Sotheby’s wine sales hit $100m in record-breaking year for fine wines at auction

Annual wine sales at Sotheby's this year surpassed $100m (£79.35m) for the first time, driven by growth in its retail arm and record-breaking auction sales.

Earlier this year, the auction house broke the record for the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold under the hammer with the $558,000 sale of a 1945 Romanée Conti Burgandy wine. Another bottle of the same wine sold immediately afterwards for $496,000.

Both purchases broke the previous world record, though more expensive wines have been sold outside of auction.

On the same day, a single bottle of Macallan 1926 whisky sold for $843,200, the highest price reached for a single spirit in Sotheby's history. The whiskey had been matured for 60 years before bottling, and the label on the bottle was designed by artist Peter Blake.

In March, a two-day auction in Hong-Kong brought in $29.1m for the auction house in wine sales.

Sotheby's retail department, which has outlets in both Hong Kong and New York, also achieved continued growth, with a strong year-on-year growth rate of more than 30 per cent in Asia.

Worldwide head of Sotheby’s Jamie Ritchie said surpassing $100m was a "significant milestone" for the company.

“We continue to achieve record prices at both auction and retail, as well as present the most important single-cellar collections, tailoring each one to suit the wines in the collection," he said.