Dr Vino's wine blog

The wine auction market is red hot with sales of at least $166 million last year. This year looks even hotter with the $12.2 million Naples, FL charity auction breaking its own record last month as well as the $10.6 million auction of a single collector’s wines at Acker Merrall in New York. The highest price lot was six magnums 1971 Romanee Conti Domaine de la Romanee Conti for $136,275.00 (that’s $448.27 AN OUNCE!).

One potential cloud is looming over the booming auction market: the droit de suite.

The buyer pays this resale right on auctioned art, which entitles the artist or the artist’s heirs to a percentage of art’s hammer price, sometimes as high as 4%. It has been common in France and several other continental countries for years and is new to the art market this year in the UK. Even though the tax will be phased in between now and 2012, it is expected to drive art sales to US auction houses.

While wineries might like the idea of getting residuals on trophy wines that perpetually change hands at auction (DRC would have gotten $5,451 from Acker’s priciest lot), it’s not likely that wine will ever fall under the droit de suite. For one, wine isn’t hit by the droit anywhere in the world. Further, droit often applies only to art over euro3,000 ($3,600). While it is impossible to break up a Modigliani, a magnum, or a wooden case of Margaux, many wines could be broken up into lots with lower values.

While Chris Ofili stands to benefit from the new law, it’s doubtful that Screaming Eagle ever will.

tags: wine | wine auctions | droit de suite