A single lot comprising a dozen bottles of 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild sold for $700 over its pre-sale estimate of $25,000-35,000, achieving $35,700 at Bonhams' Fine and Rare Wine Auction on December 8.

Since its hammer price was only exceeded by an assorted lot of 1985 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (DRC), the 1982 Lafite represents the highest selling single variety of wine at this successful sale.

The Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982 was the highest performing single variety of wine at Bonhams' Fine and Rare Wines Auction

The DRC assortment, which carried a high-end estimate of $45,000, topped the sale at $41,650. The assortment of 12 wines included a single bottle of Romanee-Conti, three bottles of La Tache, a single bottle of Richebourg (which showed some evidence of past seepage), three bottles of Echezeaux, two bottles of Grands-Echezeaux, and two bottles of Romanee-St-Vivant.

The 1985 Romanee-Conti has been described by wine expert Robert Parker as "utterly mind blowing", adding that it offers "a veritable smorgasbord of earthy and heavenly delights."

Two individual lots each comprising 12 bottles of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild also sold well, the first at $11,305, and the second at $11,900, comfortably within $9,500-$14,000 estimates.

Six bottles of 1989 Chateau Petrus also put in a solid performance. Estimated to be worth $14,000-$19,000, the lot eventually sold towards the high end of its estimate at $17,850. Robert Parker again: "This wine is more tightly knit, more tannic, but every bit the blockbuster concentrated effort that its younger sibling, the 1990, is."

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