A Luxembourg Prince Is Emptying His Private Wine Cellar for Charity

Haut-Brion, Mouton Rothschild, Latour—for first-growth Bordeaux lovers, you don’t get better provenance than this. 

Lot 770: a Balthazar (12L) bottles of Haut Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, 2009 vintage

Source: Florian Perlot pour Art Digital/Sotheby's

On Saturday, May 21, an extraordinary personal cellar of old and newer vintages is going on sale at Sotheby’s in New York. The more than 4,200 bottles come from Prince Robert of Luxembourg, owner of Bordeaux first growth Château Haut-Brion, his family, and his friends.

Just perusing the catalogue will stimulate the fantasies of wine collectors. The sale includes some of the most unique, priceless vino on the planet, all with perfect provenance—and you can feel virtuous no matter how many bucks you drop on any of the 818 lots. It’s being called one of the biggest charity auctions of its kind ever staged.