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Auction Report: highlight on Bordeaux & Côte de Nuits

Latest auction closed on 16th March has seen bidders from all around the world trying to win auctions on mature Bordeaux as well as old vintages from the finest domains of Côte de Nuits. Asian bidders have been particularly active in this auction, especially on top Bordeaux wines like Lafite, Margaux (and second wine Pavillon Rouge), Haut Brion, and on the right side, Petrus, Cheval Blanc and Angelus. While prices have been relatively stable on recent vintages, mature wines are still on the rise (+6% for Petrus 1983 at €1,200€, +8% for Lafite 1985 at…

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Stars of the 2015 auctions on iDealwine

Here is the rundown of the top bottles auctioned on iDealwine over the course of last year.  This overview provides a snapshot of the year, illustrating on the one hand particular circumstances and on the other some underlying, structural trends. DRC from Burgundy and, to a lesser extent, Bordeaux, dominate the roll call of the 50 bottles that fetched the highest prices at auction in 2015. Although Bordeaux accounted for over 50% of the total value of our sales in 2015, the region does not dominate the list of the 50 priciest bottles, with…

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Hong Kong, Shanghai: iDealwine continue its development in Asia

A few days ago, iDealwine team took part in the Shanghai Grand Tasting organised by famous duo of French wine journalists Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve. Let’s take a step back and review the presence of iDealwine in Asia and its international development. As you know iDealwine was started to enable wine lovers from all around the world to access fine wines at auction or fixed-price. Already very well represented in the European market, we started reinforcing our presence in Asia since 2010, joining essentially wine fairs as the Hong Kong International Wine…

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Innovation: iDealwine new home page is live!

iDealwine reveals its new home page. The objective is to make your navigation as smooth as an old claret… See below a snapshot of the changes. End of 2015, iDealwine received the Innovation Award at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. We were obviously very honoured but what a pressure!!! From this week, you can now discover our new home page, more modern and user friendly than before. Special wine recommendations You’ll still find most of the previous tools you were using but add to this a more tailor made selection of wines grouped under…

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Auction Report: highlight on Ermitage Cathelin from Jean-Louis Chave

Over 500 buyers took part in this auction closed on 24th February on iDealwine. Overall, they have followed current market trends with a few surprises still as the Cuvée d’ermitage Cathelin from Jean-Louis Chave whose price soared. Same happened to a few other rare vintages in this sale.   In Bordeaux, the « firsts» don’t seem to be suffering from current Bordeaux bashing and the demand remains high. Petrus is still in great demand including in « lesser » vintages, as for example this 1974 increasing by 21% to €1,040 or the 2006 to €1,800 (11%). The…

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The history of grape varieties – Episode 4: Northern Rhône

This week we focus on the genealogy and history of the grape varieties of the Northern Rhône. Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier are the only four grape varieties allowed from Tain l’Hermitage to the North end of the Valley: Côte Rôtie, Château Grillet, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas and Saint-Péray (from North to South).  The family of Serine The four varieties named above are all part of the same family called Serine. In addition to Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier, this family also includes Brun Argenté, Chatus, Chichaud, Douche Noire, Etraire de l’Aduï,…

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Château d’Yquem opens its doors to the public!

Major news on the Bordeaux wine tourism scene: Château d’Yquem is finally opening its doors to wine enthusiasts. Until now, tours of Château d’Yquem were the preserve of a very small circle of people such as wine professionals, journalists, and very special customers. Now, interested parties will be able to go behind the scenes of the only Sauternes premier cru supérieur. We don’t use the word “only” lightly: the classification of Sauternes and Barsac dessert wines, produced in 1855 at the request of Emperor Napoleon III, listed 27 domaines. Château d’Yquem was the only…

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Auction Report: top mature vintages from Bordeaux to Loire take the lead

iDealwine’s latest auctions ended on January 27. Mature vintages from all regions were much in demand. Here are the full details. Bordeaux’s oldest vintages once again forged ahead. Château Latour in particular stands out with its 1970 vintage selling at €960 (+50%) and its 1995 at €672 (+19%). It was the same story for Lafite with a 1950 going for €1380 (+49%). Even "humbler" vintages from Petrus soared in price with the 1977 reaching €1260 (+30%). Two other trends are worth noting after this sale. First of all, Mouton Rothschild is still the…

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Auction Report: Strong enthusiasm for Petrus, La Chapelle 1961 & top Champagne

Going against the grain, on a market where Bordeaux wines have remained stable for many months, one wine has stirred up the auctions, and wine enthusiasts - Petrus. The last online auctions of 2015 included the traditional prestige bottles. This year, Petrus has made the headlines, with at least 150 bottles of precious Pomerol sold in their original wooden cases, alongside bottles of big name Champagne, an extremely rare 1961 Hermitage La Chapelle and wines from the Romanée Conti estate. Let’s take a look at the astonishing prices. A rare series of Petrus…

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Climate: winegrowers fear the consequence of a mild winter

In recent weeks, widespread enthusiasm about the quality of 2015 vintages has given way to growing concern about the current mild winter and its implications for the 2016 harvest. Winegrowers had been saying it months before their optimism spread throughout the wine sector when the harvests were over: 2015 was an excellent year for almost all France's vineyards. The long period of warmth in June and July, tempered by the rain in August and followed by good temperatures in September created the ideal conditions for grapes to ripen. There should not be any…

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