Exceptional wines from the legendary cellar of Andrew Lloyd Webber

Looking back on growing up in London in the 1950s and 1960s, Andrew Lloyd Webber can still recall his first glass of wine. ‘I remember it vividly,’ he says. ‘My aunt took me out to dinner to celebrate something. We went to an Italian restaurant on Camden Passage in Islington called Portofino. At the bottom of the menu was a homily that I took to heart. It read: “A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”’ How old was he? ‘Fourteen.’

Shortly after, Lloyd Webber began taking delivery of fine vintages by the caseload to his bedroom at Westminster School, considering himself a ‘collector’ by the age of 15. Can he remember any favourites? ‘I was fortunate that my interest began just as the great 1961 clarets were hitting the merchants,’ he replies. ‘In those days, many of them were still bottling Bordeaux wines themselves, and you could buy superb British-bottled claret quite cheaply.’

Lloyd Webber would go on to become the most commercially successful composer in history — a global phenomenon credited with reinventing the musical through hits such as The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Behind the scenes, however, he remained almost equally passionate about wine.

In a landmark sale, from 22 April to 6 May 2026, Christie’s will offer the final 1,000 bottles of wine from Lloyd Webber’s legendary cellar.

A first tranche was released to the public in 1997. Across a two-day marathon sale in London, 18,000 bottles raised £3.7 million, at the time earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest ever single-owner wine auction. In 2011, another pruning of Lloyd Webber’s cellar resulted in a further 8,000 bottles coming to auction.

The third selection coming to Christie’s, which makes up around 160 lots, represents the last of the collection — the bottles Lloyd Webber held onto over the years. They are being sold to raise funds for the Music in Secondary Schools Trust, a charity that supports young people’s musical education, giving them access to instruments and tuition.

‘I suppose this is the end of an era,’ says the composer, explaining that around a year ago he decided to give up drinking. ‘I loved my wine, and — abetted by perfect conditions at Sydmonton — I have, over the years, been able to offer my guests some pretty choice bottles.’

Sydmonton is Lloyd Webber’s home, a 16th-century manor about an hour west of London. There, a long corridor with walls covered in the lids of wine crates leads to a huge, temperature-controlled brick cellar.

At its peak, it contained tens of thousands of bottles, as Lloyd Webber grew his collection fervently. ‘I remember in the 1970s, British Rail decided to sell all their fabulous Burgundy wines,’ he recalls. ‘I was staying at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, which was a railway hotel. There was a list in the bedroom of the contents of the hotel’s cellar. I phoned the manager, who asked me what I’d like to order. I replied, “All of it.” Those were the days.’

‘Some of the bottles coming to auction have been at Sydmonton for more than 50 years,’ says Charles Foley, a specialist in Christie’s Wine and Spirits department. ‘The sale includes classic First-Growth wines from Bordeaux, such as magnums of Château Mouton Rothschild from 1959 and Château Haut-Brion from 1961, as well as Château Margaux from 1900 and 1945. Then there is Château Cheval Blanc from 1947, Château Pétrus from 1989 and 1990, and Château d’Yquem from 1949 and 1988.

‘Representing Burgundy are some of the greats, including Romanée-Conti from 2005 and La Tâche from 1990, as well as superb vintages from Domaine Armand Rousseau, Domaine Trapet, Bouchard, Domaine Dujac, Domaine Clos de Tart and Domaine d’Eugénie.

‘White Burgundy is a special feature, too, led by magnums of 2005 Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, as well as exceptional vintages of Domaine Leflaive. A selection of bottles from Domaine Guffens-Heynen, a relatively young producer whose popularity has sky-rocketed in recent years, also highlights Lloyd Webber’s collecting foresight.

‘I am proud that I have supported the musical education of around 30,000 children, and helped provide them with their first instruments — but there’s so much more to be done,’ Lloyd Webber says of the decision to sell now. ‘This auction will help educate many more, and I hope these wines, which are very personal, will give as much pleasure to their new owners as they have to me and my friends over more than half a century.’

Final Treasures from the Wine Cellar of Andrew Lloyd Webber is live for bidding online from 22 April until 6 May 2026. Each bottle comes with a commemorative label in the shape of the mask from The Phantom of the Opera, and 100 per cent of the hammer price received will be donated to the Music in Secondary Schools Trust, a charity that supports young people’s musical education