Fine Wines & Rare Spirits 3107B | Tuesday, June 26 | 6PM | Boston
3107B | Tuesday, June 26 | 6PM
Marie Keep
63 Park Plaza, Boston, MA
Anna Ward
preview by appointment
Joseph Hyman
View all lots: skinnerinc.com/auctions/3107B
Lower Falls Wine Company finewines@skinnerinc.com
Please Note: Tasting notes attributed to MK are Marie Keep.
508.970.3246
MA LIC. 2304
We at Skinner’s Fine Wines & Rare Spirits department face a unique challenge — rarely would a colleague in one of our furniture and decorations departments show up to a client’s house and find that one of a pair of candelabra was consumed the evening before with the dessert course! Does it bother us that we’re a comestibles department and sometimes bottles are consumed between the initial discussion and our visit? Truthfully, no. Wine is meant to be enjoyed, and custodianship at some point becomes connoisseurship. What I find deeply interesting in this field are the varying profiles of our clients—be they accidental collectors amassing an impressive inventory with little effort (always, always, build your cellar to at least 2-3 times the square footage capacity you believe you could ever fill!), collectors whose cellars are a virtual travelogue or memory palace of journeys taken, moments marked, chapters fulfilled in their lives; commodities collectors, social collectors, or a mashup of various types—they all share the quality of restraint. Wine clicks through periods of quiet, unrest, promise, awkwardness, and superb alignment and collectors ride the wave of their cellars’ evolution with commendable patience. BUT, you cannot know if a wine is too young unless you’ve tasted other wines that are too young— cannot understand how a wine is fading unless you’ve tasted those past their prime. Or revel in a wine that is finally and fully, gloriously, “there.” Hence a 12-bottle case becomes an 11-bottle lot, then a 10-bottle lot, then a 9-bottle lot... Part of the passion for wine is (thirsty) curiosity for knowing something which upon meeting seems all but unknowable. Reading about, traveling to, tasting, and discussing wine brings us closer to a personal understanding of it and the incredibly diverse and complex industry that produces and surrounds it. The collections offered in this auction have received devoted stewardship. Will you be the buyer who pulls the cork?
on the cover: Domaine de la Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux 2014, 3 bottles, $3,500-5,000
left: Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto 2006, 3 bottles (owc), $2,100-3,000
above: Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1996, 1 bottle, $200-300
Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection
Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection Abreu Rothwell Hyde Proprietary Red 2010, 2 bottles, $150-250
Abreu Cabernet Thorevilos 2009, 1 bottle, Howell Mountain Proprietary Red 2009, 1 bottle, $425-550
opposite: Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, 3 bottles (owc), $1,300-1,800
The Classical and Diverse Collection of a Boston Gentleman Upon losing a friendly bet on the 1986 World Series (don’t ask!) a fateful bottle of wine was ordered over dinner and an enduring love of Barolo began, sparking a wider appreciation and study of the world’s wine regions. The collection on offer winds its way through the classics and extends its tendrils out towards the whimsical and exploratory. First growth Bordeaux accompanied by top-rated second and third growths lead the listing. An exciting exploration of producers the likes of Usseglio and Pegau make up the dynamic Rhone selection, Masseto spearheads remarkable Italian wines, and extensive bottlings of Peter Michael and Aubert give weight to the already substantial west coast offerings. Many of these wines come direct from the winery and were stored in a professionally temperature- and humidity-controlled facility before removal by Skinner specialists.
Chateau Pichon Baron Maritime influences converge in Pauillac, creating ideal conditions for the 73 hectares of vines perfectly situated atop well-draining gravel soil, pebbles, and sand. The composition of the vineyard (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot) is a vinous patchwork; parcels are deliberately segregated to nurture the individual varietal’s needs. Grapes are fermented separately according to plot and over forty wines are tasted to exact the estate’s characteristics of structure, breadth, and longevity. Among the vineyard’s historic plots lies the Butte du Pichon Baron, a revered piece of land with references dating back to grape plantings in the late 1600s and now devoted entirely to the blend of the estate’s Grand Vin—Chateau Pichon Baron. A special feature in our June auction, Chateau Pichon Baron is a superior second growth and a must for any savvy Bordeaux collector.
