Treasures from Halliday’s famed cellar go to auction

More than 1800 bottles of some of the finest wines are being offered through an online auction – including some famed Domaine de la Romanee-Conti worth thousands of dollars.

James Halliday in his cellar at Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley. Picture: Jay Town/The Australian

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The door to the most significant personal cellar in Australian wine is closing for the last time.

James Halliday AM, the towering figure of Australian wine writing and, until his retirement last year, this masthead’s wine columnist for more than four decades, has made his final withdrawals from the vault at the centre of his wine life and is offering its abundant treasures to collectors and connoisseurs far and wide.

More than 1800 bottles of some of the finest wines on the planet are being offered in an online ­auction through leading auction house Langtons. It goes live at 12.01am on Saturday May 10 and concludes at 9pm AEST.

Halliday has worked with Langtons in the past, most notably a sale in 2020 offering up the largest single collection of wines from the world’s most sought after producer, the famed Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, ever seen in ­Australia to that time.

This sale represents the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. With the decision made to spend his retirement closer to his adult children in NSW, Halliday is leaving the house perched above his beloved Coldstream Hills vineyard in the Yarra Valley and the cellar that has been at its heart shortly after he moved there in 1983.

“The space was a concrete parking lot for the house when I bought the place,” Halliday says.

“Fortuitously my immediate neighbour was a builder and we set about turning the space into a cellar straight away.”

The cellar’s 11,000 capacity was quickly filled and has played host to a constantly evolving collection of the world’s finest wines ever since.

As any good cellar should, James Halliday’s reflects the man who holds the keys. Halliday’s deepest vinous love has always been Burgundy and this final sale is rich in the region’s storied wines.

The most notable offering is an unrivalled collection of wines from the esteemed Domaine Armand Rousseau in Gevrey-Chambertin.

“Diamonds never lose their value,” says Halliday. “And Rousseau is most definitely a diamond. If there’s any producer in Burgundy that can rival Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, it’s Rousseau.

Michael Anderson, head of auctions and secondary market at Langtons, shares that view.

“This collection of wines from Rousseau is something really special,” he says. “There is fierce global demand for these wines and it’s incredibly rare to see a collection with the depth of vintages and vineyards like this one.

“There are a few bottles in here that would very likely be the only ones in the country.

There is nobody better placed than Halliday to explain what makes the wines from Rousseau so special.

“They have the most sublime texture,” he says. “There is a depth and length to them you very rarely see. They are wines of effortless complexity.”

The Rousseau wines have all been personally signed by Halliday in preparation for the sale.

But not even Halliday can consume bottles costing thousands with any real regularity, and the significant stash of wines from Domain Simon Bize et Fils offers a more accessible opportunity to share in Halliday’s love of Burgundy.

“I just think these wines from Simon Bize are exceptional value,” he says. “They are beautifully made wines. They come from some of the less celebrated appellations but the precision and skill behind them makes them really compelling.”

Halliday’s great passion for German riesling is reflected in a significant number of bottles from producers like Dr Loosen, Max Ferdfinand Richter, Hermnann Donhoff and J.J Prumm, and champagne lovers will find plenty to entice from Grand Marques like Charles Heidsieck, Billecart-Salmon and Veuve Clicquot.

While the sale’s international offerings are rich and varied, they are more than matched by the bottles produced by the Australian wine community that owes him so much. Asked to point to specific highlights, Halliday hesitates to single out any particular producer, but when pushed he opts for a multi-vintage collection of Margaret River icon, the Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay.

“I’ve gone on record more times than I care to count saying the Leeuwin Art Series is Australia’s greatest chardonnay.”

Halliday is surprisingly unsentimental about parting with such treasures. “There is some sadness in selling the home I’ve loved so much, but there is no sadness in selling the wine. Great wine is meant to be shared and I’m genuinely pleased to think these bottles will be enjoyed by so many.”

And before readers start to worry about Halliday’s drinking future, he’s quick to reassure The Australian he will be fine.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to run dry,” he laughs. “Even if I do seem to be going through it at an alarming rate.”

The James Halliday Cellar auction can be found at Langtons.com.au

Some gems from the cellar

Domaine Armand Rousseau Grand Cru, Chambertin 1990 $4500-$5500

Domaine Armand Rousseau, Clos de la Roche 1976 $4000-$5000

Domaine Armand Rousseau, Grand Cru, Bonnes-Mares 1999 $4500-$6000

Domaine Ponsot Cuvee Vieilles Vignes, Clos de la Roche 1999 $1400-$1800

E. GUIGAL, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1976 $150-$200

Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling-Spatlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer 1999 $90-$100

Chateau Francois semillon, Pokolbin 2006 $15-$20