Quincy Jones to Sell Fine Wines From His Personal Cellar at Auction

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Entertainment impresario Quincy Jones is selling a selection of fine wines from his personal collection at auction later this month. 

Beginning Nov. 30, the Christie’s online sale will include more than 150 lots from Jones’ cellar, including selections from all of the Bordeaux first growths. Collectors of older wines will be drawn to rare pre-war vintages such as a 1928 Château Cos d’Estournel, a 1933 Château Latour (from Jones’ birth year), and a 1934 Château Mouton Rothschild. 

In a news release announcing the sale, Jones shared memories of his first trip to Europe as a 19-year-old trumpeter in Lionel Hampton’s band.

“In 1953, the great saxophone player Ben Webster pulled me aside and gave me some of the best advice a 19-year-old who had never traveled outside of the country could ever receive. He told me that the soul of a country is identified by its music, its food, and its language and that ‘wherever you go, eat the food the real people eat, listen to the music the real people listen to, and learn 30 or 40 words in every language,’” Jones said in the release.

That advice led Jones to experience some of “the best wines ever produced,” he said. “From those early years until recently, rare was the time that I returned from a trip abroad without bottles upon bottles of special selections from some of the finest vineyards in the world.”

A curated selection of grand cru Burgundy, both white and red, comes from esteemed producers such as Maison Camille Giroud, Clos des Lambrays, and Domaine Leflaive. Champagne is well represented through the likes of Louis Roederer’s Cristal, and Dom Pérignon. 

Among the most anticipated lots are an eight-bottle set of 2000 Château Mouton-Rothschild (estimated to sell for between US$9,500 and US$13,000) and a bottle of 1985 Krug, Clos du Mesnil, Blanc de Blancs, Brut that is expected to fetch between US$1,500 and US$2,000.

“Working on this prestigious collection from the legendary Quincy Jones has been a joy and a privilege from my first visit to the cellar,” says Adam Schneider, a wine and spirits specialist at Christie’s. “Christie’s Wine Department has focused its efforts on telling the stories of exceptional collections and Mr. Jones’s collection continues in that illustrious tradition.”

Jones, 90, has worked as a composer, producer, multimedia entrepreneur, and humanitarian. Named by Time magazine as one of the six most influential Jazz artists of the 20th century, the seven-time Academy Award-nominated icon has won 28 Grammys and is the most nominated Grammy artist in history with a total of 80 nominations.

Among Jones’ favorites in the auction are the Gaja Barbaresco from Piedmont, Italy; big names from Bordeaux such as Lafite Rothschild and Château Cheval Blanc; and special vintages created by close friends, he said. 

“Each bottle in my collection evokes in me memories of unique and extraordinary times spent with unique and extraordinary people and always carries with it the promise of beautiful new experiences being created once opened,” Jones said in the release.

The online auction, which will be open for bidding through Dec. 11, includes a second component: A Diplomat’s Collection of Rarities will feature more than 200 lots with such well-known producers as Domaine Leroy, Cheval Blanc, Pétrus, Lafite, and Margaux, plus Madeira from vintages spanning three centuries.

Highlights include a 12-bottle lot of 1995 Domaine Leroy, Romanée-Saint-Vivant (estimated to sell for between US$30,000 and US$55,000), and a bottle of Romanée Conti 1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which is expected to fetch around US$14,000 to US$20,000.

This final wine auction of 2023 will conclude a successful year for Christie’s wine department in the Americas. Since the re-launch of Los Angeles wine sales in 2022, overall sales have achieved US$18.6 million, with an average lot sold of 96.2%.

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