Sherry-Lehmann’s Liquidation Takes a Bizarre Turn as Vintage Dealer Sells Marked-Up Empty Bottles

Sherry-Lehmann’s Liquidation Takes a Bizarre Turn as Vintage Dealer Sells Marked-Up Empty Bottles

Edited by: TJVNews.com

The sudden closure of Sherry-Lehmann, once one of New York City’s most prestigious wine retailers, was already riddled with controversy, but its liquidation has now taken an even stranger twist. According to a report on Wednesday in  The New York Post, a Midtown Manhattan antique dealer with a history of selling stolen luxury watches is now offering what remains of the store’s inventory—at wildly inflated prices.

The dealer, APR57, run by Lee Rosenbloom, has put up empty wine display bottles, partially filled vintage wines, and obscure memorabilia from the defunct retailer, selling them for exorbitant sums despite their questionable value. As The New York Post reported, some of these listings defy logic, leaving wine experts and collectors scratching their heads.

Among the more baffling listings on APR57’s website is a 2001 Grand Cru Bienvenues Batard-Montrachet, a prized white Burgundy, priced at $4,995. The catch? According to the report in The New York Post, it’s an empty display bottle—meaning it contains no actual wine.

For comparison, Wine Searcher reported that a sealed, full bottle of the same wine averaged only $1,033 last month, making the APR57 listing nearly five times more expensive than an actual, unopened bottle.

And the bizarre pricing doesn’t stop there. A 2019 Château Bel Air Bordeaux is being offered for $695—despite the fact that the bottle is only two-thirds full. According to the information provided in The New York Post report, the listing even admits that some of the wine has evaporated over the past five years, yet it is being sold for more than 30 times the cost of a brand-new, sealed bottle.

“You can buy a brand-new Bel Air Bordeaux for $20,” wine expert and author Kevin Zraly told The New York Post, calling the pricing “utterly ridiculous.”

The questionable listings extend beyond rare vintages. The New York Post report highlighted a 2018 Lacroix Barton Bordeaux, which APR57 is selling for $495—despite being only 60% full.

“When that bottle is fully sealed, it’s worth $11—and this one has been open for years,” said Daniel Posner, owner of Grapes The Wine Co. in White Plains, NY, in an interview with The New York Post. “There is nothing here that makes sense price-wise.”

The absurd pricing structure has led many in the wine industry to question the motivations behind APR57’s sale—and who would actually pay these prices for half-filled or empty bottles.

According to The New York Post, the bizarre sale is part of an estate liquidation being conducted by APR57, an antiques shop located at 200 W. 57th St., just a few blocks from Sherry-Lehmann’s former store.

Sources familiar with the transaction told The New York Post that Sherry-Lehmann’s former landlord sold what was left of the store’s inventory to APR57 for “next to nothing.” This means that Rosenbloom’s company likely acquired the goods at an extremely low cost—and is now attempting to sell them for a massive markup.

APR57’s website states that it “recently purchased the entire inventory of Sherry-Lehmann,” including over 500 collectibles and some remaining bottles of wine. However, The New York Post report noted that APR57 has not disclosed who exactly sold them the inventory, adding another layer of mystery to the already strange liquidation process.

While the absurd pricing of these wines is enough to raise eyebrows, The New York Post also reported that APR57’s owner, Lee Rosenbloom, has a checkered history of his own.

Rosenbloom, who previously hosted a radio show on WOR as “Lee the Appraiser,” was arrested in 2002 for allegedly selling a stolen F.P. Journe watch worth $30,000, as per the information contained in The New York Post report. At the time, he defended himself, telling The New York Post that police never even bothered to look at the receipt he had for the watch.

As reported by The New York Post, Rosenbloom has a long history of disputes involving missing or unpaid jewelry consignments and withheld repairs. The New York ABC affiliate Eyewitness News’ “7 On Your Side” consumer watchdog segment has featured him four times, each case highlighting his failure to pay clients for sold items or return valuable goods left in his care.

In 2018, Pix11 aired a news report about a woman who had left her Rolex watch with Rosenbloom for repairs—only to have him refuse to return it for three years. The report in The New York Post said that it was only after she enlisted the media’s help that she was able to retrieve her property, adding another layer to his troubling track record.

