Chris de Burgh's Wine Collection Up For Sale Next Month at Christie's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 3rd 2011 at 10:01PM

As we mentioned last fall, singer Chris DeBurgh, who most famous for in the U.S. for his song "Lady in Red," is also a wine collector who is ready to sell off some of his best vintages. Last year he sat down with Decanter to confess that the reason he is gong to sell is not because he needs the cash but because he can't bear to drink some of the most expensive bottles. He has been collecting for years and has picked up many prized bottles including a case of Lafite 1945 and Latour 61, Mouton 82, Cheval Blanc 78, Margaux and La Mission Haut Brion 61. He also has a complete collection of Mouton vintages from 1945 that he updates with the latest vintage each year.

The Fine and Rare Wines Including Rarities from The Private Cellar of Chris de Burgh, which will take place at Christie's King Street saleroom in London, on March 23. The sale includes 320 bottles and 84 magnums of wine, mostly reds. The Private Cellar of Chris de Burgh is estimated to bring in £200,000.

"I started thinking about selling a selection of wines from my collection about five years ago," comments Chris de Burgh. "Looking at the economics of the wine trade and how the business of selling wine fluctuates, I decided now was the right time. Every wine I'm selling I've actually tasted, one way or the other, so I know what I'm missing, but I think the time has come for someone else to enjoy them in my stead." De Burgh goes on to confess that he, his wife and his daughter prefer to drink white wine.

The bottles come from Chris de Burgh's home in Ireland where they were stored in a specially-built wine room. He began collecting wine in the 1980s. His favorite wine of the ones up for sale is a 12 bottle case of Château Lafite-Rothschild, vintage 1945 (estimate: £12,000-16,000). The case is in pristine condition and contains the original straw which has protected the bottles since the end of the second World War. The highest value lot in the sale is his vertical collection of 62 magnums of Château Mouton-Rothschild, vintages 1945-2005 (estimate: £70,000-90,000). He bought a vertical of 40 magnums at auction in 1996 as a vertical of 40 magnums dating from 1945-85 and he has added to the collection over the years.

Filed under: Wine, Auctions