We look back at the stars of our September auctions, with an upturn in interest for Bordeaux.
Bordeaux
One thing’s for sure, the vertical of Petrus, a line-up of 16 vintages from 1999 to 2014 did not pass unnoticed! Its hammer price at €35,872 shows a 5% increase on its usual estimate. Second wines are also performing well, with two lots of six bottles of Carruades de Lafite Rothschild (2004 and 2010) reverting to an upward trend. You might remember that in the late noughties, a bubble had formed around this château’s wines. Les Carruades wasn’t an exception, as certain vintages were reaching €300 a bottle. Calm was restored in 2011. In September, the excellent 2010 sold for €241, whereas the 2004 went for €213.
Ready-to-drink vintages are still attracting sustained interest, with excellent results registered for the 2003 release from Châteaux Cheval Blanc, Petrus, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Lynch-Bages.
Burgundy
Burgundy continues to perform well on the auction market with, for instance, DRC’s La Tâche 1998 showing slight growth in September. Another highly coveted cru is the renowned Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Amoureuses. While Georges Roumier’s release has often been very recherché, as the hammer prices for his 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2012 can attest, Georges de Vogüé’s interpretation is also on the up (Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1996: €402, +59%). Finally, the buzz around Dujac shows no signs of stopping, judging from the bidding wars between wine lovers from Hong Kong, the UK, Cyprus, USA, Italy and France.
Rhône
September was a stable month for the Rhône Valley. Château Rayas stands out from the crowd, with impressive auction results for vintages from 1999 to 2010.
Champagne
Further north, Champagne shows us that the festive season is, slowly but surely, arriving; many of you turned to the rare nectars from Anselme Selosse. Whether they were mixed cases of different terroirs, magnums or vintage bottles, all found a happy owner!
Loire
In the Loire, while Clos Rougeard and domain Didier Dagueneau are fighting for top place on the podium, three lots of Savennières from Clos de la Coulée de Serrant (1995, 1996 and 1998) showed the interest for this unusual domain, a precursor for biodynamics in France.
Jura and Alsace
On the subject of biodynamics, Jura is worth mentioning, as a heartland of natural winemaking. You won’t be surprised to learn that Pierre Overnoy and Jean-François Ganevat are still on top, with fantastic references such as Arbois Pupillin 2011 (Overnoy) or the Côtes-du-Jura Les Chalasses Marnes Bleues 2014 from Jean-François Ganevat. In Alsace, another leading biodynamic winemaker stands out. It is, of course, Trimbach, whose renowned Close Sainte Hune has lost none of its prestige… on the contrary!
‘Abroad’
If we look beyond French borders, we can see that Italian wines are extremely successful at the moment, especially those from Piedmont and its prestigious Barolo.
Our October auction analysis will be with you soon. For now, you can check out our auction price estimates to get an idea of what your wines are worth. Or if you’re in the mood for shopping, have a look through our current auctions!
