1788 Cognac sells for £17K at Christie’s

A single bottle of 1788 Cognac from the cellars of the historic La Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris has sold for £17,825 at a Christie’s auction.

Vieux Cognac Grande Champagne Fine Clos de Griffier Café Anglais 1788

Fetching over four times its estimate, the Vieux Cognac Grande Champagne Fine Clos de Griffier Café Anglais 1788 is identical to the Cognac that was accidentally smashed by a customer at The Plaboy Club in London this July.

The bottle was destined to form part of the world’s most expensive cocktail, mixed by world-renowned bartender Salvatore Calabrese at The Playboy Club.

Dutch spirits collector Bay van der Bunt snapped up all six lots of Clos de Griffier at £17,825 each, to add to his Cognac collection, one of the largest in the world.

Van der Bunt was also the highest bidder for two Jeroboams of Grande Fine Champagne Cognac ‘La Tour d’Argent’ 1805, bought for for £23,000 each.

“Although I promised my wife I would sell my collection, to add the last remaining bottles from 1788 was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up”, the collector said.

The 180-lot sale of ancient Cognacs, Armagnacs, rum, calvados, Port and marc took place at Christie’s in London last Thursday and Friday.

The sale, which also included rare lots of Bordeaux and Burgundy, realised £4,157,901, with the lots from La Tour d’Argent 100% sold, netting £433,000.

The auction’s top lot was a case of Château Cheval Blanc 1947, which was sold to an Asian buyer for £126,500 – the highest price ever paid for a case of wine at Christie’s in London.

André Terrail, owner of La Tour d’Argent in Paris

“These strong results confirm the buoyancy of the market for rare spirits with excellent provenance,” Christie’s associate wine specialist Noah May said.

This is the second sale of La Tour d’Argent’s wines: in 2009 third generation owner André Terrail sold 18,000 bottles though Parisian auction house Piasa for more than €1.5m.

Terrail told guests at a pre-auction dinner that he decided to hold the sale last week as ancient Cognacs are rarely ordered by customers at the restaurant.

He also spoke of how his fighter pilot father Claude saved the restaurant’s prized wines from German troops during WW2 by building a wall around the cellar.

Dating back to 1582, some of La Tour d’Argent’s famous guests include Grace Kelly, Clark Gable and Coco Chanel.

Its wine list, one of the most revered in France, boasts over 15,000 bins. English sommelier David Ridgway has been with the restaurant for 31 years.