•The sale of a large part of the personal wine cellar of the late California vintner Joseph Phelps brought robust prices at an auction in Chicago held by Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. (HDH) last week. The bidding for 3,557 bottles was expected to bring in between $922,000-$1.37 million, but ultimately grossed $2.2 million spread over 500 lots. The overall auction grossed $10.4 million, compared to pre-sale estimates of $5.8-$8.8 million. No bottles went unsold. Phelps, who died in 2015 at age 87, established Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 1973 near St. Helena in the Napa Valley, and also began investing in top French wines soon thereafter. A single bottle of 1865 Chateau Lafite Rothschild acquired for $900 at a Christie’s auction four decades ago sold for $31,070, nearly double the pre-sale estimate of $17,000. A 12-bottle case of 1948 Lafite also sold for $31,070, triple its highest pre-sale estimate. Covid-19 forced all but one of HDH’s nine auctions this year onto digital-only platfo