Meanwhile, the first London Sotheby’s wine auction on September 17 and 18, yielded the sum of £1,65 million after an estimation between £1,3 and £1,6 million.
The most exceptional lot was a lot of two Pétrus 1945 magnums, sold £47000, considerably above its estimation: £18000 – 24000.
The second one was a lot of 5 La Tache magnums, sold at one hell of a price – £44650, or three times the estimate (£12000 – 15000).

In Hong Kong, the Acker Merall auction proves one more time the desire of Chinese and Hong Kong collectors to own the best wines in the world – French Grand Crus.

 (source picture: copyright Sotheby’s)

L’article DRC and Pétrus top the auction lists est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

The wine

Innovative in many respects, the wine from the Château le Pin is one of the first Bordeaux Grand crus to use the malolactic fermentation in totally new oak casks. It’s equally one of the first “garage wines”, these marvelous wines, produced in small quantities and sold at unearthly prices. All these elements probably explain the exotic, richness and the extremely well structured character of the Château le Pin wines. This wine forms part of the great Pomerols and one of the most seductive ones of the Bordeaux area. The varieties used are merlot noir (92%) and cabernet franc (8%).

Extremely popular in Japan, Alexandre Thienpont compares it to La Tache with regards to its velvety texture and rich floral aroma; it can be drunk quiet young, with smooth and mellow tannins, almost from the beginning. But, it will mature exceptionally well, something that many critics underestimated in the beginning.

Suggestions

If you are able to purchase it, get your hands on the 2001 vintage. “Very certainly the best value for money deal on the market £ 9,000 (15 000$) for a case of six bottles, compared to the £ 16,000 (27 400$) for the 2000 vintage.
Le Pin, with its small scale and the great talent of its winemaker, will always produce extremely good wines in the small millesimes”.
A brand new cellar, conceived by the famous Belgian architects Robbrecht & Daem, was finished in 2012.

The winemakers

Jacques Thienpont and Fiona Morrison, form one of the most powerful couples in the world of wines. Since their marriage in 1997, they share their time between Belgium where they exploit the family business, and their cellar in France. Fiona is an expert in wines, writer, and a consultant for Christies and creates wine menus for restaurants. Even though Jacques and Fiona are often associated to the Le Pin domain, one must underline the work done by Alexandre Thienpont, owner of the Vieux Château Certan and of a sixth of the parts of Le Pin. He’s the man responsible for the vines and their maintenance throughout the year.

What critics are saying

It will take a while to find a critic that will speak negatively about Château Le Pin. Sa far as Parker points are concerned, it seems to float around the 95 point and more, levels, even if in the 1998 and 2009 vintages they reached perfection with 100 points. According the Traders Bordelais, it’s one of the most solid investments. For a case of 6 bought in 2000 (96 points, 12,790$), it’ll cost you now approximately 59,100$. In other words a 400% increase. The prices for Le Pin are maintaining themselves much better than other Bordeaux icons, especially those of the left bank. The production is so confidential, that it is less sensitive to market fluctuations.
An obsession for quality, for instance, there was not a 2003 vintage after a droughty summer, and in 2013 only three barrels where produced. Only 40% of the production is sold in Bordeaux, the rest is sold directly to wine merchants in the countries of distribution.

L’article Le Pin: Could this be the ultime collector wine? est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.

Sotheby’s is organizing an auction in Hong Kong on the 4^th of October of this year, in which this fabulous lot of 114 bottles of Romanée Conti, as well as a private collection of Gran Crus, from Netscape’s founder, Jim Clark, containing a lot of Henri Jayer magnums.
This auction should move the great collectors and Burgundy amateurs in all of Asia. Of the 778 lots proposed, 40% will be represented by Burgundies, weighing for more than 70% of the total value, that’s estimated at in between 4,5 and 6,7 million dollars.

A lot of 114 bottles of Romanée Conti is a unique event, probably in one’s lifetime. This auction should leave it’s mark for years to come.

Acker, Merall Condit’s are organizing an auction in New York on the 6th of September. Again, Bordeaux and Burgundy Grand crus, will have collectors drooling. Such as a vertical of Châteu Lafite, or a lot of 5 “millésimes” from DRC Richebourg, from 1990 and 2006.

Fine and rare wine auctions, are continuously growing, reaching more amateurs and collectors from all over the world.

L’article Auction: an exceptional lot of Romanée Conti est apparu en premier sur Blog World Grands Crus.