 Harlan Estate.
This chimes with Bonhams' recent comments about the strengthening of wines away from Bordeaux, including Italy.
John Kapon added, "The market is actually getting stronger by diversifying,” Kapon added. “To see Giacosa and Harlan in the Top Ten lots shows that tides are changing".
