The Online Auction that closed on 30 September saw buyers from around the world battle to get their hands on certain bottles. Prices soared with several rare bottles, especially Montrachet of Comtes Lafon, Cornas of Noël Verset and Arbois of Overnoy.

Mature Bordeaux staring

This Online Auction comprised a significant proportion of Bordeaux grands crus, although this tendency seems to decline over time, with buyers broadening the spectrum of their purchases. These wines represented 40% of the lots sold at this Online Auction.

Château Mouton Rothschild confirmed its position as a star with a 2000 magnum, which sold for €2,676 (+20% compared to the bottle equivalent). Another sought-after wine was the Pape Clément 2000 (€130, +34%). Among the wines at their peak today, Haut-Brion has made a breakthrough with its 1996 vintage, which sold for €398 (+33%). Note also the impressive performance of the châteaux’ second wines, such as the Pavillon red of Margaux, with the 2005 reaching €132 (+27%).

Great white and red Burgundies

In Burgundy, the surprise came with some great Chardonnays: a Montrachet 1989 of Comtes Lafon sparked a frenzy of betting, with a UAE buyer finally snatching it for €2,124. Suffice it to say that the iDealwine estimate of €802 was literally smashed…

Among the white wines, a Chevalier-Montrachet 1995 of Leflaive reached €546 (+20%) and a Meursault Les Rougeots 2004 of Coche-Dury sold for €444. But Côte de Beaune was not the only star at this auction. A Chablis of Domaine Raveneau continues to ignite the auctions: the Les Clos 2002 sold for €444 (+32%), while the Montée de Tonnerre 2006 reached €128 (+25%).

As for Pinot Noir, some old bottles intrigued buyers and a Clos-de-Tart 1952 passed the threshold of €1,000 (€1,080, compared to the iDealwine estimate of €228). Similarly, a Musigny 1976 of Domaine Clair-Daü was awarded €1,380, compared to an estimate of €297. Looking at Chambertin, auction sales peaked: a buyer paid €1,860 to acquire the 1969 of Leroy and €1,740 for the same wine of the 1971 vintage. A legendary bottle of Chambertin Clos de Bèze 1978 of Armand Rousseau sold for €2,124 (+6%) to a Hong Kong buyer.

Acclaimed Cornas of Noël Verset

In the Rhône Valley, buyers paid homage to the producerNoëlVerset, who died recently. Several bottles of 1985 broke their previous record – a Japanese buyer acquired all of the available lots,paying up to €600 for a bottle of Cornas 1985, more than double the price achieved in the last few months.

The absolute rarity of these bottles from a now defunct domaine – Noël Verset, without a direct descendant, had sold some plots and left the others to his nephew, Franck Balthazar – helps to explain this craze. Thierry Allemand, who had acquired part of this domaine, also saw the price of his wines progress over several months. His Cornas Reynard 2009 sold to an American buyer for €142 per bottle (+28%).

Butthe wines fromCornasweren’tthe only ones tobenefit fromthe enthusiasm ofbuyers.In Côte-Rôtie, 2009 Guigalimpressed.Alotof the ‘threestars’ ofthis domaine (La Turque, La Mouline and La Landonne) reached €1,380, an increase of 21% on the usual estimate of these cult bottles.

Within the same appellation, the wines of Jamet also fared well: the cuvée classique crossed the threshold of €100, with the 2009 reaching €120 (+40%), the 2010 selling for €114 (+36 %) and the 2011 reaching €112 (+30%). In the south in Châteauneuf, Château Rayas came out on top again, with a 2009 selling for €780 to a British buyer, while a 2005 sold for €528 (+42%) to a French buyer.

In Champagne it was again Veuve Clicquot that garnered the best results, with
a Jeroboamof the cuvée La Grande Dame selling for €960 (+79%). Also note the €468 spent by a French buyer on a 1985 Krug Vintage and €456 spent on a bottle of Selosse Millésime Extra Brut.

Impressive results from other regions include the Le Bourg of Clos Rougeard of Saumur-Champigny, with the 2005 selling for €312 (+26%). And, surprisingly, there was a breakthrough in the Jura for Arbois Pupillin of Overnoy, with their 2005 and 2009 selling for €139 a bottle.

To read further on iDealwine Le Blog :

• August Auction Report
• The 100 most sought-after wines: Bordeaux leads the way
• This year’s top 50 wines over €1,000

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