William “Bill” Koch, who amassed a 43,000-bottle cellar of rare wines and then launched a crusade of litigation to stamp out sales of counterfeits, has consigned nearly 7,800 bottles from his collection to Christie’s, which will conduct a three-day auction of the wines June 12 to 14.
This is Koch’s second major sale. In 2016, Sotheby’s New York auctioned off 20,000 bottles in a three-day sale that fetched a staggering $21.9 million, topping the presale high estimate of $15 million by 46 percent.
Koch’s life is the stuff of novels. His father, Fred, founded the energy firm Koch Industries. Bill worked there but was fired in a split with his brothers Charles and David. He left to found Oxbow Energy Corp. and later fought a lengthy lawsuit with his brothers. He also became a collector of art, historical artifacts and wine. In his spare time, he helmed the sailing team that won the 1992 America’s Cup.
In the late 1970s he began wine collecting. As with many of his hobbies, he threw himself completely into it, buying thousands of bottles a year of collectible Bordeaux. He bought four of the famous “Jefferson Bordeaux,” the bottles unearthed in 1985 by wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock that the German claimed were from the late 18th century and may have been ordered for the sage of Monticello. By the end of 2005, Koch had spent more than $12 million on a 40,000-bottle cellar, including extensive verticals of Pétrus, Mouton-Rothschild, Latour and Lafite.
But when a museum asked for the provenance of his Jefferson Bordeaux bottles, whose picture was going to appear in an art exhibit catalog, questions were raised on authenticity. This spurred Koch to have his rarest wines inspected and when he found several fakes, he filed lawsuits against leading auction houses and against Rodenstock and Rudy Kurniawan. One of those suits was against Christie’s, but a court dismissed it arguing the statute of limitations had passed.
He says he has faith in the new Christie’s team and they worked together to authenticate. “It’s a very collaborative, iterative process with many, many, many rounds—in a good way,” says Paul Tortora, Christie’s international director in the Wine & Spirits department. “[Bill] saw it as another opportunity to share these great wines with collectors and wine lovers around the world, especially in vintages that are ready to drink right now. That was certainly one of the key considerations.”
Koch says his goal all along was to force auctioneers to clean up their act, and he believes many have done so, especially because those who collect wine have pushed them to do so and because wineries, who used to want to avoid publicity about fakes, now speak out. He recently spoke with senior editor Mitch Frank about why he decided to consign so many wines and about the memories those wines hold for him.
Wine Spectator: I know you take great pride in all your collections. Why have you decided to auction these wines now?
Bill Koch: I always approached my wine collection as a communal experience. I never collected to hold these wines as if they were an investment. I wanted to serve them with great food and company. Do the math—there is no possible way that I can consume all 20,000 plus bottles in my cellar. It is time to give others the opportunity to enjoy them. I feel as if I am acting as a matchmaker of sorts.
What is your total cellar size? How much are you consigning in this sale?
I am consigning about 7,800 bottles and keeping another 12,000.
What was the process for deciding what to consign?
I kept wines—admittedly more than I will ever need—that I will enjoy with my friends and family. Among them are my favorites, my wife’s favorites and some I hope my children will enjoy in years to come. There are also some of historical significance, like the 1945 Lafite Rothschilds and Mouton-Rothschilds, celebrating the end of World War II, and the Pétrus 1947, which left an indelible mark on the wine world.
I still have the Haut-Brions, the Latours and the Montrachets. And some significant wines to commemorate our 1992 America’s Cup victory, as well as special years for my family celebrations—birthdays, anniversaries and graduations.
Any particular wines you are sad to part with? Or is this just part of the collecting process?
It is absolutely an emotional experience to pass on some of these wines. These Bordeaux and Burgundy wines have become like friends; they have been a part of some of the best moments of my life. It is always hard to part with good friends.
The bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are particularly hard to give up. I spent a day with Aubert de Villaine at his vineyard several years ago. I was amazed at how such a tiny vineyard on the Côte d’Or has produced wines for the Holy See for centuries. Those wines are history in a bottle. I also have fond memories of the Pétrus wines and Lafites. But I also feel strongly that it is time to let them go.
