Sotheby’s auction for Bordeaux’s Cité du Vin, raised €337,000 for wine culture

Double Magnums (3 liters) of Le Pin 2011 and Le Pin 2015 with a private tasting and lunch for eight people at Château Le Pin, in Bordeaux, guests of the owners, the Thienponts, adjudicated for 75,000 euros, well above estimates (45,000-65,000 euros); the rare vertical of five Magnums of Penfolds Bin 707 spanning five decades (1986, 1998, 2004, 2020, 2021) in wooden cases signed by winemaker Peter Gago sold for 17,500 euros, with a dinner in Paris with a Penfolds ambassador (it was valued at 9,000-18,000 euros); an Imperial (6 liters) of Château Cheval Blanc 2008 with a lunch in the Château for six guests at 16,250 euros (from 8,000-16,000 euros); and, again, two double magnums of Château Figeac 2009 and 2010 with a private tasting and lunch in the Château for six guests adjudicated at 11,875 euros, well above estimates (3,000-6,000 euros); and, for Italy, the icons of Bolgheri, with a double magnum of Sassicaia 1995 and an Imperial of Guidalberto 2020 with a private visit-tasting for six guests at Tenuta San Guido sold for 10,625 euros, again well above the maximum estimate (4,000-8,000 euros), and a double magnum of Ornellaia 1998 with a private dinner for six at Tenuta dell’Ornellaia of the Frescobaldi Group fetched 10,625 euros, well above the maximum estimate (3,000-6,000 euros). Here are the top lots, in a total of 60, beaten, in the past few days, by Sotheby’s in the online charity auction featuring an exceptional selection of ex-cellar labels, sourced directly from the wineries, and “dream” wine experiences, donated by major brands from around the world-from Château Latour to Château Mouton Rothschild, from Château Angelus to Château Palmer, from Château d’Yquem to Guigal, from Promontory to Catena Zapata, to name a few, reports the Uk magazine “Decanter” - to raise funds to support the Fondation pour la culture et les civilizations du vin of the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. Lots that raised 337,000 (well over the starting valuation of 200,000 euros).