On Wednesday 4th December, a wine enthusiast’s private collection was sold at auction on the iDealwine platform, Europe’s leading online wine auctioneer. Among the flagship lots in the sale were almost 150 bottles of Grange des Pères, several of which reached record prices. The first vintage produced by the domain, 1992, sold for a record €5,219.
La Grange des Pères: highly sought-after, collectable vintages
We see world records aplenty on the iDealwine platform, not only for the auction classics but also wines from more niche estates. After the success of our natural wine auction in November, La Grange des Pères found itself in the spotlight earlier this month, highlighting the fine wines of the Languedoc. The sale, which closed on 4 December, comprised a rare series of bottles from this cult producer. In recent years, wines from La Grange des Pères have become ever more sought after yet, despite seeing their price estimates rise, auction results such as these had never been observed. The lots up for auction included many mature vintages, including a vertical from 1992 to 2016. Three bottles crossed the €1,000 threshold: the 1992, 1993 and 1994, the first three vintages produced at the estate. The 1992 was fought over by three online bidders before being won by a French enophile for a record price of €5,219. The 1993 reached €1,418, up 770% on its starting bid. It must be said, however, that old vintages from this estate are extremely rare, so rarely seen at auction, which explains their low auction price estimates.
The estate’s white wines are even rarer, although around thirty lots were up for auction in this sale. They also saw high demand, with the 1996 reaching €448 and the 2004 €552 (up 194% on iDealwine’s auction estimate of €188).
A private collection
The auction’s entire catalogue – 1,600 bottles – came from a wine enthusiast’s private collection. The iDealwine team saw the cellar and was able to certify that the storage conditions were optimal, in a well-aerated custom-built underground cellar with perfect temperature and humidity. This collection was above all a celebration of wines from the south of France, the Languedoc and the Rhône, but also featured iconic wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. This type of sale, whereby the entire auction is dedicated to one single collection, regularly takes place on the iDealwine platform and always proves highly popular, given the unique provenance of the wines.
La Grange des Pères, a cult French estate at the top of its game
Situated in Aniane, one of the region’s finest terroirs, Grange des Pères is the Languedoc’s greatest success story. The Vaillé family settled in the region in 1963, and Laurent Vaillé – an extremely talented grower – took over the family business in 1992 after training with Eloi Dürrbach at Domaine de Trévallon, and Jean-François Coche-Dury. He has since expanded the domain to an area of 11 hectares. The soils are ploughed without any use of chemical products and although not certified as such, the domain seeks to adhere to biodynamic principles. The wine is vinified in parcels (in 50-hectolitre stainless steel tanks), and matured in barrels for 24 months, with one third new oak. The wines are neither fined nor filtered. The remarkable quality of the wines of Grange des Pères was recognised from the very first vintage. Prized by connoisseurs and collectors for their precision, superb southern aromatics and fine tannins, the estate’s wines are now almost impossible to track down… apart from on iDealwine!
If you own similar wines that you’re not counting on opening, why not ask for a free estimation?
See auction reports.