Sunday, March 1st from 2pm
Beau-Rivage Hotel Reception Rooms, Geneva
Geneva, January 23, 2020 – For its first room auction in 2020 Baghera/wines, the Geneva-based auction house specialising in exceptional wines, is presenting a rare and prestigious collection of great French wines. This is an especially unique collection of 1892 bottles, diligently assembled over a thirty year period by an eminent art and wine collector in Switzerland.
In addition to the high quality and rarity of the bottles, the sale on Sunday March 1st has the particularity of offering an impressive combination of large formats which embodies the passion of this exceptional wine enthusiast for the great vintages of Burgundy and Bordeaux.
The range of the estimates of the wines constituting this collection will allow all enthusiasts access to these rare bottles, with lots ranging from CHF 190,000 for 6 magnums of Romanée-Conti 1994 (lot 24) to CHF 1,200 per bottle for Lynch-Bages 1982 double-magnum (lots 280 to 291).
Michael Ganne, Executive Director of Baghera/wines says: “This sale is the opportunity for any wine lover or connoisseur to have access to one of the most wonderful cellars I have ever seen. The name “Origins” is a tribute to the multisecular wine heritage, to the passionate transmission of knowledge from winegrower to winegrower. Imagine the pride of the Benedictine monks of the 13th century if they could see that their tremendous achievements in land improvement and in the understanding of climate still form the basis of the wines that we drink today, especially where the larger vineyards are concerned. “Origins” also refers to the discoveries and the informed choices that from the outset have defined the creation of this exceptional collection which is unique in its kind.”
EXEMPLARY PROVENANCE AND TRACEABILITY
Amongst the great attributes of this collection is the perfect provenance and traceability of the bottles, acquired, for the vast majority, directly from the most prestigious domains or via their official importers. The origin of each bottle was recorded by the seller as and when acquisitions were made (purchase invoices, transport vouchers, etc.). The conditions in which the bottles have been preserved are also remarkable. The perfect preservation of the wines is itself evidence of the great care administered in the control of temperatures and hygrometry ensuring ideal storage conditions for over 30 years.
THE CATALOGUE OF THE SALE
A collector’s catalogue in limited edition was published for this exceptional sale. The aesthetic atmosphere prevailing in the album refers to the collector’s interest for the paintings of the old masters. Each lot was photographed in a setting evoking the bucolic landscapes of the fêtes galantes, located in the gardens of folies, references to the mythical land of Arcadia. The catalogue also shows a wide selection of original wooden cases available in the sale, within an index at the end of the book. To browse the catalogue click here.
ABOUT BAGHERA/WINES, AN EXCEPTIONAL WINES EXPERTS’ OFFICE
European leader in the auction of rare wines, Geneva-based Baghera/wines offers a new approach by placing conviviality and exchange at the heart of their events. For almost 5 years, passionate experts Michael Ganne, Julie Carpentier and Francesco Lee, have been heading an office dedicated exclusively to rare wines that advises and accompanies collectors in all aspects of the enhancement of a collection.
In 2018-19, the historic sale of Henri Jayer’s personal cellar, to date the greatest auction in the world ever realised (CHF 34.5M), followed by the unprecedented sale exclusively dedicated to the wines of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and then the sale of the last bottles from the Domaine René Engel have propelled Baghera/wines to the position of European leader in wine auctions.
The experienced team, working alongside the experts at Baghera/wines, offers excellent hands-on and tailor-made advice to international collectors passionate about fine & rare wines. Their expertise includes the organisation of masterclasses, the skillful selection of wines for private tastings and dinners, events combining music and wine, and soon in spring 2020, a private club and a boutique dedicated to fine wines within the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Geneva.