Chateau Pichon Baron 1990 A precocious standout in a fall tasting of heavyweights, approaching brilliance. —MK 10/14
left:
above:
Chateau Pichon Baron 1995, 11 bottles, $1,100-1,600
Chateau Pichon Baron 1990, 9 bottles, $1,800-2,700
Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection
J.L. Chave Hermitage 1995, 1 magnum, $400-550
Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2002, 6 bottles, $3,250-4,000
Chateau Lynch Bages 1989 A beautifully balanced, layered, integrated Pauillac featuring the appellation’s marquee pencil lead flintiness, cedar, cassis, and sous bois interlaced with a whiff of savory camp smoke. Fresh red berries, bracken, and a more complex lingering dried fig/date layer bookend the taste profile. Incredible now, incredible in 30 years. —MK 11/12
view all lots online at www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/3107B
Chateau Lynch Bages 1989, 11 bottles, $2,800-3,750
Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection
Chateauneuf du Pape The premier Appellation d’Origine Controlee, established to thwart practices of wine fraud, is home to a rich papal history, thirteen permissible grape varieties, a unique terroir of white pebbles basking in the southern sun, and winemakers made superstars by inspired critics. Its features are distinct enough for the budding oenophile to grasp, and for the seasoned professional to love for a lifetime. See the wide range of Chateauneuf du Pape producers and vintages in our June 26th auction.
Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins 2001, 2 bottles, $600-850
Domaine Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve Des Deux Freres 2007, 6 bottles, $750-1,200
Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection
Domaine Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo 2003, 4 bottles, $1,2001,600
Burgundy Les Grands Echezeaux: This gently sloping Grand Cru vineyard offers a fuller texture than that of its sister vineyard, Echezeaux. The source is composed of well-draining clay topsoil and Bajocian limestone subsoil and lies between the Grand Cru vineyards of Echezeaux and Vougeot. Comtes Lafon Montrachet: Planted at the southeastern-most corner of Le Montrachet, Comte Lafon’s plot is a mere 0.37 acres of vines. Upon Dominique Lafon’s accession he campaigned to free the Domaine from the grip of shareholders and resumed responsibility for farming the vines—now biodynamically Domaine de la Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux 2014, 3 bottles, $3,500-5,000
Comtes Lafon Montrachet 2007, 3 bottles, $3,000-4,500
Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee Saint Vivant 1972, 3 bottles, $2,100-3,500
maintained.
Peter Michael opposite: Peter Michael
Over the past thirty-five years, Peter Michael Winery has become synonymous
Les Pavots 2013, 3 bottles (owc), $400-600
with elegant, terroir-driven wines of exceptional quality. Situated at the foot
Peter Michael Point Rouge 2006, 2 bottles, $250-350
specific, single vineyard bottlings from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well
Peter Michael Le Caprice 2013, 6 bottles, $475-750
undergo native yeast fermentation and are bottled without fining or filtering, to
All Provenance: A Boston Gent’s Collection
Our June sale contains a large collection of Peter Michael wines, including
of Sonoma’s Mount St. Helena, the winery produces a wide variety of siteas red and white blends inspired by the great wines of Bordeaux. In keeping with Sir Peter Michael’s guiding principle of “classical winemaking,” all cuvees help maintain the integrity of the wine.
early vintages of Les Pavots developed by founding winemaker Helen Turley, and verticals of the iconic Point Rouge Chardonnay that can be enjoyed for years to come.
Rare Spirits Our spirits offerings include single-cask whiskies from highly prized distilleries such as Ardbeg, Brora, Port Ellen, and Macallan including a 57-year-old in a specially designed Lalique decanter, and several vintage bottlings of Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac in Baccarat crystal decanters. From our American whiskey offerings are two rare bottlings of Very Very Old Fitzgerald 15 Years Old—one produced in 1955, the other in 1951 with a presentation case and two gold-leaf drinking glasses. Four decanter sets of Thompson Final Reserve, the oldest known bourbon ever bottled at 45 years old, are also available—each lot has a crystal drinking glass and an additional 100ml sample flask in a polished wood presentation case.
opposite: James
Macallan Robert Burns
Thompson & Brother
Decanter, 1 bottle set,
Final Reserve 45 Years
$3,000-4,000
Old, 1 bottle, 100ml set, $4,000-6,000
Macallan Exceptional Cask
Ardbeg 1974,
#9128/01, 1 bottle (oc),
6 bottles (oc),
$20,000-30,000
$1,800-2,400
back cover: Caol Ila Very Very Old Fitzgerald
22 Years Old, distilled in
15 Years Old, 1 bottle
1974, 3 bottles, $600-
set, $4,000-6,000
800
Old Rip Van Winkle 23 Years Old, 1 bottle set, $4,000-6,000
PRESORTED FIRST CLASS U.S. POSTAGE
PAID PERMIT 8 north reading, MA
63 Park Plaza | Boston, MA 02116