NEW YORK, NY.- Rare Burgundy, historic Champagne and one of the world’s most coveted bottles of Japanese whisky helped Sotheby’s inaugural Nightcap wine and spirits festival generate $14.3 million across five auctions in New York.
The week-long program, staged at Sotheby’s Breuer headquarters, combined auctions with tastings, dinners and other events, bringing together collectors, producers and enthusiasts from more than 27 countries. The final total surpassed the combined presale estimate of $8.8 million to $12.6 million.
Nightcap achieved a 97 percent sell-through rate, with 62 percent of lots selling above their high estimates. The festival’s most valuable individual lot was Karuizawa 1960 Cask #5627, known as “The Prototype,” which sold for $625,000 against an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. Sotheby’s described it as one of the most valuable bottles of Japanese whisky ever sold at auction.
The bottle has an unusual history. It was hand-filled by Osami Uchibori, Karuizawa’s final Master Distiller, in December 2012 and is one of only two bottles known to have been drawn and hand-bottled directly from the cask before its commercial release.
The spirits portion of Nightcap totaled $2.9 million and achieved a 100 percent sell-through rate across more than 500 bottles. The auction also included what Sotheby’s described as the largest single collection of Willett Family Estate bottlings ever offered at auction.
Other notable whisky results included Karuizawa 1970 Cask #6017, “The Last Masterpiece,” at $68,750 and a Macallan Select Reserve 52 Year Old 1946 at $27,500.
Wine produced an equally strong group of results.
A six-liter Methuselah of Domaine de la Romane-Conti La Tche 1990 sold for $137,500, setting a new auction record for the vintage. Three bottles of DRC Romane-Conti 2019 brought $68,750, while six bottles of DRC Richebourg 2012 sold for $21,250.
Another single-owner auction, The Wine Cellar of a Visionary, brought $1 million. Its leading lot, six bottles of Domaine Leroy Romane St. Vivant 1990, more than tripled its estimate to reach $43,750, setting a new world record for the wine.
The strongest wine results came from The Impeccable Burgundy Collection Part VI, which realized $8.6 million and surpassed all earlier installments in the series. Among its standout lots was a Methuselah of DRC Romane-Conti 2002 at $250,000, while a magnum of Romane-Conti 1999 achieved $112,500. Six magnums of Henri Jayer’s Vosne-Romane Cros Parantoux 1993 brought $350,000, making them the highest-value wine lot of the overall Nightcap program.
A Jeroboam of Rousseau Chambertin 1999 sold for $87,500, setting another world record, while La Romane 1865 from Bouchard Pre & Fils realized $118,750.
White Burgundy and Champagne produced several notable prices as well. Six bottles of Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne 2009 reached $106,250, and a three-liter Jeroboam of Domaine Leflaive Montrachet 2007 sold for $118,750. A magnum of Dom Prignon 1961, originally shipped to mark the marriage of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, achieved $32,500, a world record according to Sotheby’s.
Beyond the auctions, Nightcap also sought to turn wine and spirits collecting into a broader cultural event. More than 250 guests attended the Nightcap Wine & Whisky Tasting, where nearly 100 wines and whiskies were poured, alongside a blind tasting experience.
Nick Pegna, Sotheby’s Global Head of Wine & Spirits, described the festival as an opportunity to bring together rare bottles, collectors and enthusiasts while creating a new platform for discovery and connoisseurship in New York.
The Nightcap results arrive after a strong first half of 2026 for Sotheby’s Wine & Spirits division, which recorded $49.25 million in auction sales across 29 auctions, up 7 percent from the previous year. The company said a quarter of bidders during the period were new to Sotheby’s Wine & Spirits, suggesting that the market is continuing to attract collectors beyond its established base.
