2018 – Page 11 – Le blog iDealwine

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:5 April 2018

RECORD: German Riesling from Egon Müller fetches €12,160 at auction

It’s record after record here at iDealwine! First, we saw a bottle of Hermitage Cuvée Cathelin from Domaine Chave go for an impressive €8,512 at auction. This time, it was the exceptional Trockenbeerenauslese 1976 from Egon Muller that reached new heights: this German Riesling was cinched by a Chinese wine enthusiast for €12,160. Egon Muller’s superbly light sweet wines have become renowned for their finesse to the extent that they are now prized the world over. This domain has remained in the family since it was first founded in 1797. Jean-Jacques Koch’s (Egon…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:5 April 2018

The principle grape varieties of France | Part 1: Bordeaux

Welcome to the iDealwine guide to the grape varieties of France! We’ll take you on a tour of all the finest French winemaking regions, explaining the key differences between the most commonly found grapes and their specific characteristics, with a little bit of history thrown in too. First stop, the legendary vineyards of Bordeaux. Petrus, Château Margaux, Château Mouton-Rothschild, Château d’Yquem… These domains are emblematic of this great region. Bordeaux is the second biggest winemaking region after the Languedoc-Roussillon and is divided into three different areas stretching across the Garonne and the Dordogne…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:27 March 2018

Champagne: the sublime camouflages of Lui Bolin for Ruinart

Source: Maison Ruinart Champagne house Ruinart has collaborated with Chinese artist Liu Bolin for the 2018 instalment of its yearly art project and has unveiled a new collection of limited edition coffrets (wooden Champagne boxes) for their flagship Blanc de Blancs cuvée. To compliment the project, a series of photographic works were also released that centre around the camouflage of the artist. Take a closer look at these vines and you’ll see Chinese artist Liu Bolin and Ruinart’s cellar master Frédéric Panaïotis emerge out of the foliage. Founded in 1729, Ruinart is the…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:19 March 2018

New record: €8,512 for a Jean-Louis Chave Cathelin Hermitage

This cult Hermitage domain continues to impress. The iDealwine auction on the 28th February saw a bottle of its almost unobtainable cuvée go for €8,512 to a Polish wine lover, an iDealwine record. Although the Chave dynasty goes back to the end of the 15th century, their current notoriety is somewhat more recent. On the 28th February, a bottle of the 2003 Cuvée Cathelin from Jean-Louis Chave sold for €8,512 at the iDealwine auction and put this domain squarely in the headlines. Wines from this domain have had a favourable reputation ever since…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:9 March 2018

Auction Report: wines from Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier continue to soar

The trend may not be recent but it is certainly intensifying. Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier has magnificent plots in Musigny, Chambolle- Musigny Les Amoureuses and Bonnes-Mares, not to mention their monopoly in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Clos de la Maréchale. The latest auctions at iDealwine confirm a surge in the price of bottles from this domain. Founded in 1863 by Fédéric Mugnier, a liqueur manufacturer from Dijon, this Chambolle-Musigny domain initially spanned around 20 hectares in the heart of the Chambolle and Nuits-Saints-Georges appellations. At the time, the wines were sold under the label Château de Chambolle-Musigny…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:8 March 2018

An introduction to iDealwine

The iDealwine team We've come a long way since we first started 18 years ago and, with exciting projects in the pipeline, it's onwards and upwards for iDealwine! We thought we'd take a moment to remind seasoned and new iDealwiners alike of all the great services available for those who are a part of our wine loving community. Read on for a breakdown… Who we are First things first, who are we you might ask? iDealwine was founded in Paris in 2000 by Cyrille Jomand, Angélique de Lencquesaing and Lionel Cuenca, three wine enthusiasts…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:6 March 2018

Champagne: all change at Pol Roger

The current cellar master at renowned Champagne house Pol Roger, Dominique Petit, will retire next month, his shoes being filled by former director of the Goutte d’Or cooperative, Damien Cambres. Dominique Petit’s roots are in Champagne and his father, grandfather and great grandfather were all winemakers. It’s little surprise therefore that Petit became such a talented cellar master. Since his birth in 1954, Petit has lived in the little village of Verzy in the Reims Mountain. Receiving his oenology degree at the age of 23, he then started working at Maison Krug, where…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:5 March 2018

Les Vignes de Paradis, a Savoie domain that goes against the grain

Dominique Lucas has a 7.5 hectares plot in Haute-Savoie. In an effort to keep his freedom, he has ventured into biodynamics and rid himself of the constraints that come with making appellation wine. We were itching to know more about why this Burgundian decided to call Savoie his home… The domain is a stone’s throw from Thonon-les-Bains, south of Lac Léman near the Swiss border. The vines are situated in three appellations: Crépy, Marignan and Marin. Dominique Lucas made the decision to downgrade to the ‘IGP’ (Indication géographique protégée) ‘Vin des Allobroges’, a…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:1 March 2018

3 Must Haves to kick start your cellar

Looking for the perfect trio to kick start your cellar? We’ve selected three classic and cellar worthy bottles for you from our Must Haves selection. Clos Puy Arnaud, Côtes de Castillon, Bordeaux A rising star from Bordeaux and one of the iDealwine’s team’s favourite finds in recent years. Thierry Valette comes from a family of globe trotting winemakers. In 2000, he decided to quit his occupation as an artist to go back to his roots, taking over 12 hectares in the little known Côtes de Castillon appellation that looks out over the Dordogne…

Post author:iDealwine
Post published:26 February 2018

The fabulous destiny of Château Lafite Rothschild

You don't need to be a wine buff to know that Château Lafite has quite the reputation. Once the tipple of choice of Louis XIV, this illustrious cru now welcomes in a new tandem to take over the reins in 2018. We take a look at the history of this prestigious domain... Where it all began The Lafite seigneury (in Gascony "la hite" means “mound”) dates back to the 13th century and hails originally from the north-west of Pauillac. Here the estate produced wheat and wine across their 110 hectares in Milon, Loubeyres, Anseillan and Pauillac. During…