The historic cellar of Jürgen Schwarz

Jürgen Schwarz remembers the moment he discovered exceptionally old wine like it was yesterday. ‘In 1974 I was helping my friend bottle wines in the cool cellar of his parents’ house on Lake Constance. Down there was a dusty shelf of about sixty bottles, which he called his “treasures.” One day he opened a Sauternes Château Coutet from the 1940s. The taste revealed a new world to me — a world where history lived inside a glass. I was hooked.’

By the end of the decade Schwarz and his girlfriend Barbara — now his wife — were frequently driving from their university in Frankfurt to Zurich for wine auctions, sampling up to 50 bottles at each sale. ‘This was my classroom,’ he explains. By the time he purchased a bottle of Château Latour from 1858 at Christie’s in 1987, this inquisitiveness had turned into an obsession.

‘Jürgen Schwarz’s cellar is one of the most broad, deep and captivating collections of wine I’ve ever seen,’ says Edwin Vos, Senior International Director, Head of Collections, Christie’s Wine. On 5 and 6 December 2025, more than 3500 bottles from Schwarz’s collection are being offered in a single-owner sale at Christie’s in New York. A further selection of bottles will be offered on 3 February 2026 in Hong Kong.

A global journey in wine

The extraordinary wine collection belonging to Jürgen Schwarz starts with French legends of Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhône, like Domaine Leroy, Henri Jayer, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Haut-Brion, Mouton Rothschild, Chave, and La Chapelle. Then it delves into lesser known but no less impressive domaines, such as Troplong Mondot, and the biodynamic Ausone.

From there, it traces his curiosity across the continent. Spain is represented by Rioja from Marqués de Murrieta, Vega Sicilia showcases the Ribera del Duero, whilst Álvaro Palacios put Catalonia’s Priorat region on the map following his stint at Pétrus.

In Italy, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Tignanello and Masseto celebrate the powerful wines coming out of Tuscany. Bruno Giacosa and Roberto Voerzio are towering figures of Barbaresco and Barolo in Piedmont. In nearby Veneto, Giuseppe Quintarelli produces some of the country’s most complex wine. And across the border into Germany, Schlossgut Diel, a vineyard passed through seven generations of one family, marks the future of Riesling.

Schwarz’s collection then spreads like tendrils in every direction across the New World. From Australia, Chris Ringland’s small-batch Shiraz has developed a cult following. America is spotlit by the Joseph Phelps and Robert Mondavi wineries in Napa (where Schwarz first visited in 1984 after completing his American MBS studies) — both rivals to their European counterparts. From Chile, there’s Seña, Don Melchor and Almaviva, which was established in 1997 with the help of Baron Philippe de Rothschild.

‘My consulting career took me around the world, and wherever business led me I made time for vineyards,’ he says. But what makes Schwarz’s collection truly remarkable is where it goes next: far back in time.

‘The taste of history inside of a glass’

A 1974 trip to Sauternes — with the same friend who shared that early bottle of 1940s Château Coutet — while still in school and somewhat financially stretched, ignited a curiosity ‘that has never faded: wine as both cultural artifact and living witness to history.’

His collection contains iconic bottles from the early 20th century, including a 1928 Mouton Rothschild and a Haut-Brion from 1920. Delving even further into the past, there’s a Latour from 1892 and a Margaux from 1888. There are, in fact, more than 60 wines from the 19th century. The oldest is a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild from 1806 — one of 66 vintages pre-dating the Second World War from this renowned Château alone.

Schwarz also began adding bottles that were not only great vintages, but landmark years: 1811, when the ‘Great Comet’ was visible to the naked eye for some 260 days; 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and 1918, the end of the First World War.

‘You’re sharing in a moment when the world turned a page,’ he says. ‘You can relate to these events in the past through the lives of the people who made the wine. But it’s also amazing how outstanding they are, especially when you consider they were made without any of the precision and technology we have at our disposal today.’

Drinking very old wine does present unique challenges, however. ‘You have to find people who appreciate them, because they can taste quite different. The tertiary notes, like tobacco or stone, become much more prevalent. The fruit you find in younger wine is all but gone.’

Most of Schwarz’s collection is kept in a vaulted cellar under a 200-year-old house in the centre of his hometown Mainz — the historic German city where Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. ‘Adi Werner, who runs the restaurant Hospiz Alm in Tyrol, which has probably the largest large-format cellar in the world, told me, “Don’t spend too much money on your cellar. Use that money for buying wine.” So that’s what I’ve done.’

Learning from the world’s wine community

As Schwarz’s professional life kept him travelling far and wide, he always kept weekends free for visiting local vineyards and cellars, as well as getting to know the area’s wine community. ‘Each encounter, such as meeting Raoul Blondel Jr. in the garden of Château Mouton Rothschild, shaped not only my palate but my respect for those who dedicate their lives to wine.’ He adds, ‘Two hours in the vineyards in Cape Town with Eben Sadie taught me more about resilience and environmental balance than any text book could have.’

As a result, his collection is something of an autobiography of five decades spent passionately collecting — with no signs of stopping. Since retiring in 2017, he has formalised his ‘hobby’, studying Wine Marketing and Management in Bordeaux and passing the WSET Level 3 exam.

So, across half a century, what is the best wine Schwarz has ever tasted? ‘Probably a 1947 Cheval Blanc, but I drank all of mine. After that, it’s the 1870 Lafite, of which I have a few bottles remaining.’ What about some of his rarest? ‘My bottle of 1858 Latour is older than anything the château has in its own cellar,’ he replies. And his advice for the next generation? ‘Always be guided by curiosity — not investment.’

Selling his collection now isn’t a sudden decision, he adds. ‘It’s a celebration. Sharing these treasures, as I have always shared bottles with friends, is the truest joy. Wine, after all, is meant to be opened, enjoyed, and remembered.’