Geneva – On 10 November 2019, Christie’s is delighted to present an additional single owner wine sale during the Luxury sale season in Geneva. To mark their 40^th anniversary, ALPINA Wine will offer 675 lots from their treasure chamber, holding an unparalleled selection of vintage wines from the 1980s to 2000s. All of these bottles have only been stored in two cellars, the one they originated from and the ALPINA Wine cellar, and will be offered for the first time at auction for over 20 to 40 years.

ALPINA Wine was founded 40 years ago, in 1979, by Burkard Bovensiepen, as sister business to ALPINA Automobiles, which he had founded earlier in 1965. As early as 1962, Bovensiepen was supplying special engine parts and newly inventions to BMW, which turned into a lifelong partnership.  

“For me, wine is a product that has a strong connection with history and culture. And this is the reasoning why wine represents something very special to me. For ALPINA fostering strong and long-lasting supplier relationships is the key to our day-to-day business and one aspect we would never change. This is also why we do not enlarge our offering year-one-year. When you are in a partnership with the best, there is no need to look around for something else. ALPINA offers a very wide range of vintages from the most outstanding wines, which is unparalleled in Germany. And this is why, our customers find everything they desire in our cellar, also in desirable large bottle format, some of which are particularly sought-after.”, commented Burkard Bovensiepen founder of ALPINA Wine.

ALPINA Wine is a wine distributer/brokerage who’s underpinning is fourfold:  Vintage depth – large variety of bottle sizes from halves to Imperials – perfect storage facility and guaranteed provenance and authenticity. With a stock of 1 million bottles, it represents one of the finest distribution cellars in Germany, with many exclusive import contracts in place, such as Tenuta San Guido / Sassicaia (since 1981), Cantina Conti Costanti (since 1984) or Château Montelena (since 1986). 40% of the 1 million bottles are Bordeaux wines, 25% represents Italian wines, 15% are other French wines and the remaining 20% are wines from other parts of the world.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

The finest Bordeaux wines are forming the heart of this collection with additional high quality wines from Burgundy, such as the Domaines Confuron, de Courcel and Comte de Vogue. ALPINA is the proud exclusive importer for JL Chave and Rostaing and a small number of bottles of these amazing producers are included in the auction. Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Masseto are a strong part of the DNA of ALPINA Wine ever since the early days and therefore are represented with a high-level selection. The selection for sale is concluded with another specialty of ALPINA – wines from California. Here Caymus and Montelena from Napa and Ridge from Santa Cruz represent the best from the west.

Highlights include two vertical vintage collections from the 1980’s & 1990’s from the iconic Bordeaux First Growth, Château Latour. Latour is famed for producing structured Cabernet Sauvignon dominant red wines which have fantastic ageing potential and these rare offerings in in double magnums (three-litres) will be highly sought-after.

Mouton-Rothschild to celebrate the millennium 2000 vintage produced a stunning black and gold-engraved bottle which is a fitting tribute to the outstanding quality of the wine inside the bottle, and we are thrilled to be offering magnums and imperial (estimate: CHF20,000-30,000). The double-magnum Lafite-Rothschild from the legendary 1961 vintage is unquestionably a highlight of the sale (estimate: CHF7,000-9,000).

Château Latour eighties vertical in double magnums, vintage 1981/83/85/86/88/89 - estimated between CHF 9,000 - 12,000

Château Latour nineties vertical in double magnums, vintage 1990/91/92/93/94/95 - estimated between CHF9,500 - 13,000                

Château Mouton-Rothschild 2000, six magnums - estimated CHF 22,000 - 32,000                       

Château Lafite-Rothschild 1961, one double-magnum – estimated CHF 7,000 - 9,000                 

FROM HALVES TO IMPERIAL

ALPINA Wine is known for the unparalleled offering of their best wines in all available sizes and the auction will offer a total of 994 magnums (1.5liters), 248 double-magnums (3 liters), 2 jeroboams (5 liters) and 180 imperials (6 liters). This represents one of the largest offering in all available sizes from any cellar offered at auction in recent years.

PRESS CONTACT: Alexandra Kindermann | +41 79 101 4196 | akindermann@christies.com 

Auction: Fine & Rare Wines: The 40 years Jubilee of ALPINA Fine Wines, 10 November 2019 at 10.00am and 2.00pm

Venue: Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues

About Christie’s  

Christie’s, the world's leading art business, had auction sales in the first half of 2019 that totalled £2.2 billion / $2.8 billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and international expertise. Christie’s offers around 350 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasis on Post-War & Contemporary, Impressionist & Modern, Old Masters and Jewellery.

Alongside regular sales online, Christie’s has a global presence in 46 countries, with 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

*Please note when quoting estimates above that other fees will apply in addition to the hammer price - see Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of the sale catalogue.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and are reported net of applicable fees.

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Images available on request