On May 19, 20,000 bottles of wine shop Malaysia from William Koch the go of 's basement to sell at Sotheby's.
"Whenever he saw a chance to purchase the things he adored, he purchased."
In addition, there are more than 80 tons of Chateau Mouton Rothschild; one is anticipated to sell for $80,000 to $120,000. "That is among the very celebrated wines," said Kriegel. "It is the wartime vintage, and it is among the best wines they have ever made. To find it on this kind of scale is quite dramatic.
"
Koch has made headlines with his wine selection before. (Koch filed suit, and Kurniawan was finally sentenced to ten years in penitentiary.)
The Sotheby's sale, by comparison, came about for another motive: Koch just had too much of a great thing. "He realized he could never get through all the wine," said Kriegel. In a statement declaring the deal, Koch repeated that thought: "With approximately 43,000 bottles, I couldn't possibly have everything in my basement so I 'm pleased to offer this collection to enable collectors all over the world to appreciate the glorious minutes that come with these wines," he wrote.
The auction comes at a comparatively robust time for wine sales. The marketplace is down from its 2011 highs, but recent auctions have viewed powerful costs for bottles that are exceptional. At a Sotheby's London wine sale for example, one bottle of the same 1945 Mouton Rothschild offered in Koch's collection."Mr. Koch is a big name, and I imagine there will be lots of delight," Kriegel said. "You are definitely going to be seeing customers from throughout the world--person collectors, a wide range of folks interested in wine."