You filed a lawsuit at one point against Christie’s over counterfeit wine. So how did you decide to partner with them for this sale?
I had long discussions with Christie’s before making this decision. I entrusted their new team with my collection because they have deep expertise, passion, and hold themselves to the highest possible standards in terms of presenting quality to the market.
I do have a history with Christie’s, but I am confident that the old guard is gone and it’s a new world. They have earned my trust. I believe in second chances. I’ve had many in my career and Christie’s earned the same courtesy.
Authentication and provenance is important to you. How have you and Christie’s authenticated the wines?
I believe it is fair to say that no cellar in the world has undergone as much scrutiny as mine. Experts have looked at every aspect of these bottles: I’ve sent bottles to châteaus to have them check the paper composition and printing on the labels and to check vintages against their records. I’ve had them tested with a nuclear spectrograph to ascertain that their atomic structure matches the historic record. I’ve had multiple experts from France, England and the United States comb through my collection checking bottle shapes, sizes, labels, capsules and corks.
Christie’s new team meticulously researched and inspected the wines in my cellars. They vetted each and every bottle and removed any wines from the sale that had low fill levels, evidence of cork seepage or any issue that did not meet the standards of their inspections. In addition, the Christie’s team worked diligently to review all provenance and documentation related to the wine collection. One of the nice things about this new team is their approach: If there is any doubt about the integrity of the wine, they remove it from the sale. I like to think I have had something to do with that approach.
Do you think the wine collecting world has improved its authentication and anti-counterfeiting work in the past decade?
I would hope so. Collectors are more circumspect and more educated now than they were in the past; just look at all the books, documentaries and articles devoted to the subject. I joke that our investigations created a cottage industry of wine authenticators.
We analyzed the glue, the paper, the ink, everything. During one trial we were involved in, our expert, chemist Jamie Martin, placed some Rodenstock bottles on a table before the jury, and then asked the bailiff to turn off the lights. In the 1950s, paper makers began using a bleaching chemical that reacts to fluorescent light. When the courtroom went dark, Martin turned on the ultraviolet light, and every bottle began to glow fluorescent blue, proving that the wine labels, which were allegedly old, were fakes.
Collectors now have some very effective tools to help them avoid fraud. Vineyards are also working to protect themselves. For example, some have begun embedding special fibers into their labels that make it difficult to forge them.
Will you continue to collect wine? Do you have any new collecting passions?
I am going to enjoy the 12,000 bottles I have left in my cellar.
Any particularly fond memories of stories about wines in the collection?
There are so many. The late U.S. senator Ted Kennedy would frequently call when we were both on Cape Cod. He liked the ’82 Mouton. When I opened the Mouton, I always liked to bring out a few others, either a Pomerol like Pétrus, or a Burgundy like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echézeaux. I’d get the wine flowing, knowing that by the end of the evening, Teddy would be belting out old Irish songs, and invariably by the time the Château d’Yquem came out, he’d have the whole table singing with him. One night he brought Orrin Hatch, then the Republican senator from Utah, who impressed us all with his singing skills.
Rod Stewart popped by my Palm Beach house for dinner in the early 2000s. I believe I opened a 1959 Lafite, an Haut Brion blanc, maybe a 1971 Pétrus, a Chassagne-Montrachet and a DRC Grand Echézeaux, followed by a Château d’Yquem for dessert. Rod had such a good time that he ended up standing on the chair and clapping. “This is the highest form of compliment you can give,” he said.
I always celebrate my wife Bridget’s birthday with great wine. Depending on the menu, I have historically started the meal with a [Joseph Drouhin] Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche 1985, before opening her favorite red wines—the DRC La Tache 1985 and the Château Latour 1961, and finishing with the 1989 Yquem. Those wines always bring a smile to our faces.
Back in 2000, I was invited to a Latour tasting at Christie’s in New York. I went because Christie’s was selling bottles from Latour’s cellar in France. It was the only time I ever met Hardy Rodenstock in person. I told him that I had some of his wines. It was very brief. Little did I know how large he would loom in my life years later. During the dinner, the maître de chai opened a bottle of Latour 1865, wine from the year the Civil War ended. It remains the best wine I have ever tasted.
—With reporting by Kenny Martin.
