Sotheby’s will soon showcase one of the most comprehensive ensembles of The Macallan Fine & Rare ever to come to auction, The Legacy Collection.
The collection goes up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York on May 11th, and the 142-lot sale of Scotch, Japanese and American whisky is expected to bring in upwards of $1.9 million when the hammer falls.
A statement from Sotheby’s notes that this collection is made up of bottles from a single collector, and its headliners is one of the grandest verticals of The Macallan Fine & Rare to appear at auction, featuring the ultra-rare 1957 vintage bottling.
In addition, these lots are supported by rare bottles from The Balvenie, The Dalmore, Midleton and rare whiskeys from the Van Winkle line.
Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s head of whisky and spirits for North America and EMEA, said that this Legacy collector spent many years building a “truly staggering collection” in both range and value, while consuming many bottles along the way, including The Macallan Fine & Rare and Lalique Six Pillars.
“The Legacy Collection showcases what is undoubtedly one of the most complete Macallan Fine & Rare collections ever to come to auction as part of one of the most significant single owner sales offered on U.S. soil,” Fowle added. “Discovering and working with collections like this is always a privilege and being able to offer yet another significant single owner collection at Sotheby’s never ceases to excite us.”
The Macallan is certainly one of the most valuable whiskies in the world, since a record-breaking sale at Sotheby’s in 2019 of The Macallan Fine & Rare 1926 for $1.9 million.
The Fine & Rare series, originally introduced in 2002, is among the pinnacle of Scotch whisky collecting, with vintages dating back to the 1920s.
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The Sotheby’s auction sheet shows The Legacy Collection contains 56 Fine & Rare vintage expressions, the oldest of which dates back as far as 1937 (lot 56, est. $26,000-$35,000) with the most recent being 1990 (lot 1, est. $9,000-$12,000). The oldest age statement offered is The Macallan Fine & Rare 56 Year Old 1946 (lot 46, est. $24,000-30,000).
Eight of The Macallan Fine & Rare bottles in The Legacy Collection are among the most limited in the series, with fewer than 100 bottles of each expression ever made. The most rare is The Macallan Fine & Rare 15 Year Old 1957 (lot 28, est. $150,000-200,000).
The Macallan Fine & Rare 15 Year Old is the second rarest in the series, after the 1926, with only 15 bottles ever produced. Only 14 bottles of the 1926 bear the Fine & Rare label.
The 1957 vintage was originally bottled in 1972 at 15 Years Old, possibly by Gordon & Macphail under the Macallan-Glenlivet moniker, before being re-bottled in 2002 by The Macallan as part of this series.
The rare bottles in The Legacy Collection also include The Balvenie 50 Year Old Batch 01 (lot 92, est. $15,000-$20,000) and Midleton Very Rare 30th Anniversary Pearl Edition (lot 118, $15,000-$20,000), as well as 24 bottles of The Macallan 21 Year Old Fine Oak and eight bottles of The Dalmore 25 Year Old.
From the U.S. whiskey market, there are 20 bottles from The Van Winkle line including the 10, 12, 13, 15, 20 and 23 Year Old expressions.
Check out The Legacy Collection up for auction at www.sothebys.com.
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