RELEASE | Fine And Rare Wines - THE AVERY FAMILY CELLAR
PRESS RELEASE | LONDON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5 September 2016
Fine And Rare Wines
THE AVERY FAMILY CELLAR
On Thursday October 20th, Christie's London will present a landmark auction of Fine and Rare wines: The Avery Family Cellar. The Averys made their name over 6 generations, running their eponymous fine wine business in Bristol - founded in 1793 and continuing to the present day. This continuity gave the family, principally under the guidance of Ronald Avery (1899-1976) and John Avery (1941-2012) unprecedented access to the greatest wines of both Old and New Worlds. Indeed John Avery MW was a well-known pioneer for importing numerous wines of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA - many of which are now household names, but were hardly known beyond their own borders in the 1960s and 70s. A wide range of these rarities feature in the auction.
However the oldest and deepest sale selections emanate from ultra-traditional regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy where Averys frequently bottled their own selected barrels and cuvees well into the 1970s.
A wide selection of Bordeaux back to 1875 Lafite and Burgundy from 1923 Richebourg onwards, is complimented by smaller selections from Champagne, Rhone and Vintage Port regions.
The family has now decided to part with this curated selection of wines from the cellar, releasing much-needed space for arrival of newer vintages and so that the collection can continue to evolve into its 4th century of quiet acquisition.
Michael Broadbent MW, who founded Christie's specialist wine auctions in 1966 and now works as a Consultant for the 250 year-old Company is a close friend and confidante to the Avery family. Broadbent states that ‘This is undoubtedly one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of old and rare wine ever to appear at auction’.
Selected highlights from the 900 lot auction include five bottles of Clos de Tart 1945, eleven bottles of Château Latour 1945, five bottles of Château Mouton-Rothschild 1945, extensive vintages of Penfolds Grange, cases of Pétrus 1990 and Château Cheval-Blanc 1982 alongside bottles of Château Lafleur 1971.
For catalogues and on-line links
Please contact Charles Foley cfoley@christies.com or go to www.christies.com/wine