Ian Mill QC, of Blackstone Chambers, has been collecting wine since 1985, four years after he called to the Bar of England and Wales, The Times reports.

He told the newspaper that the started collecting wine “partly for fun and partly to fund my pension”.

However, he added that “much of the money” raised from the sale at a New York auction house “went to repay debt”, so he is not sure how big of a profit he made.

Mr Mill, whose star-studded list of past clients includes Bob Geldof, David Beckham and Radiohead, still has around 3,000 bottles of wine in his collection.