Auf ein wirklich erfolgreiches Geschäftsjahr kann das Auktionshaus Sotheby’s bei seinen Auktionen rund um Spirituosen zurückblicken: 132 Millionen Dollar hat man insgesamt im Jahr 2021 damit umgesetzt, ein neuer Rekord und eine Steigerung um 44% zum Vorjahr. Es steht anzunehmen, dass es bei den anderen Playern auf dem Markt für Whiskyauktionen nicht grundlegend anders aussiehr.
Nachstehend eine Presseinfo von Sotheby’s, die noch detailliertere Zahlen zum Inhalt hat, so zum Beispiel die Aufteilung nach Märkten und die einzelnen Versteigerungshighlights:
| Presseartikel | Für den Inhalt ist das Unternehmen verantwortlich |
Sotheby’s Annual Wine & Spirits Auction Sales Hit Record $132 Million
44% Increase on 2020
NEW YORK, 20 December 2021 – Sotheby’s Wine’s annual auction sales of wines and spirits reached record heights in 2021, led by a 44% increase in sales to a total of $132 million.
Looking back on the historic year, Jamie Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine, said:
“2021 will be remembered as a transformative year in Sotheby’s wine and spirits business, where we repeatedly broke records in all areas of our business and launched new initiatives and partnerships across all categories and geographies. Our highest ever sales total of $132 million included market leadership in Asia with $67 million, standout growth in both spirits and wine, and a slew of record prices for both wines and whiskies. We launched our sales in Continental Europe and our first sale of Tea in Hong Kong. But, perhaps the most significant development of this year was our inaugural sales and partnerships with the Hospices de Beaune and The Distillers’ Charity, where we worked together with the négociants in Burgundy and the distilleries in Scotland to raise important funds to benefit their local communities.”
Facts & Figures
- By region: Asia: $67 million; USA: $26 million; UK: $21 million; France: $18 million
- By category: Spirits $21 million
- Volume of sales increases: Sotheby’s staged 51 sales in the categories this year, 24% up on 2020
- 19 single owner sales, with an aggregate total of $75 million, 57% of the combined total
- Asia powers the market, with sales in the region accounting for 51% of global total, placing Sotheby’s in market leadership position in the region for fourth consecutive year
- Bidders from 56 countries (38% Americas, 37% Asia, 25% Europe)
- Buyers from 52 countries:
- Buyers from Asia accounted for 57% of auction sales (58% for Wine, 52% for Spirits)
- Buyers from the Americas accounted for 20% of auction sales (20% for Wine, 20% for Spirits)
- Buyers from Europe accounted for 23% of auction sales (22% for Wine, 28% for Spirits)
- New buyers of wine and spirits made up 40% of the total number of buyers
- One third of bidders on wine and spirits under 40 years of age
- The number of first-time bidders of spirits saw a more than four-fold increase on 2020, with collectors from North America accounting for 45% of the total amount bid by collectors new to the category
- Over $20 million in auction sales for charity partnerships
- Lots sold: 14,150
Moving Sotheby’s centre of gravity to stage auctions and experiences beyond the traditional saleroom centres
“These new partnerships enable us to work in a much closer way across the entire wine and spirits industries, which provides greater opportunity and benefit to everyone, from the producers and their communities to consumers all around the world. We look forward to expanding this series in 2022, starting with our innovative new partnership with the Napa Valley Vintners, as well as additional charitable organisations that will be announced early in the New Year.”
Jamie Ritchie
In 2021, Sotheby’s made a significant commitment to work together with charitable organisations, uniting collectors with special opportunities to acquire rare wines and whiskies, while benefiting the communities of each region:
- Sotheby’s partnered with the Hospices de Beaune for the first time. The 161st edition of the charity wine auction on 21 November brought $14.2 million. In addition, the legendary Charity Barrel realised a record $900,000, bringing the grand total raised for charity to $15.3 million
- Records also tumbled at the inaugural charity Scotch whisky auction – ‘The Distillers One of One’ – near Edinburgh on 3 December, with an auction totalling $4.1 million, and $2.7 million raised for charity
- Looking forward, as auction partners to Napa Valley Vintners, Sotheby’s will, for the first time, partner with a wine region to help connect wine consumers, collectors and connoisseurs to its wines. More details to follow.
Spirits
The year saw several partnerships with leading distilleries:
- Sotheby’s X The Worshipful Company of Distillers and the Scotch Whisky Industry, for the first Distillers One of One auction – records for Bowmore, Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Ladyburn, and Talisker, and more ($4.1 million total, more than double the low estimate; December, Edinburgh)
- Sotheby’s X The Macallan: A one-of-a-kind original bottle of 1967 whisky from The Macallan’s Anecdotes of Ages Collection with label artwork by Sir Peter Blake, sold for $437,500 (March, New York)
- Sotheby’s X Bowmore: The Black Bowmore Archive Cabinet – the complete Black Bowmore single malt whisky collection direct from the Bowmore distillery – sold for $563,000 (April, Hong Kong)
- Sotheby’s X Gordon & MacPhail: Auction record for a bottle of the world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky – designed by architect and designer Sir David Adjaye OBE, Decanter #1 of Gordon & MacPhail Generations 80-Years-Old sold for $193,000 (October, Hong Kong)
- Sotheby’s X The Dalmore: Auction record for The Dalmore – a one-of-a-kind set of six vintage single malts direct from the distillery, sold for $1.1 million, establishing the most valuable whisky lot sold by Sotheby’s in Asia (October, Hong Kong)
- Sotheby’s X Diageo: Set #1 of the second release of Prima & Ultima, Diageo’s collectable series of rare, cask-strength single vintage malts containing eight whiskies from across Scotland, was offered exclusively through Sotheby’s directly from Diageo (September, Hong Kong)
A single-owner auction, Whisky & Whiskey | The Three Continents Collection, forming Part 1 of the largest collection of spirits by bottle count ever to be offered by Sotheby’s, totalled an above estimate $2.3 million and with 80% of the lots achieving prices above their high estimates (December, New York)
Looking ahead to 2022
“As wine regions and distilleries are increasingly looking for global reach and recognition, we will see a rise in on-site auctions and events enhanced with state-of-the-art digital experiences.”
Jamie Ritchie
Sotheby’s will hold its inaugural sale of Spirits in France from 12 – 21 January
More than 10 single owner sales are already scheduled
Top Spirits Lots in 2021
Glenfiddich The 1950s Collection, sold for $1.4 million
The Dalmore Decades No. 6 Collection, sold for $1.1 million
Talisker Cask of Distinction 1978 + Artwork by Callum Innes, sold for $831,780
Black Bowmore Archive Cabinet Direct From Bowmore, sold for $563,000
Bowmore Onyx 51 Year Old 1970, sold for $532,340
Yamazaki 55 Year Old, sold for $525,000
Karuizawa 52 Year Old Strong Eagle Cask #5627 1960, sold for $495,200
The Macallan 1967 Anecdotes of Ages Collection “A New Era Of Advertising”, with Sir Peter Blake Print and Exclusive Experience, sold for $437,500
The Balvenie 56 Year Old 1964, sold for $232,900
Glenlivet Gordon & MacPhail Generations 80 Year Old 44.9 abv 1940 + Exclusive Experience, sold for $193,000