Rosenbloom’s reputation for shady dealings appears to have followed him to the liquidation of Sherry-Lehmann’s remaining assets. According to The New York Post, in December, picketers gathered outside APR57’s store, warning potential customers to stay away from the business. A representative at the FedEx store next door confirmed the protest, indicating that concerned citizens and former customers are taking action to warn others about Rosenbloom’s history of consumer disputes.

Rosenbloom did not respond to emails or phone calls seeking comment, The New York Post noted. Meanwhile, his store, APR57, was closed for multiple business days earlier this month, leaving further questions about his handling of Sherry-Lehmann’s inventory.

Despite these protests, APR57 has moved forward with the questionable sale of Sherry-Lehmann memorabilia, with many of the items priced at wildly inflated rates.

According to The New York Post, among the bizarre items being sold in APR57’s “estate sale” is a framed photograph of Andy Warhol at Sherry-Lehmann in 1978, signing a wine bottle—priced at $925, with no wine included.

Even more absurd, APR57 has listed a scuffed-up, empty green box that once held a bottle of Dom Pérignon for $295. This baffling pricing strategy has left industry experts questioning whether the sale is about historical value or sheer opportunism.

One of the most outrageous listings is a construction hard hat that once belonged to Sherry-Lehmann’s disgraced former owner, Shyda Gilmer, which APR57 has priced at $7,900. The bizarre nature of these listings, coupled with Rosenbloom’s shady business history, raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of the entire sale.

As The New York Post has previously reported, the downfall of Sherry-Lehmann is still under active investigation by the FBI, with multiple lawsuits filed by customers claiming they had millions of dollars’ worth of undelivered wine.

Many buyers had purchased contracts for rare and vintage wines, only to never receive their shipments. Others reported that entire collections stored in Sherry-Lehmann’s “Wine Caves” storage facility mysteriously vanished, with no clear explanation of where the inventory went.

Adding to the chaos, The New York Post noted that Sherry-Lehmann’s former owners, Shyda Gilmer and Kris Green, abandoned the business, leaving behind millions of dollars in unpaid bills. The company racked up over $3 million in unpaid rent alone, and its closure left a gaping mystery about what truly happened to the missing wine collections.

The New York Post attempted to reach both Gilmer and Green, but neither responded to requests for comment.

Additionally, the former landlord of Sherry-Lehmann, the Hong Kong-based Glorious Sun, has also remained silent. When asked for comment, the firm’s attorney, Edmund O’Brien, stated that the company could not be reached, adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the unfolding saga.

For decades, Sherry-Lehmann was a symbol of luxury, prestige, and fine wine expertise in New York City. However, in the wake of its financial collapse, criminal investigations, and liquidation scandal, former employees and wine experts now consider the once-iconic brand irreparably tarnished.

One former Sherry-Lehmann employee bluntly told The New York Post, “The brand is pretty much dead.” Another compared the estate sale to a funeral, saying: “It’s like someone died and this is the estate sale.”

The bizarre liquidation of Sherry-Lehmann’s remaining assets at APR57, coupled with owner Lee Rosenbloom’s controversial past, has only deepened the mystery surrounding the once-revered wine retailer’s downfall.

With FBI investigations ongoing, lawsuits mounting, and missing wine collections still unaccounted for, The New York Post report highlighted that the true story behind Sherry-Lehmann’s demise remains unsolved.

Given Rosenbloom’s past legal troubles, some experts are skeptical about how APR57 came to own Sherry-Lehmann’s inventory and whether the high-priced listings are a genuine attempt to sell rare collectibles—or just an opportunistic cash grab.

Sherry-Lehmann shut down in 2023 amid scandal, with The New York Post reporting that prized wines went missing, leaving customers empty-handed after prepaying for luxury vintages.

At its peak, the store catered to wealthy collectors, celebrities, and fine dining establishments, building a reputation for sourcing rare and exclusive wines. But as financial troubles mounted, allegations of missing customer orders and legal disputes began to tarnish its legacy.

The current estate sale only deepens the mystery surrounding what exactly happened to Sherry-Lehmann’s stock—and whether any of the wines being sold by APR57 were among those originally promised to customers but never delivered.

As overpriced empty bottles, framed photographs, and scuffed-up memorabilia are put on sale for eye-watering prices, it’s clear that the final chapter of Sherry-Lehmann’s storied history is one of scandal, deceit, and unanswered questions.