Bonhams Paris Wine Auction Puts 1945 La Tâche First

On 7 November at 6 avenue Hoche, one 750ml bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 1945 will set the tone for the Bonhams Paris wine auction, with an estimate of €15,000-€20,000 and provenance traced to the same Bordeaux grand cru estate owner since 1974. The sale includes one post-war La Tâche, 30 lots consigned directly from Domaine Hubert Lignier ’s cellars, and a no-reserve online sale running from 29 October to 12 November.

The sale carries the title Domaine de la Romanée-Conti & Domaine Leroy: Two Private Collections, featuring La Tâche 1945. Bonhams has placed it inside a broader 7 November programme at its Paris saleroom in the 8th arrondissement. The day brings Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, Domaine Hubert Lignier, classed growth Bordeaux, prestige cuvée Champagne, Super Tuscans and Gantenbein Pinot Noir into one Paris calendar date (Vinetur¹).

The 1945 La Tâche: Why This Vintage Commands Attention

The year also brought crop losses from spring frosts and summer storms, which reduced the size of the vintage before the domaine bottled one of its most discussed La Tâche releases.

After the 1945 harvest, the last pre-phylloxera vines in the Romanée-Conti vineyard were uprooted and replaced with vine material from La Tâche. Romanée-Conti then produced no wine from 1946 to 1951, leaving La Tâche as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s flagship cuvée during that interim.

The €15,000-€20,000 estimate prices a single bottle of 1945 La Tâche, with provenance traced to a Bordeaux grand cru estate owner since 1974. The €15,000-€20,000 range prices a single bottle, rather than a case or parcel, and the provenance gives bidders a documented chain to consider. Bonhams identifies the current owner as the owner of a grand cru estate in Bordeaux, with the bottle held in that collection since 1974.

"In a lifetime, the opportunity to see, touch and bring a bottle of La Tâche 1945 to market is as rare as the bottle itself." (Bonhams²)

, Amayès Aouli, Bonhams Global Head of Wine & Spirits, Decanter³

Opportunities to examine provenance can matter as much as the hammer price for 1945 La Tâche.

Bonhams Paris Wine Auction November 7: What Collectors See

Bonhams’ offices at 6 avenue Hoche, Paris 8th arrondissement, place the in-room auction close to the city’s hotel and dining circuit.

The no-reserve online sale gives buyers another route into the week, but the collector theatre sits on 7 November. On 7 November, the Bonhams calendar entry includes a single historic La Tâche, domaine-cellared Lignier lots and private-collection bottles from Europe.

The sale runs online from 29 October, has an Avenue Hoche session in Paris on 7 November, and keeps the online window open until 12 November. The format puts headline Burgundy in the room and less publicised parcels online.

Domaine Hubert Lignier Cellared Lots: 30 Direct from the Estate

The Domaine Hubert Lignier section gives the sale a second centre of gravity. Bonhams lists 30 lots consigned directly from the domaine’s cellars, including Clos de la Roche, Clos de Vougeot, Charmes-Chambertin and Morey-St-Denis 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes. A direct cellar consignment removes one step in the ownership chain between producer and bidder.

The highlighted Lignier lots also combine bottles with access. Domaine Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche Grand Cru MCMLV 2018, offered as 3 x 750ml, carries an estimate of €3,000-€4,000 and includes an annual allocation. Domaine Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 1978, offered as 1 x 750ml, carries an estimate of €1,500-€2,500 and also includes an annual allocation.

The estate-access element becomes more tangible in the Clos de Vougeot lot. A vertical of Domaine Hubert Lignier Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2020, 2021 and 2022, offered as 3 x magnum, carries an estimate of €2,000-€3,000 and includes a private visit and tasting for two guests. For a Burgundy traveller who values producer contact, the tasting component sits beside the magnums as part of the lot’s appeal.

Scarcity appears in 30 Lignier lots, specific grand cru and premier cru names, and annual allocations attached to selected Clos de la Roche lots.

Clos de la Roche and Clos de Vougeot pull the Lignier section firmly into grand cru territory, while Charmes-Chambertin and Morey-St-Denis 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes widen the village and cru conversation. The 30-lot count is small enough to keep the section focused, yet broad enough to let bidders decide between mature single bottles, recent magnums and allocation-linked lots.

Domaine Leroy, Champagne and Gantenbein Add the Second Layer

One published highlight is Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulées 2014, offered as 3 x 750ml with an estimate of €8,500-€11,000. Aux Brulées gives the Leroy section a specific Vosne-Romanée vineyard name.

The European cellar collection extends beyond Burgundy. Champagne Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut 1995 appears as 6 x magnum with an estimate of €2,500-€3,200. Gantenbein Pinot Noir 2001 appears as 15 x 750ml with an estimate of €2,200-€2,800, a rare Swiss Pinot parcel in a sale otherwise led by Côte d’Or names. Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Grosses Gewächs 2017 appears as 2 x magnum with an estimate of €160-€200.

Those lots matter because they give the room several price and category points around the DRC bottle. A bidder unwilling to chase 1945 La Tâche can still look at 1995 Bollinger in magnum, a 15-bottle Gantenbein parcel, or Lignier grand cru lots with estate access attached. The catalogue includes 1995 Bollinger in magnum, a 15-bottle Gantenbein parcel, and Lignier grand cru lots with estate access attached.

The Super Tuscan and classed growth Bordeaux components widen the buying field again, although the named highlights keep Burgundy in command. A Paris-based auction room can gather Bordeaux drinkers, Burgundy specialists and Champagne buyers on the same date; the 1945 La Tâche sets a leading note because its provenance, vintage and vineyard history converge in one bottle.

Reading the Estimates: €15,000-€20,000 for One Bottle

The bottle’s format, vintage and ownership history matter: 1 x 750ml, a first peacetime vintage, crop losses from spring frosts and summer storms, and a current owner who has held the wine since 1974.

The 1945 La Tâche is a single-bottle historical lot. The Lignier parcels offer domaine provenance and, in several cases, future access through allocations or a visit. The Leroy Aux Brulées 2014, at €8,500-€11,000 for 3 x 750ml, gives the sale another high-value Burgundy reference without competing for the same 1945 narrative.

The Lignier lots offer direct-from-cellar Burgundy and estate access.

How to Approach the Paris Date

The in-room sale takes place on 7 November at Bonhams, 6 avenue Hoche, Paris 8th arrondissement.

For the 1945 La Tâche, the published provenance identifies the current owner as the owner of a grand cru estate in Bordeaux. The vintage history includes spring frosts, summer storms, and the post-1945 replanting of Romanée-Conti with material from La Tâche.

Direct cellar consignment, named grand and premier cru wines, allocation components and the Clos de Vougeot private visit create a package that extends past the bottles.

Paris gives this sale a Burgundy-focused 7 November setting at Avenue Hoche, with the online sale extending the bidding window. If the 1945 La Tâche changes hands within estimate, the result will give the market one clean data point for a bottle whose story begins in the first peacetime vintage after the Second World War and continues through a cellar held since 1974.