LONDON.- Christie’s will present Timeless Excellence: The Pristine Personal Wine Collection of Jörg G. Bucherer (1936–2023), a single-owner online sale live from April 16 to 30, featuring an exceptional selection of wines from the third-generation head of the renowned watch and jewellery retailer, Bucherer. The private collection will feature 2,474 bottles of exceptional wines across 238 lots, with an estimated total value of £1 million. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the newly established Jörg G. Bucherer Foundation, which was announced on 6th of November 2024, a date which marked the first year of Mr. Bucherer’s passing.
Jörg G. Bucherer led the family business for 46 years, managing it in its third generation since 1977. Strong business ties with the world’s most renowned luxury watch and jewellery brands have fueled the company’s international expansion. Today, Bucherer is recognized as one of the world’s leading retailers of watches and jewellery, with over 100 boutiques, and the company is now owned by Rolex, a transaction that was finalized by Jörg G. Bucherer just months before his passing.
Highlights of Timeless Excellence: The Pristine Personal Wine Collection of Jörg G. Bucherer (1936–2023), include:
• 6 magnums of the legendary Château Haut-Brion 1989 in an original wooden case (estimate £16,000-£20,000)
Tasting Note from Château HautBrion:
‘The wine is very aromatic and harmonious with incredibly mellowed tannins and quite low acidity. It could be assumed it will be a powerful wine, yet at the same time one with plenty of subtlety and harmony. Through its structure and smoothness, this wine is reminiscent of 1959 both in terms of the weather and the volume of the harvest.’
• 12 bottles of the rare and highly sought after Le Pin 1990 in an original wooden case (estimate £28,000-£35,000)
Tasting Note from Robert Parker, Wine Advocate 183, June 2009:
‘The 1990 Le Pin has more in common with the 1982 than most wines of this vintage. This wine exhibits concentrated fig, blackberry, creme de cassis, kirsch, roasted coffee, herb, and spice box characteristics, and incredible amounts of glycerin as well as velvety tannins. Still tasting like an adolescent, it rocks and rolls across the palate in a glorious manner. ‘
• 12 bottles of the iconic Domaine Leroy, Romanée-Saint-Vivant 1999 in an original wooden case (estimate £45,000-£60,000)
Tasting note from William Kelley - The Wine Advocate, 16 July 2020:
‘…unfurling in the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of dark berry fruit, cassis, smoked meats, rose petals, candied peel and sweet spices. Full-bodied, velvety and immensely concentrated, it's seamless and multidimensional, built around an elegantly muscular chassis of velvety tannin and a lively spine of acidity, concluding with a sapid and expansive finish.
The collection of over 2,400 bottles will also offer:
• 1,628 bottles of Bordeaux from 1970 to 2005 including all the First Growths and Châteaux La Mission Haut-Brion, Palmer and Pavie
• 501 bottles of Burgundy from 1995 to 2003 including Domaine Leroy and DRC and Domaines Ponsot, Gros Frère & Sœur and Pierre Damoy
• 312 bottles of Spanish Wines including Vega Sicilia, Artadi, Aalto and Numanthia
Jörg G. Bucherer, the Collector
Jörg G. Bucherer was a passionate wine collector. A waiter at one of his favourite restaurants in Lucerne once recalled a signature ritual: He would bring two bottles from his collection, instruct the staff to open both at once, and begin with the first while allowing the second to aerate. Midway through dinner, he would switch bottles — always leaving enough for the waiting staff to enjoy after service.
His private wine collection was as meticulously curated as his approach to business. In Lucerne, his cellar was pristine, perfectly organized, and maintained under optimal natural conditions, with all wines kept in their original wooden cases. Among his treasured holdings were legendary wines such as Petrus 1989 in double-magnum, Lafite and Mouton 1982, and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche 1995.
A second, equally impressive collection was stored at his Marbella estate, housed in a purpose-built, climate-controlled cellar — yet another example of his pursuit of perfection. The villa itself, a masterpiece of design and sophistication, reflected his impeccable taste. The kitchen in his Marbella villa is a copy of the kitchen of Andalusian chef Dani Gargia, which he had installed after meeting the chef. Here, alongside superb Bordeaux and Burgundy, he kept an extraordinary selection of Spanish wines, including magnums of Vega Sicilia Único and the highly sought-after L’Ermita wines of Álvaro Palacios.
