May was a busy month in terms of auctions, with an extremely rare wine going under the hammer on iDealwine for the highest price of the year so far. The volcanic terroirs of Auvergne also continued to prove popular.
A 2006 Musigny from Leroy became the highest-priced wine of the year – for the time being.
For some years now, the Leroy estate’s Musigny has been the highest-priced wine of all sold on iDealwine, having shouldered out Romanée-Conti from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from the top spot. Last month, a bottle of the 2006 vintage of this extremely rare grand cru sold for €25,415. Admittedly, this figure is lower than the absolute record set in 2022 – an extraordinary year for the wine market, in which the 2006 vintage fetched €34,100 – but it nonetheless confirms this Musigny’s position at the top of the Burgundy wine hierarchy in terms of price. It is worth noting that the widely acclaimed Leroy estate owns just 0.27 hectares out of the 10 covered by this prestigious grand cru. Other Musigny from renowned producers also attained very handsome prices, as in the case of Domaine Georges Roumier, whose 2011 fetched €8,138.
As for Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, several Romanée-Conti went for lower prices than in 2024 – a 2020 (this was the highest-priced wine sold on iDealwine last year) went for €16,902 and a 2003 for €16,276.
Auvergne wines reach for the sky
Great natural wines are highly sought-after and continue to perform very well at auction. This is particularly true of Auvergne wines, with buyers battling to snap up some of the most coveted names.
For example, a bottle of Pierre Beauger’s 135-month-aged Chardonnay ‘Champignon Magique’, from vintage 2009, fetched double the previous record, selling for €952. Two other wines from the estate, the 2017 Vin de France VTT and Vin de France SB 16/20 sold for €313 (+15 %) and €251 (+6 %) respectively.
Most of the auction prices attained for Aurélien Lefort’s wines were up, too. A bottle of the 2023 Vin de France ‘Les Epines A quoi Servent-Elles’ sold for €461 (+115%), while a 2019 Vin de France ‘Modou’ fetched €238 (+27%).
Mito Inoué, who learned the trade from Pierre Beauger, was another name that stood out at auction – a bottle of her 2018 Vin de France ‘Flow’ fetched €451 (+24%), and her 2019 Vin de France ‘Résonance’ went for €401 (+3%).
Wines from Vignoble de l’Arbre Blanc usually sell at a lower price point than the previous three estates, and yet a magnum of 2015 Vin de France Les Fesses soared to €238 (+35 %).
These auction prices illustrate the ongoing enthusiasm that began five years ago for the great natural wines of Auvergne.
