Paris restaurant to auction off part of legendary wine cellar

Dec 7, 2009, 11:00 GMT

Paris - A part of one of France's most fabulous wine cellars will go under the hammer on Monday as the legendary La Tour d'Argent restaurant puts on sale 18,000 bottles from its world-renowned collection.

It is believed to be the first time in its history that France's oldest restaurant, which was founded in 1582, has put its cherished bottles on public sale.

The restaurant's head sommelier, David Ridgway, has told French media that the sale was being held to make room for new bottles and to bring in money.

According to Aymeric de Clouet, the wine expert at Piasa auction house, which is holding the sale, the two-day auction is expected to bring in about 1 million euros (1.48 million dollars).

He said the sale was made necessary because the restaurant was now selling only about 20,000 bottles of wine a year, 10,000 fewer than in the 1990s.

'But the restaurant has nevertheless continued to enlarge its collection,' Clouet said.

One reason for the drop in wine sales was no doubt the restaurant's loss of two Michelin stars since 1996. In addition, the recession led to a drastic decline in tourism in the French capital.

The sale will make but a small dent in La Tour's cellar, which comprises some 450,000 bottles stored in 27 rooms covering an area of about 1,250 square metres.

The oldest bottles to go on sale are three Clos du Griffier cognacs from 1788, one year before the French Revolution.

'This cognac is the oldest bottle in France, and probably the oldest in the world,' Clouet said, estimating its value at about 3,000 euros a bottle.

The least expensive bottle to be auctioned off Monday and Tuesday is expected to fetch about 10 euros.