Hart Davis Hart Auction Co. [email protected] www.hdhauctions.com tel: 312.482.9996 Auction 2609 131 WINES FROM THE CELLAR OF JEFF JOHNSON Hart Davis Hart is proud to bring to auction the collection of businessman and connoisseur Jeff Johnson. A cornerstone of the September Auction of Finest and Rarest Wines, this selection represents decades of learning about and collecting exceptional wines from the best producers in France, Italy, Australia and the US. Jeff is a longtime client of HDH and friend of President Ben Nelson, who notes his meticulous focus on provenance and storage and, of course, his impeccable palate. Preparing his collection for auction has been an exercise in nostalgia for Jeff Johnson, harkening back to a bygone era of discovering and tasting wines. Growing up in the Pacifi c Northwest, Jeff ’s relationship with wine started with travels through the Columbia and Walla Walla Valleys. These journeys served as an education, later leading him to Oregon, then on to California’s classic, “old school” producers. A move East was the conduit to traditional European wines, thanks to the incredible restaurants and generous wine professionals of 1990s New York City. Burgundy Wine Company helped to further narrow his focus; the educational symposia where they poured wines, talked terroir and studied maps also introduced him to tasting groups whose members remain his closest friends to this day. Together they traveled to Burgundy and were able to meet and taste with the vignerons whose styles were molding their palates: Roumier, Mugnier, Fourrier, Rousseau, Leroy, d’Auvenay, Méo-Camuzet and more. Jeff recalls that tasting and evaluating an estate’s Bourgogne and village wines at a young age was instrumental in understanding what producers could achieve with their premier and grand cru vineyards. Jeff felt the quality of one’s Bourgogne was the true measure of a winemaker’s capabilities. The fruits of Jeff ’s studies and journeys are in this incredible auction off ering, the centerpiece of which is a breathtaking array of red Burgundy. From Armand Rousseau, there are twelve bottles each of 2002 Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Bèze, as well as another six of 1999 Clos de Bèze. The impressive depth of Domaine Leroy reds is highlighted by four vintages of Musigny, including four bottles of the 2001 vintage. “The Domaine” is well-represented, most notably by thirteen vintages of La Tâche and multiple six-packs of 2002 Richebourg. Griotte-Chambertin, the rarest among Domaine Fourrier’s bottlings, appears in eleven vintages spanning 2002-2017. Beyond these featured producers, there are signifi cant off erings from Dujac, Liger-Belair, Comte Georges de Vogüé, Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Anne Gros, Jean Grivot, JF Mugnier, and Méo-Camuzet. The producers of white Burgundy most prominent are Lefl aive, DRC (both Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne), Ramonet, Coche-Dury, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey and Sauzet, though d’Auvenay in any quantity must not be overlooked. A concise off ering from the Rhône Valley focuses on Château Rayas and Henri Bonneau as well as two bottles of rare 2000 Ermitage, Cuvée Cathelin, Jean-Louis Chave. Important winemakers from Italy, Australia, California and Washington complete the selection. Take note of the extensive collection of Sine Qua Non, Quilceda Creek (all in magnum format) and Cayuse Bionic Frog. A hallmark of Jeff ’s collection is his fastidiousness about provenance and storage. Upwards of 95% of the cellar was purchased on release, and he retained the invoices for every single bottle. Many of the receipts he provided are handwritten, a detail that will be familiar to other collectors from the pre-internet age. The wines have always been professionally stored with Hart Davis Hart for the past sixteen years and prior to that Seattle Wine Storage. With the collection reaching a size and value far exceeding Jeff ’s expectations, he has planned this downsizing to curate a more focused cellar that he can enjoy through the years. From selection to sourcing to storage, Jeff Johnson has painstakingly and thoughtfully created an ideal cellar, which Hart Davis Hart is honored to present this September. Bid with utmost confi dence. Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1975 Graves, Cru Classé de Graves Two very high shoulder, one high shoulder; three labels slightly scuff marked “...camphor, wood charcoal, black fruits, plums, cedar, damp earth, truffl es, asphalt and smoke result in a fabulous set of aromatics...concen- trated, dense...” (97 points) Robert Parker, WA #202, Aug 2012 1801 3 bottles per lot $1700–2600 Les Forts de Latour 1995 Pauillac “...a whiff of shoe polish...hints of black cherry and dark chocolate. Rather powerfully structured...conveys an impression of excellent concentra- tion...” (89+ points) ST, Vinous.com, May 1998 1802 12 bottles per lot $1200–1800 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 1996 St-Julien, 2me cru classé “...aromas of dark berries, black cherry and bitter chocolate; slightly exotic crystallized fruit aspect. Dense, sweet and wonderfully rich...palate- caressing chocolatey fruit...” (94+ points) ST, Vinous.com, July 2002 1803 12 bottles (owc) per lot $1800–2800 Château Lafi te Rothschild 1997 Pauillac, 1er cru classé “...sweet, expansive perfume of cedar wood, black currants, lead pencil, and minerals...a fat mid-palate, medium body, explosive fruit and richness, soft tannin...” (92 points) Robert Parker, WA #128, Apr 2000 1804 6 magnums (owc) per lot $3800–5500 1805 6 magnums (owc) per lot $3800–5500 Château Angélus 1998 St-Emilion, 1er grand cru classé (B) Two labels nicked “...The nose is completely...WOW! It has an incredible array of smoked meats, incense, cigar box and dusty earth notions over a core of baked cherries, dried mulberries...” (98 points) Lisa Perrotti-Brown, WA, May 2018 (See photo opposite page) 1806 6 bottles per lot $1800–2800 Château Ausone 1998 St-Emilion, 1er grand cru classé (A) “...aromas of boysenberry, cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate and espresso, with complicating notes of underbrush and earth. Extremely pure and penetrating, with fruit of steel...” (95+ points) ST, Vinous.com, July 2002 (See photo opposite page) 1807 12 bottles (owc) per lot $3500–5500 Château L’Eglise-Clinet 1998 Pomerol “...wonderful bouquet that is fragrant and pure: redcurrant, cranberry, a touch of kirsch, hints of marmalade and orange rind. It captures Pomerol at its most opulent without excess...” (95 points) Neal Martin, Vinous.com, July 2019 (See photo opposite page) 1808 12 bottles per lot $2600–3800 Château L’Evangile 1998 Pomerol “...scents of potpourri, fallen leaves, Chinese fi ve spice, camphor and new leather over a core of crème de cassis, prunes, star anise...layer of spice and savory notion...” (95 points) Lisa Perrotti-Brown, WA, May 2018 (See photo opposite page) 1809 12 bottles (owc) per lot $2200–3200 Château La Fleur Pétrus 1998 Pomerol One label nicked “...Soft and satiny textured in the medium to full-bodied mouth, it has bags of earth and minted cassis fl avors accenting the dried berries and earthy lay- ers, fi nishing with a spicy lift.” (94 points) Lisa Perrotti-Brown, WA, May 2018 (See photo opposite page) 1810 12 bottles (owc) per lot $2400–3500 Château Lafi te Rothschild 1998 Pauillac, 1er cru classé “...a vivid bouquet of pure blackberry, blueberry, vanilla and graphite, per- haps just a little uncharacteristically showy in style, but beautifully defi ned and intense...” (96 points) Neal Martin, Vinous.com, July 2018 1811 12 bottles (owc) per lot $4800–7500
