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Christie’s to auction super rare Burgundies
A June sale by the auction house will see some of the rarest and most extraordinary Burgundy wines ever bottled up for grabs.
On 8 June, Christie’s will present its Finest and Rarest Wines and Spirits sale, which is set to include a selection of Burgundy unearthed from the historic, vaulted cellars of King’s College, Cambridge.
Some 45 lots of extremely rare Burgundy will be one of the highlights of the house’s luxury auctions this summer. These include wines from Henri Jayer, one of Burgundy’s most revered winemakers, and his nephew Emmanuel Rouget, who now owns many of Jayer’s most famous vineyards. Among these are expected to be bottles from Echézeaux and Vosne- Romanée Cros Parantoux, which are widely considered to be some of Jayer’s finest terroirs.
The wines were all bought on release by King’s College, from UK importer Richards-Walford, and transferred to the university’s cellars, from where they have never been moved.
Cambridge University has a long association with wine; the University Wine Society was founded in 1792 and King’s College reportedly has one of the finest of all the Oxbridge colleges’ wine cellars. Throughout the 20th and 21st century there have only been four wine stewards, whose role is to act as custodians of the cellar and to nurture and develop its collection.
“Over time every serious collector of fine wines begins to regard their precious purchases as long-term friends, even proudly, and absurdly, thinking of them as if they might in some curious way be their children,” said Professor Peter de Bolla of King’s College Cambridge. “But of course they are not, they are the progeny of extraordinarily skilful, dedicated, even obsessive winemakers.
“Over the course of my approaching 30-year stewardship of the cellars of King’s College, Cambridge I have been lucky and privileged to meet many such winemakers and have carefully observed the unique maturation profiles of the wines I have bought from them for the college cellar.
“None have given me as much instruction and education in the amazing arts of winemaking, as well as the wonder and sheer hedonistic enjoyment of wine at its very finest as the wines of Henri Jayer and his nephew Emmanuel Rouget. The time is right to let these ‘children’ find a new home and provide vinous magic for their lucky new collectors.”
Adam Bilbey, global head of the Wine and Spirits department, Christie’s added: “The hallowed cellars of King’s College, Cambridge are steeped in such history and tradition that this sale will garner the imagination and attention of wine lovers around the world. This small glimpse into the King’s College cellar will most certainly be a highlight of Christie’s wine sales this season”.