Legendary Australian wine critic, author and commentator James Halliday AM is selling off the last of his impressive wine cellar through an online auction at fine wine destination, LANGTONS. 

Now is your chance to place your bid to own the rarest of ‘unicorn’ wines that have been collected by the nation’s most respected and renowned wine figure. 

This final auction will see 100 lots of Halliday’s personal passion – French producer Domaine Armand Rousseau – up for bidding, with each bottle personally signed by Halliday himself. The topline collection includes a 1999 Clos des Ruchottes Monopole, Ruchottes-Chambertin; 1976 Clos de la Roche; and 1990 Grand Cru, Chambertin. 

“Having long since sold the last of my DRCs [Domaine de la Romanee-Conti], my Rousseaus are the best wines in my cellar, led – of course – by the Chambertins from top vintages,” Halliday says. “Clos de Beze is a worthy second, the wine often offering outstanding value for money. Rousseau now fills the shoes left by the impossible-to-find DRCs.”

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It’s the second time Halliday has trusted LANGTONS with the evaluation and auctioning off of his treasured wine collection, with the previous occasion in 2020, where a portion of his cellar – including the single largest collection of DRC that the Australian market had ever seen – was sold through an online auction. Halliday has confirmed this auction will be the last to clear out the final bottles in his cellar, located in the Yarra Valley’s Coldstream Hills, while he relocates to Sydney. 

Other highlights from the James Halliday Collection – Final Lots include a Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart Brut from the exceptional 1996 vintage; a 1997 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling-Spatlese; and a 1980 Domaine Clape. Closer to home, Halliday’s collection also includes a House of Arras E.J Carr Late Disgorged Methode Traditionelle 2000 Magnum from Tasmania; 1997 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir from the Macedon Ranges; and 1992 vintage Charles Melton Nine Popes Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre from the Barossa Valley.

The James Halliday Private Collection online auction is now open on the LANGTONS website and closes at 9pm AEST on Sunday, May 25.

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