Eight of the world’s most wonderful wines — chosen by our specialists and coming to auction online

Noah May, Head of Wine and Spirits, Europe

Vega Sicilia, Valbuena 3º Año 1983, six bottles, £500-700

Valbuena 3º Año was produced at Spain’s most prestigious wine estate, Bodegas Vega Sicilia in Ribera del Duero, up until 1988. Unlike Valbuena 5º Año, which is aged for five years before release, Valbuena 3º Año is aged for three. But they’re both becoming increasingly rare and highly sought-after.

The Vega Sicilia Valbuena wines might be considered as playing second fiddle to the great Vega Sicilia Unico, but what a fiddle they play! They’re multifaceted, and have great ageing potential — this bottle is likely to be only just starting to exhibit the full range of its complexity.

Pol Roger, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1996, four magnums, £2,400-3,000

In 1984, Pol Roger released the first ever vintage of their new Prestige Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill vintage — from the 1975 harvest — in honour of the historic champagne house’s most famous customer. Churchill was a dedicated champagne lover, and legend has it that he drank up to two bottles of Pol Roger a day for much of his adult life.

This champagne is a powerful, structured, gastronomic example of vintage champagne. The assemblage is a secret, but it’s known to be dominated by Pinot Noir grapes, and typically spends extended time maturing on lees, slowly building character. The grapes come from Grand Cru vineyards that existed during Churchill’s lifetime. This 1996 vintage, offered in a magnum, is sure to be in magnificent condition, coming to Christie’s from Skigaarden, a resort with deep, cool cellars carved into the side of a mountain in Norway.

Tim Triptree MW, International Director

Domaine Armand Rousseau, Chambertin 2015, two bottles, £3,200-4,000

This 2015 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin is a stunning red Burgundy, from an exceptional Grand Cru vineyard that is famous for producing incredibly complex and ethereal wines ranking among the world’s very finest.

The 2015 vintage produced excellent, rich, powerful, concentrated reds, perfectly balanced in acidity. These bottles come from a private collection that features multiple Domaine Armand Rousseau wines purchased directly from the estate. A first-class wine with first-class provenance.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Assortment Case 2000, 12 bottles, £32,000-42,000

From arguably the world’s most famous wine producer — and unequivocally the finest Burgundy domaine — comes this assortment of 12 bottles. It features highly sought-after and exceedingly rare Grand Cru Burgundies from the hallowed vineyards of Romanée Conti and La Tâche; both these vineyards are owned entirely by the domaine — a set-up known as a ‘monopole’. The assortment case also includes bottles of the domaine’s Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Grands Echézeaux and Echézeaux.

This delectable dozen, all from the 2000 vintage, are just beginning to reveal their extraordinary complexity — a result of the bottle-ageing that Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is so famous for. They will be a fine addition to any aficionado’s cellar.

Charlotte Sère, Associate Specialist

Château Lafite Rothschild 1990, 12 bottles, £4,500-6,000

This case of Château Lafite Rothschild comes from the cellar of the legendary retailer of watches and jewellery Jörg G. Bucherer. The proceeds from the dedicated sale of his collection will benefit the recently created Jörg G. Bucherer Foundation, which supports the arts and sciences.

The iconic wines of Lafite Rothschild are known for their exquisite finesse and elegance, married to exceptional longevity and power. The finest vintage Lafite produced after the legendary 1982 and 1986 is the 1990. It will continue to enchant drinkers for decades to come with its beautifully complex aromas and generous body.

Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 1998, 12 bottles, £2,400-3,500

Another highlight from Bucherer’s cellar is the Clos de la Roche 1998 from Domaine Ponsot — the defining winemaker of this exceptional Grand Cru. It has the largest holding of this cru, using it to produce a wine that possesses all the elegance of the finest Burgundies, and a structure that puts it in a league of its own.

This particular vintage has berry and forest aromas, and a silken texture with enough grip to ensure the wine has a long life ahead. It’s a brilliant example of what makes Domaine Ponsot such a legend of Burgundy.

Charles Foley, Specialist

Château Latour 2005, 12 bottles, £5,000-6,000

This first-growth château manages to achieve a rare stylistic balance: its wines are internationally known for their elegance and purity of fruity flavour, as well as their muscularity and heroic longevity. Few wines age with such consummate grace as those of Château Latour, and the 2005 is a blockbuster vintage that has been described as having ‘fruitful fireworks’ and ‘sweet-salty dark chocolate’ notes, which leave the palate ‘vibrating’.

These bottles, along with several others, are being sold on behalf of the Royal Opera House, in Covent Garden, London, consigned from a collection carefully built over many years by one of its benefactors. The proceeds will benefit the charitable outreach of the Royal Ballet & Opera Schools.

Promontory 2014, three bottles, £1,100-1,500

The famed Napa winery, in Oakville, is a great labour of love for the winemaker Bill Harlan. His estate is ‘dry-farmed’, meaning no irrigation is employed, which results in spectacular ripeness and concentration.

Only one wine is produced there, and it is offered in extremely limited quantities by allocation to avid collectors. The Promontory 2014 vintage has been said to ‘dazzle from start to finish’ with notes of ‘rosehip tea, unsmoked cigars and dried lavender’. It’s also been awarded the coveted top score of 100 points by the respected critic Antonio Galloni, who declared it a ‘towering achievement’ of Napa.

Fine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition is live for bidding from 15 to 29 April 2025, alongside Timeless Excellence: The Pristine Wine Collection of Jörg G. Bucherer, bidding from 16 to 30 April