Sotheby’s Wine sale in London on 21 November 2018 is led by the multifaceted cellar of a wine lover and connoisseur. Comprising 486 lots with a combined pre-sale estimate of in excess of £550,000, the offering forms Part 1 of the collection; another part will be offered in New York on 8 December. The selection of wines reflects the connoisseur’s endless thirst for discovery, and the rare, personal treasures he amassed over four decades were all chosen with a generosity of spirit.

Glorious Champagne forms the crux of this collection and features Roederer's Cristal and Pol Roger's Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, notable for their great complexity and myriad flavours. The Bollinger Grande Année is eye-catching, led by the fabled 1985, while the house's Vieilles Vignes Françaises has rarely made such an imposing appearance, given its very small production. For lovers of Blanc de Blancs Champagne, the choice is mouthwatering, from the sleek, icy, incomparable Salon to Krug Clos du Mesnil and Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne.

A phenomenal opportunity exists within the collection to own, and drink, some of the finest North and South Rhône wines, in their full glory and from the most renowned domains, from Guigal in the North with an astounding line-up of La Mouline, La Landonne and La Turque to Jaboulet's Hermitage La Chapelle.

Lovers of Grange and Henschke's Hill of Grace will be spoilt for choice with the array of superlative antipodean Shiraz.

The sale presents opportunities galore in the form of the 'aristocrats' of Tuscany and Piedmont, with Ornellaia, Sassicaia, Sandrone, Gaja and Giacomo Conterno's Monfortino all vying for attention.

California's big beasts are distinguished by the monument that is Harlan Estate and the Harlan-founded Bond vineyard selections, as well as Hillside Select from Shafer.

Not forgetting 'the classics', the collection also encompasses Petrus, Latour, Mouton and a range of Burgundy.

BORDEAUX REDPalmer 1928, 6 bottles, est. £6,800-9,000 (2)Mouton Rothschild 1982, 11 bottles, est. £7,000-10,000 (9)Petrus 1989, 12 bottles, est. £28,000-40,000 (14)Petrus 1990, 12 bottles, est. £28,000-38,000 (16)

BURGUNDY REDBonnes Mares 1978 Comtes Georges de Vogüé, 6 bottles, est. £3,800-5,000 (27)Richebourg 1988 Domaine Leroy, 6 bottles, est. £10,500-14,500 (35)Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques 1998 Armand Rousseau, 1 bottle, est. £350-480 (46)

BURGUNDY WHITEMontrachet 1992 Domaine Ramonet, 1 bottle, est. £2,200-3,000 (59)

RHÔNE REDHermitage La Chapelle 1978 Paul Jaboulet Aîné, 6 bottles, est. £4,500-6,500 (73)Hermitage Rouge 1990 Jean-Louis Chave, 6 bottles, est. £3,500-5,000 (83)

Côte Rôtie La Turque 1989 Guigal, 3 bottles, est. £900-1,300 (100)Côte Rôtie La Mouline 1995 Guigal, 12 bottles, est. £2,200-3,500 (103)Côte Rôtie La Landonne 2005 Guigal, 12 bottles, est. £2,800-4,000 (117)

Châteauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Pégau, Cuvée Laurence 1990, 6 bottles, est. £450-600 (140)Châteauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Pégau, Cuvée da Capo 2000, 3 magnums, est. £1,450-1,900 (152)

CHAMPAGNEBollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Blanc De Noirs 1990, 3 bottles, est. 2,800-4,000 (190)Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Blanc de Noirs 1996, 3 bottles, est. £2,800-4,000 (192)Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Blanc de Noirs 1999, 6 bottles, est. £2,200-3,000 (200-201)Dom Pérignon 1990, 12 bottles, est. £2,000-2,600 (207)Krug 1988, 6 bottles, est. £1,900-2,600 per lot (212-215)Krug, Clos du Mesnil 1988, 3 bottles, est. £3,500-4,500 (223)Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 1996, 6 bottles, est. £1,150-1,500 (227)Pol Roger, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1996, 6 bottles, est. £1,150-1,500 per lot (243-244)Pol Roger, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2002, 6 bottles, est. £650-850 (247)Salon Le Mesnil, Blanc de Blancs 1990, 3 magnums, est. £2,800-4,000 per lot (254-255)

ITALYBarbaresco Riserva, Asili 2000 Bruno Giacosa, 6 bottles, est. £1,200-1,600 per lot (312-313)Barolo Riserva Monfortino 1990 Giacomo Conterno, 3 bottles, £2,200-3,200 per lot (316)Masseto 2001, 6 bottles, est. £3,500-4,500 (353)Ornellaia 2001, 6 bottles, est. £780-1,000 (357-361)

SPAINVega Sicilia ‘Unico’ 1994, 12 bottles, est. £2,600-3,500 per lot (381-382)

AUSTRALIAHenschke, Hill of Grace, Shiraz 1996, 3 bottles, est. £580-750 (391-392)Henschke, Hill of Grace, Shiraz 1998, 3 bottles, est. £680-900 (394)Penfolds Grange 1994, 6 bottles, est. £1,150-1,500 (405)Penfolds Grange 1996, 6 bottles, est. £1,150-1,500 per lot (407-409)

UNITED STATESHarlan Estate 1997, 2 bottles, est. £1,100-1,450 (448)Harlan Estate 2001, 6 bottles, est. £3,200-4,200 (452)Shafer, Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside Select 2005, 6 bottles, est. £920-1200 (477)

A COLLECTION OF PETRUS AND FIRST RATE CLARET

Petrus 1978, 12 bottles, est. £8,500-12,000 per lot (627-628)Cheval Blanc 1982, 12 bottles, est. £6,500-8,000 (633)Petrus 1982, 6 bottles, est. £18,000-24,000 (643)

FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Chambertin 1996, Armand Rousseau, 4 bottles, est. £4,000-6,000 (736)La Romanée 2013, Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, 1 bottle, est. £1,700-2,200 (786)Lafite 1982, 4 bottles, est. £8,000-10,000 (814)Dom Pérignon 1995, 1 methuselah (6 litres), est. £2,800-3,500 (843)Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2002, 1 methuselah (6 litres), est. £2,600-3,500 (854)Sassicaia 1985, 6 bottles, est. £7,800-10,000 (860)

WHISKY

The Macallan 50 Year Old in Lalique, presented in a stunning Lalique decanter, No. 15 of a limited edition of 470, est. £38,000-45,000 (651)