15-05-2025
James Halliday's rare Domaine Armand Rousseau Grand Cru Chambertin, Domaine G. Roumier Grand Cru Bonnes-Mares 1999 and more go up for auction
The wine sage James Halliday is living proof that quality wine is a pretty good investment.
In a lifetime of collecting he amassed a large cellar.
Along the way he quaffed the very best.
In 2020 he reportedly sold around 5,000 bottles for $2 million, double what he paid for them.
Some of the bottles fetched $2,200 and $30,000 each.
They were pinots from the fabled Burgundy estate of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
Mr Halliday, 87, whose elegant prose decorated The Australian's weekend colour magazine for many years, is selling another 1,800 bottles through Langtons, the fine wine auction house.
They are expected to fetch more than $200,000.
Some are being offered in an online auction for $20 and less.
'It was a massive wine collection,' said Michael Anderson, head of auctions at Langtons.
'Over the years we have sold thousands and thousands of bottles from James Halliday's private cellar.
'This sale will mark the closure of a great cellar that was decades in the making.'
Age has caught up with Mr Halliday, a former partner at Clayton Utz who later became a merchant banker.
He is selling his home at Coldstream Hills Winery in Victoria's Yarra Valley to move to Sydney to live with his daughter Caroline.
'His health is not what it once was,' Mr Anderson said.
'He is old. His home at Coldstream Hills overlooking the winery he established in 1985 is on the side of a hill and has a steep driveway. And there are many stairs.'
Coldstream was Mr Halliday's second foray into winery ownership.
He built Brokenwood Wines in the NSW Hunter Valley in the 1970s with two legal colleagues and still has great affection for the brand.
Mr Anderson said oenophiles now have the chance to own many of Mr Halliday's 'unicorn' wines that would be hard to source.
The latest sale includes vintages of Domaine Armand Rousseau Grand Cru Chambertin (2005, 2009, 2010) and a bottle of Domaine G. Roumier Grand Cru Bonnes-Mares 1999.
These bottles may fetch between $5,000 and $6,000.
'Having long since sold the last of my DRCs, my Rousseaus are the best wines in my cellar, led - of course - by the Chambertins from top vintages,' Mr Halliday said in a statement.
'Clos de Beze is a worthy second, Clos de Jacques, the wine often offering outstanding value for money. Rousseau now fills the shoes left by the impossible-to-find DRCs.'
Mr Anderson said champagne and German riesling was up for sale.
'Highlights from the collection include a Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart Brut from the exceptional 1996 vintage, a 1997 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling-Spätlese and a 1980 Domaine Clape,' he said.
'Closer to home, Halliday's collection also includes a House of Arras E.J Carr Late Disgorged Methode Traditionnelle 2000 Magnum from Tasmania, 1997 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir from the Macedon Ranges and 1992 vintage Charles Melton Nine Popes Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre from the Barossa Valley.''
Various vintages from top Australian producers Penfolds, Henschke, Tyrrells, Clonakilla, Seppelt, Tahbilk, Vasse Felix, Taylors, Peter Lehmann and McWilliams are also offered.
And there are cheaper options.
A sampler: Plantagenet Mount Barker Shiraz 1993 ($30), Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Kuitpo Semillon 1994 ($15), Jolimont Liqueur Tokay, Rutherglen NV ($21) and Hamilton's Richard Hamilton Old Vine McLaren Vale Shiraz 1992 ($16).
Mr Anderson said the auction didn't only attract serious collectors.
Everyday wine enthusiasts often pool their money to buy a top bottle share over dinner.
He said several famous winemakers (he declined to identify them) had already logged bids.
So, too, had sommeliers from prominent restaurants.
Mr Halliday isn't selling everything he collected at Coldstream.
'He kept back 30 or 40 boxes to send to his new address in Sydney,' Mr Anderson said.
Mr Halliday is also selling his collection of wine books.
There are 700 of them, many rare first editions.
There are 40 that the winemaker wrote himself.
