Romanée – Conti: The Desire goes to auction.

There are names that resonate in the collective imagination as unattainable myths, whose existence is fabled but you are not really sure if it is truth or fantasy. The elements that make up the myth are told, but most people will never have the opportunity to verify it in person, let alone possess them, n case of real objects or material goods.

Well, Romanée-Conti wines are one of these myths, evoked by every self-respecting wine lover, but almost impossible to touch, taste or even really own.
How come the Domaine Romanée-Conti has reached this legendary level? It all began in Burgundy in Vosne-Romanée, a town in the Côte d’Or, in the 13th century when the monks of the Abbey of Saint Vivant bought a small vineyard of almost two hectares. After about 800 years the acres have become 24, very few then, but the fame of the wines produced in that lucky place has gradually reached the current stellar levels. Fame because of a maniacal care of the vines, with very low yields for Ha, for the accurate vinification and the long aging and “last but not least” for the production limited to the few hectares of the specific Terroir. Almost impossible then, nowadays, buy the bottles for sale in the present year, and practically unreachable dream to come into possession of those from the past years. A luxury reserved only for very few (and very rich) lucky people in the world. The ever increasing demand from wealthy amateurs and collectors, together with the limited production, in fact bring the wines of the Romanée-Conti to reach dizzying prices.
Just recently, in New York, a 1945 bottle was auctioned for $ 785,000 tearing each previous record!

Romanée Conti produces basically 7 different labels (depending on the vineyard of origin) of Pinot Noir:

Romanée-Conti
La Tâche
Richebourg
Romanée-St-Vivant
Grand Echézeaux
Echézeaux
Corton

There are some variations and different denominations for particular years.

In addition to Pinot Noir they also produce a Chardonnay, with the Montrachet label.

Today iBESTmag wants to talk about one of those rare occasions where, the few who can afford it, will have the opportunity to fight each other to conquer some of those very expensive bottles. On December 2nd next, in Geneva, an auction of precious Romanée-Conti lots from a private collection will be held.

“Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the secret cellar of an European collector ”

Organized by Baghera/wines, European leader of auctions in the wine of excellence sector, the auction promises to become unforgettable, both in terms of quantity and quality of the lots presented.
Some figures will clarify the size and importance of this event:

1363 Bottles
158 Magnums
3 Jeroboams

All from the same collection and with vintages from 1934 until 2012.
Estimated turnover starting from 4.5 million Swiss Francs.

Baghera Wines will welcome wine lovers on a 2 days weekend : On the Saturday December 1st it will be a musical event with pinot noir tasting. And on the Sunday, this exclusive auction will take place.

It is impossible to go further into this article, but Baghera/wines has prepared a splendid illustrated catalog (over 400 pages) which describes in detail all the 196 lots, and can be consulted directly online or can be ordered in a limited printed edition by writing to: office@bagherawines.com.

We can only imagine the spasmodic expectation of collectors who are already preparing for the contest, taking note of the favorite lots, of those who absolutely must not let slip. A contention that we are sure will not be easily forgotten or overcome.
As for us “ordinary people”, we will limit ourselves to ….. look at the images! 😉