Beschreibung:

The Extraordinary Private Cellar of Doris Duke The private cellar of Doris Duke is without question one of the most superlative collections of Fine and Rare Wines to come to market in the nearly forty years of dedicated Fine Wine auctions at Christie's. This sale ranks as the most unique offering of pre-war vintages ever sold in North America; both in its impeccable provenance and its depth of some of the best wines of the twentieth century. The cellar highlights a period of wine-making and vintages whose like will never be repeated and is a true "time capsule" of bottlings spanning 1904 to 1934 and encompassing the great châteaux and domaines of France from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne as well as ports and madeiras. The quantities here speak to an era of grand entertaining long-since passed, the vintages to yields and wine-making techniques changed by technological advancement and in one case to a vineyard now included in another by the appelation controlée laws. Not only are the wines themselves remarkable, but the quality of the archival material associated with them is equally astonishing. No collection of this era can have been so meticulously catalogued by its owners, so that today's collector can be assured of the provenance. Researching this collection has brought this cellar to life; tracing the wine's journey from initial invoices (in old French francs) and shipping dockets, through cellar inventories, entertaining records and through to NYWinesChristie's recent cataloguing and inspection. The cellar set out in these pages may represent only a third of its initial magnitude. It was with great pleasure that I along with my colleagues from Christie's in New York and NYWines spent memorable days cataloguing this historic collection of wines. It is truly a "once in a lifetime" experience to see such quantities of Romanée Conti 1934, La Mission Haut Brion 1929 and Yquem 1929, amongst many others, in one place. It is incredible to see such wines as Les Gaudichots 1929 from DRC and Armand Rousseau's 1934 Chambertin at all, let alone in the quantities represented here. It is difficult to draw out highlights from this collection, one so full of exciting wines and true rarities. Each of the wines has been researched allowing us to include vintage notes and history of the châteaux and domaines. The wines in this collection were removed from two of Miss Duke's former homes; at Duke Farms in Somerville, New Jersey and Shangri La, Honolulu, Hawaii. Duke Farms Built by James Buchanan Duke, Doris Duke's father at the turn of the twentieth century, the estate amounts to some 2700 acres and is amongst the state's largest privately owned estates. The cellar in the basement of the original part of the main house was originally designed as a meat-locker with sealed door and was converted into the wine cellar during the 1930s. It is understood that refrigeration was installed during the second half of the 1930s. The majority of the wines in this collection were removed from the cellar at Duke Farms which had a temperature of between 55-57 degrees during our visit. Many of the bottles bear slip labels from Bellows and Company, one of America's foremost importers and wine merchants since 1830. Indeed it was Frederick S. Wildman a Connecticut-born wine connoisseur, who bought the century-old Bellows and Co., in 1934 following the repeal of Prohibition. The company now bears his name. Shangri La The Honolulu home of Doris Duke was commissioned by her and built from 1936 to 1938 on a five-acre waterfront property in an Islamic style. The cellar was part of the original house and it is believed that refrigeration was installed at the outset, witnessed by the presence of the original compressor (now unused) at the property. Christie's staff removed the wines from this cellar in 2001 at which time notes were made regarding the conditions of the cellar. The cellar temperature was recorded at between 53 and 55 degrees during