Exceptional Consignments: Guided Tour of Our Wine Auction

By: Fine Wine & Spirits Department

Lot 64: 2000 Chateau Le Pin (3)

Our first Fine Wine auction of 2023 is one of our best yet, with nearly 500 carefully-curated lots of very rare Bordeaux, Super Tuscans, big Burgundies, and California cults.

We must have been daydreaming about the California sun when we began assembling this auction, as opens with three lots of Dominus and a number of other wines from California. The first two lots are large format, 100-point Dominus powerhouses; an exciting way to start the bidding.

If you have  participated in our auctions over the last several years—you may have noticed that we assemble our sales in groups by consignment—for example, lots 1 to 55 in this auction are from a single consignor. This approach allows us to talk about the provenance and provide interesting  details about the ranges of lots. It’s all about providing you with the best information in the most effective way! With this in mind, in addition to perusing the catalogue, we hope you enjoy this Guided Tour and share our excitement about the auction.

Lots 1-55:

A small but very powerful consignment from a Toronto consignor. All wines have been carefully stored in a professional wine storage facility with excellent provenance for each lot. This consignment begins with 100-point and 99-point Dominus and a selection of other excellent wines from California (including some chardonnay from Sonoma). It then moves into big Burgundies (including Georges de Vogüe), blue chip Bordeaux (pay special attention to the 12 bottles of 2010 Cos D’Estournel in their original case and a magnum of 2000 Léoville Las Cases), an incredible selection of Super Tuscans, and rounds out with some Australians and three bottles of the very popular Lady Gaga Dom Pérignon champagne.

Lots 56-133:

This consignment is no doubt the highlight of the auction. The Toronto-based consignor has been collecting for over 40 years and has an impeccable cellar. The care they have given to their liquid treasures over the years is evident with every lot. The consignment starts off with an impressive collection of champagne, but then showcases the very rare Château Le Pin (1993, 1995, 1998, and 2000 vintages), the equally in-demand Château Pétrus (1982 and 1989 vintages), a large selection of other highly-scored Bordeaux, some of the best Burgundy we have had the pleasure of offering (including Domaine Leroy cuvées Romanée St. Vivant, Richebourg, and Chambertin), some excellent CDP and other beauties from Rhône, numerous lots of Dominus in their original wood cases, with excellent Piedmont wines finishing off the consignment.

Lots 134-144:

A small but spectacular consignment from a restaurant industry veteran from Toronto. Primarily Super Tuscan, Amarone and other Italian wines, this consignment ends with the 2006 Duclot Bordeaux collection (one of two Duclot lots in the auction), which we are honoured to offer.

Lots 145-154:

A smaller consignment from a regular buyer and consignor of wine and spirits to Waddington’s, this group  starts off with a bang: two lots of 100-point Château Pétrus, additional highly-scored Bordeaux, two incredible lots from Burgundy superstar Domaine Armand Rousseau, two lots of the highly-coveted Screaming Eagle (2018 and 2019 vintages), and finishes with two lots of Moët & Chandon MCIII.

Lots 155-180:

From a first-time Toronto consignor, this superbly-stored consignment contains champagne, excellent Bordeaux (pay special attention to the six bottles of 1996 Lafite), ending with a bottle of 96-point Bodegas Vega-Sicilia.

Lots 181-203:

A lovely consignment from a long-time collector and consignor from downtown Toronto. A great selection of Super Tuscans, along with other Italians and a good selection of classified Bordeaux in very good condition.

Lot 204:

We don’t often accept single lot consignments, but we think you will understand why we made an exception. This lot is a case of 12 bottles of 2000 Mouton Rothschild from a consignor from Northern Ontario. We’re excited to see which lucky bidder ends up taking this lot home!

Lots 205-277:

From a Toronto estate, this large consignment of excellently-stored wines contains an eclectic selection of Bordeaux of older vintages, Sauternais, CDP and Rhône, Burgundy at all price points (both red and white), a wide selection of Champagne, interesting wines from Alsace, New Zealand, Hungary, Portugal (including Porto), Australia, Super Tuscans, Californians, and Spain.

Lots 278-290:

From a repeat consignor located just north of Toronto, this delightful smaller consignment packs a punch with a wide selection of Burgundies and Super Tuscans, all impeccably stored.

Lots 291-295:

From an enthusiastic Toronto collector. Despite this being a small consignment, each lot was carefully chosen for our auction and it shows! We could write a small novel about each of the lots within this consignment, which consists of Italian, Burgundy, Rhône, and Champagne. Take a look at those scores!

Lots 296-302:

From just west of Toronto, this small consignment consists of champagne, D’Yquem, Sine Qua Non, Lafite, Mouton, Ornellaia and Sassicaia. All well stored and with good provenance.

Lots 304-308:

A small consignment from a frequent Toronto consignor, consisting of well-stored Italians, Spanish, and Burgundies (both red and white).

Lots 309-310:

A two-lot consignment from the Ottawa area, consisting of two lots from Domaine Armand Rousseau with great provenance.

Lots 311-322:

A well-stored consignment from southwestern Ontario, consisting exclusively of highly scored Bordeaux.

Lots 323-402:

This consignment comes to us from Second Harvest, and proceeds from the sale of these lots will help Second Harvest to provide over 62,000 meals a day across Canada. The wines come from a single consignor who donated their wines to Second Harvest. The wines were safely stored at a wine storage facility in Toronto, and come with excellent provenance. This consignment is an excellent opportunity to acquire older vintages, and features fantastic wines at every price point.

Lots 403-407:

From a frequent and trusted consignor comes a small consignment comprised exclusively of Californian treasures such as Dominus, Opus One, Cervantes Family, and Daou Vineyards.

Lots 408-424:

From a long-time Niagara-region collector, this consignment contains excellent wines representative of various regions including California, British Columbia, Lebanon, Alsace, Pomerol, Piedmont, and Tuscany.

Lots 425-430:

Another frequent consignor to Waddington’s, this consignment from west of Toronto is small, but consists of excellent wines from Tuscany, and ends with a lot of mixed CDP and Rhône.

Lot 431:

We’ll let you have a peek behind the curtain on this one: this lot was meant to be offered earlier in the auction, but by the time we noticed its placement we had already locked in our lot numbers, so here it shall remain. This is another incredible Duclot Bordeaux lot, this time from the 1995 vintage. It belongs to the same consignor as lots 56-133, so we know it has been well stored and cared for.

Lots 432-436:

A lovely small consignment from another frequent consignor, consisting of varied CDP, and some exciting Californians from Saxum and Quilceda Creek.

Lots 437-455:

From a long-time Toronto-area buyer at Waddington’s comes an excellent consignment consisting of approachable Californians, beautiful Bordeaux (including some lots in their original wood) finished off with a selection of Italians.

Lots 456-465:

Another frequent Ontario-based consignor, this well-stored small consignment contains liquid treasures from Italy, Bordeaux and Spain.

Lots 466-470:

We finish off the auction with a consignment of one lot of mixed Rhône (including a 100-point La Landonne), plus a great selection of multiple lots of Port.

About the Auction

Bidding in the Fine Wine auction starts Monday, February 27 at 9 am ET, and begins to close Tuesday, March 7 at 6 pm ET.

We invite you to browse the full catalogue for the Fine Wine auction, as well as the catalogue for our Fine Spirits auction.

We are always delighted to answer any questions you may have about current offerings, how to buy, build a collection, or consign wine and spirits to our auctions.

Please contact Joann Maplesden at 416-847-6182 or [email protected] or Devin Hatfield at 416-847-6181 or [email protected]


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