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British Company Sells Record-Breaking Wine Collection Back to France

Publish Date : 2/16/2007 6:44:00 AM Source : Travel and Hotels News Onlypunjab.com

The Antique Wine Company (www.antique-wine.com) announces today that the record breaking sale of 135 bottles of the world's most rarefied Sauternes wine, Chateau d'Yquem, was sold to a French buyer - Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat. One of the World's most luxurious hotels, situated on the French Riviera, Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat purchased this unique Chateau d'Yquem Collection for the unprecedented sum of £775,000 (1.5 million US dollars).
Housed in two bespoke walnut cabinets designed by Royal furniture maker David Linley, the unrivalled collection spanning three centuries includes every consecutive vintage of Chateau d'Yquem produced between 1860 and 2003. It is the most extensive living archive of the world's most famous dessert wine ever to come to market. Not even the Chateau itself holds all of these vintages in its cellars.

The sale attracted intense interest from some of the world's most prolific wine collectors. The Antique Wine Company coordinated a fierce bidding process with potential buyers from Japan, the USA, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Eire, United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Russia and Sweden.

Stephen Williams, Managing Director of The Antique Wine Company, comments: "The Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat is immensely rich in history and culture, making it the perfect home for this unique collection. The Antique Wine Company is delighted to be building a long term strategic relationship with Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat as a supplier of Chateau d'Yquem and other fine wines to create a worldwide centre of wine excellence. As part of this, we are launching together a series of fine wine weekend events at the hotel to enrich the hospitality experience of this great institution. The first exclusive wine weekend event will take place between 20th to 22th April this year, featuring the greatest vintages of Chateau Lafite Rothschild with wines from three centuries."

Michel Galopin, General Manager at Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, said: "We are very proud to own the finest Chateau d'Yquem Collection in the World and to be bringing it back to France. Chateau d'Yquem is unquestionably the World's greatest white wine and this exclusive collection will perfectly complement the luxury and refinement of Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat. As part of our development plans for the hotel, we are already working on designs to create a special display area. Through our relationship with the Antique Wine Company, with this acquisition and our unique series of wine events, we intend to increase the hotel's reputation by creating an international centre of wine excellence."

In a separate transaction Antique Wine Company supplemented the collection with 68 further vintages of Chateau d'Yquem to enable many bottles from the collection to be available for consumption. On being asked if the older wines in the collection might still be drinkable, Stephen Williams replied, "Absolutely! Chateau d'Yquem has the concentration necessary to mature for many years, even centuries. But the enjoyment of such rare wines is not just a question of taste; it is a remarkably nostalgic experience. In 1860 when peasants in Bordeaux were picking grapes for the oldest bottle in the collection, the US presidential election set the stage for the American Civil War!"

About Chateau d'Yquem
Château d'Yquem is a sweet wine, lovingly made by hand in tiny quantities from late harvested grapes in Sauternes, Bordeaux. It has the necessary concentration and complexity that enables the wine to mature for many years, even centuries, and is revered by wine lovers and critics across the world. In addition to the exquisite taste, the enjoyment of these wines stretching back almost 150 years is a remarkably nostalgic experience.

The estate produces some of the most sought after wines in the world and was awarded the unique 'Premier Cru Supérieur' status in the famous Bordeaux vineyard quality classification of 1855.

Other interesting facts:
* The collection included 9 empty bottles, signed by the director of Yquem to represent the years when no wine was made due to adverse climatic conditions
* 26 bidders took part in the negotiations.
* Four bidders escalated the price from £550,000 to £775,000 during the last 24 hours of the sale
* This collection is thought to be unique and unlikely to ever be replaced due to a new policy at Chateau d'Yquem to no longer re-cork vintages exceeding 40 years old.

The exact specification of the collection can be viewed at http://yquem.antique-wine.com

About The Antique Wine Company (www.antique-wine.com)
The Antique Wine Company has had the privilege of advising, negotiating and concluding many of the world's most interesting fine wine transactions. Established over 20 years ago, the London-based company specialises in sourcing vintages over 150 years old, as well as providing fine contemporary wines for the avid collector.

The Antique Wine Company currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most valuable bottle of white wine ever sold, the 1787 Chateau d'Yquem, and has, on two previous occasions, negotiated the change in ownership of two of the world's greatest Chateau d'Yquem collections.

The most valuable single bottle of white wine currently available on the market is a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem 1811. This Napoleonic vintage, famously known as the drink of the Russian Tsars is also owned by the Antique Wine Company and offered for sale at a modest £50,000 (100,000 US Dollars)

About Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat
The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat is a luxurious Belle Epoque hotel built in 1908. The magnificent white building stands in 7 hectares of secluded gardens overlooking the Mediterranean. The hotel has 53 rooms, including 9 suites, and a 550 m2 presidential suite, the Villa Rose-Pierre. Its 1930s Olympic swimming pool at the Club Dauphin, the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat's seafront resort, is a legend in its own right.

The Grand-Hôtel du Cap Ferrat is the winner of many prestigious awards, and in May 2006, the American consumer magazine "Travel and Leisure" (American Express Company) published its list of hotels offering services of the most outstanding quality around the world. The Grand-Hôtel du Cap Ferrat tops the list, ranked N°1 in Europe and N° 2 worldwide in its category.

In addition, the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2006 rated the hotel as one of the best in Europe.

The start of the 2007 season is marked by two events: the arrival of Didier Anies as the hotel's new Chef, and the launch of an exclusive series of events that will see the Grand-Hôtel du Cap- Ferrat becoming an internationally recognised destination for excellence in fine wine, in association with Stephen Williams of The Antique Wine Company.

Didier ANIES holds a Michelin star and won the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award in 2000. He will bring a new dimension to the exclusive fine wine events at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, a series of weekends run in association with The Antique Wine Company beginning on April 20th and 21st 2007, offering gastronomic dinners and the chance to enjoy rare wines accompanied by Didier ANIES' simple, delicious, unpretentious and elegant cuisine.

A celebration of talent and the art of living.

High resolution royalty free photographs can be downloaded at the following link:
http://www.antique-wine.com/a-img/press/private.htm

For further information please contact:
Bryony Wright or Sarah Hembrow at Proven PR on +44 (0)117 924 9303
OR
Julie Turner at The Antique Wine Company on +44 (0)207 359 1109

Brigitte Pellero, Public Relations, Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat on +33 (0)4 92 98 12 01

Press information in French and high resolution royalty free photographs are also available at www.bpcom.eu in the area Espace Presse

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