Top French wine sale will help preserve Palace of Versailles

Successful bidders of the celebration cases will also be invited, along with a guest, to take part in a private visit and tasting at Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux, as well as the Versailles Celebration Gala Dinner later this year at the palace, where iconic vintages will be served.

This includes the“legendary and historical”Mouton 1945 vintage which have been resting in the Bordeaux estate’s cellars.

Sereys de Rothschild described the 1945 vintage as“something very special”for wine enthusiasts and said enjoying the wine in the Palace of Versailles is a“once in a lifetime experience.”

The collaboration with Versailles also combines the Rothschild family’s two passions, art and wine.

Chateaux Mouton Rothschild sparked the tradition of working with contemporary artists in creating original artworks on labels since 1945. The list of famous artists who have asked to lend their talents includes Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.

“My grandfather started thinking about artists and labels in 1924…but the real collection started in 1945 and that’s where the tradition continues right into the sixth generation,”Sereys de Rothschild said.“Now, the person who finds the artists and build up the relationships is my brother Julien. He’s really the one in the front line with the artists.”

The first set of 25 cases was sold in Hong Kong’s Sotheby’s earlier this month for 7.1 million Hong Kong dollars ($905,853), the next 25 will be offered in Sotheby’s London on April 17 and the final set in New York next month.

Sereys de Rothschild said the sale in Hong Kong attracted not only Chinese buyers but also those from Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and other parts of Asia.

Speaking about the soaring demand for fine wine on the Chinese mainland, Sereys de Rothschild said the Chinese market is a“dynamic and vibrant”market that“will continue to grow.

“You have to understand that Chinese people…really believe in education. They really believe education makes them better and you can’t deal with great wine without a bit of education in the beginning,”he said.

“You have to understand what you are tasting, you have to understand how wine is made, what is the climate, the effect of the barrels and the fermentation, and what is so great about the Chinese people is they believe that education will give them a better approach in tasting great wine.”