Wine and music lovers have a rare chance to snag a delicious piece of history. In its last auction of the season, Christie’s is selling bottles from the personal wine collection of music legend Quincy Jones, whose distinguished career spans playing trumpet with Lionel Hampton and Elvis Presley, producing Michael Jackson’s Thriller, arranging for Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, and much more.
The online sale, which began Nov. 30 and runs through Dec. 11, features over 150 lots, including all five Bordeaux first-growths, grand cru Burgundy and top names in Champagne, Napa and beyond, many in large formats and from exceptional vintages. “We eagerly anticipate celebrating not just the wines but also the enduring passion of a true maestro,” said Bonnie Brennan, president of Christie’s Americas.
Rare Pre-War Bordeaux Up for Grabs
Among the most exciting wines on offer are four bottles of Château Cos-d’Estournel 1928 and a single bottle each of Château Latour 1933 (Jones’ birth year) and Château Mouton-Rothschild 1934. The rest of the Bordeaux offerings span the 20th and early 21st centuries and include the other three first-growths, plus many other classified growths, including Palmer, Talbot, Lynch Bages and more. The Right Bank is well represented by Pétrus (including bottles of the 1947, 1981 and 1988 vintages) and Château Cheval Blanc. Sauternes makes an appearance with a 4-vintage vertical of Château d’Yquem.
Outside of Bordeaux, Champagne is represented by mature Krug Brut Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil, Salon Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil and more. Offerings in grand cru Burgundy span the Côte d’Or, including whites and reds from Louis Latour, Domaine des Lambrays, Camille Giroud and many others, with strength in the outstanding 2005 vintage. Beyond France, Jones’ passion for Piedmont shines in mature bottles of Gaja Barbaresco, which he calls his “favorite of favorites,” and the New World makes a strong showing with gems from Ridge, Penfolds and more.
A Passion for Wine and Music
Jones, who is 92, has had a free-ranging and illustrious career spanning music, film, publishing and beyond. After getting his start as a trumpeter, he became a sought-after conductor, arranger and producer, working with a dizzying litany of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He has been nominated for a record 80 Grammy Awards and won 28.
He discovered a passion for wine during his travels abroad as a young touring musician. In a statement, he remembered, “When I was embarking on my first trip to Europe as a young 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.’”
Affordable Gems and Elite Burgundies
Jones acquired many of the wines during his travels abroad—in some cases directly from the winery—and stored them in a custom-built, temperature-controlled cellar. All bottles bought from the sale will be marked with a custom-designed back sticker.
While many of the lots from Jones’ cellar are undeniable splurges, with estimates as high as $13,000, there are a number of offerings with estimates as low as $100. For such a high-profile sale of bottles with celebrity provenance, the accessibility for everyday collectors is notable.
Jones paid tribute to Webster in his statement announcing the sale: “I embraced Ben’s advice wholeheartedly, and in so doing, I was also introduced to the pleasure of experiencing the best wines ever produced … 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.”
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