(TDB) - An ex-cellar sale of Henri Jayer wines has shattered all previous wine auction records to achieve an astonishing CHF34.5 million (£26.3m/US$34.5m), which the auctioneer, Baghera Wines, claims, “sets a new reference standard for all rare wine auctions”

Held in Geneva on 17 June, the sale featured 855 bottles and 209 magnums of Henri Jayer wines that were all consigned to the auction by the late winemaker’s family.

There were around 100 active bidders from Asia, the Americas and Europe either in the auction room itself or bidding over the phone or internet.

Demand for the wines – which are reputedly the last that will ever be released from the cellars – drove many lots to quite unprecedented heights.