Singer Chris de Burgh has just made a fortune from another red – the Lady In Red singer has cashed in his Red, Red Wine and made a stash of cash.

De Burgh is singing all the way to the bank after an auction of his private wine collection at Christie’s in London hit the high notes and set a new world record for a magnum collection.

The Wicklow based singer is now almost $600,000 richer after auctioning off most of the contents of his private cellar.

The collection of vintage wines fetched almost double the reserve, much to the delight of the singer notorious for an affair with the family babysitter.

The set of 320 bottles and 84 magnums of mainly red wines had been expected to fetch in the region of $300,000.

Top dollar was made for the singer’s complete collection of Château Mouton-Rothschild vintages from 1945 to the present.

The 62-magnum vertical set sold for almost $260,000, a new world record for a magnum collection of post-war vintages.

A lifelong wine buff, De Burgh decided to sell his collection after becoming so attached to some of the bottles that he felt it would be ‘almost sacrilegious’ to drink them.

“It was time to let someone else enjoy them,” said De Burgh, currently on tour in Germany.

“I’m thrilled at the success of my wine auction through Christie’s and glad all the wines have found new homes.

“I’d love to get in touch with whoever bought the Mouton collection to see if they gain as much pleasure as I did from collecting it.”

According to the Irish Times, De Burgh’s favorite and most-prized lot was a case of Château Lafite-Rothschild 1945, containing the original straw bedding placed in the box at the end of the second World War, which sold for almost $20,000.

Another highlight of the auction was a case of 1961 Château Latour which sold for $64,000.

De Burgh acknowledged in the auction notes that vintage wine is currently a shrewd investment with returns on red wine from Bordeaux outstripping stocks, property, oil and fine art in the last decade.

A 12 bottle case of 1982 Château Lafite-Rothschild has increased in price by nearly 900 per cent in the past 10 years, jumping from £2,613 to £25,000, according to figures from to Fine Wine Exchange Liv-Ex.

“Obviously, I’m looking at the economics of the wine trade and how the business of selling wine fluctuates, but it seems to be on the up at the moment,” said De Burgh.

The singer also acknowledged that his decision to sell was influenced by the preference for white wine of his wife Diane and daughter Rosanna, the former Miss World.