Chicago Wine Auction

On May 4th and 5th, The Hart Davis Hart Wine Company is going to present the largest named single-cellar wine auction ever. The auction is called The Steven Verlin Collection and will be conducted at the Tru restaurant. Steven Verlin wasone of the owners of Veritas, a New York restaurant famed for its wine list, died last August. His collection is expected to generate $4-6 million is sales.

Expect to find a lot of famous wine names: Petrus, Cheval Blanc, La Tache, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Rothschild. Large-format bottles are in big evidence: 121 imperials (equal to eight regular bottles), 106 jeroboams, 213 double-magnums (four standard bottles).

The most expensive single bottle up for sale? An imperial of 1947 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild worth an estimated $40,000 to $60,000. The oldest wine on the block is an 1870 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. The two-bottle lot has an estimated value of $8,000-$12,000. There are some more affordable wines, too, like a case of 1998 Cantina Falesco Montiano from Italy for an estimated $250 to $380. There are 1,876 lots in the auction and they can be viewed [and bid on] online.