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News from the world of investments and auctions

- CHRIS MERCER

Koch cellar auction bucks the recent trend

A Christie's auction of US billionaire Bill Koch’s cellar has fetched more than $28m, adding to a sense that buyers remain willing to spend big on highly prized bottles.

All lots found buyers in the New York-based auction, which was split across three days. Christie's said total sales hit $28.8m (£21.4m), and large-format grand cru Burgundy saw particularly intense bidding.

A 6-litre methuselah bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 1999 fetched $275,000, including buyer's premium (high estimate: $160,000). Six magnums of Domaine Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares 1985 sold for $200,000 (high e: $85,000).

From Bordeaux, six magnums of Château Latour 1961 fetched $187,500 (high e: $110,000), and a 6-litre imperial bottle sold for $87,500 (high e: $45,000).

Beyond France, six bottles of Australia’s Penfolds Grange 1971 sold for $10,625 (high e: $7,000).

Koch said: ‘I hope these wines that I have spent years collecting and curating will bring joy and great memories to their new owners.’

Separately, US wine auction house Hart Davis Hart (HDH) reported sales of nearly $42.3m in six months to 30 June - a company record for the first half of a calendar year.