In May 2022, iDealwine held an auction that was the first of its kind, in which 10 magnums of Bordeaux’s Château Edmus went under the hammer. A new development in the world of fine wine, since each of the bottles has its own piece of artwork and an NFT WineDex chip.
€22,413 fetched for 10 NFT magnums
This auction of just ten bottles came to a total hammer price of €22,413, with Château Edmus becoming a poster producer for technical and creative innovation in wine. Such an impressive total is seven times what was estimated, the most notably result being the n°1 cuvée that went under the hammer for €5,216. Each of these bottles has a WineDex chip, which serves to authenticate and trace bottles as they move between owners, and this is the first time the chip has been used in conjunction with an NFT system.
Where’s the bottle in all this?
These NFT-equipped bottles were also sold with a complementary five-year storage contract through our new service. If the lucky bidders wish to keep their wine in optimal conditions for a while, they’ll still have direct access to its NFT via the blockchain, and the bottle will be delivered only when the client desires. For now, the NFT is only accessible via a private blockchain, but the next project in the pipeline is to make these NFT wines tradeable, meaning the bottle could be sold without it ever leaving its bespoke cellar.
And the wine itself?
A distinctive domain in the classic world of Bordeaux, and especially when compared to its Saint-Emilion neighbours, this exceptional cuvée – the 2021 Phi – is made from forty-year-old Cabernet Franc vines. It draws a certain amount of character from its parcel of sandy soil. Under the mastery of Stéphane Derenoncourt and Romain Bocchio, the organic grapes are vinified using only natural methods, and the resulting wine was matured in Beaune-style concrete eggs.
Artistic innovation
Alongside the technological insight behind this auction, each of the 10 bottles is adorned with a one-of-a-kind artwork by tattoo artist Dimitri Hk. Each winning bidder has a printed version of their piece, as well as the highly-coveted NFT version, matching with the unique image printed on the exclusive label. Each with their own nuance, the overall style of the labels was inspired by the work of Art Nouveau icon, Alphonse Mucha, whose creations have also featured on bottles from some of the most prestigious Champagne houses in the past.
