Spanish restaurant El Bulli holds wine cellar auction

THE wine collection of Spain’s most famous restaurant is to be sold at auction next year.

More than 8,800 bottles from El Bulli, the world-renowned eatery which closed last year, are expected to sell for €776,000, according to Sotheby’s.

Among the collection – which includes 2,000 bottles of Spanish wine – are three bottles of Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1990, which alone could fetch €37,000.

Other highlights include more than 400 bottles of Chateau de Beaucastel, six vintages of Vega Sicilia ‘Unico’ and full cases and magnums of Chateau Latour 2005.

Proceeds from the sale, which takes place in Hong Kong and New York in April, will go towards the el Bulli Foundation, which is due to open in 2014.

Ferran Adria, the chef who headed the three-Michelin starred restaurant for 27 years described the wines as an ‘exceptional and unique collection’.

“We decided this very special and personal collection should be used to make a founding contribution to help ensure the successful launch of the El Bulli Foundation,” he said.