and they’re full. He used to get 10 cases of DRC yearly, says he now has to cry to get one:
wow,
Thanks Alan,
I thought I had a problem with compulsive wine collecting, after seeing that I feel better
Always a great way to put things into perspective!
There’s a great short video about his collection on Youtube and I believe François Audouze also has a beautiful picture essay on his collection on his website. The level on that magnum of '45 Mouton make me tearful with joy…
That wood seems stacked precariously high.
I was once assured by someone ITB that OWB stacked 10 high was no problem, although some appear to be more than 10.
La Ciau del Tornavento has 60,000 bottles. We dined there in October and was able to tour the cellar.
He has too much wine…
How would a museum of wine in a cellar work? You just walk past boxes of Petrus and then what?
Once suitably aged just drink them and share them with family and friends!!! that is the reason for their existence. It’s like a blind man buying a painting.
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Not sure I understand this. Does he drink wine from the collection or is this truly a museum where the bottles are just viewed but not acutally consumed. If the latter, I find this sad.
All I can say is that when this guy goes to that “Great Wine Cellar In the Sky”, I am showing up at the auction that his wife will organize!!!
Seriously, this is really kind of pathologic, but an important part of this guy’s identity. Hoarders come in all sizes and shapes. There are two kinds of wine collectors, those who hoard wine in order to get the dopamine rush of feeling that you have stuff no one else has…
And the collector who revels in the day that you will destroy the very thing that others covet in a burst of pleasure and convivial socialization. Kind of like burning a Picasso after you purchase it and let your friends come and visit the gallery. Hell Francoise M doesn’t even swallow the wine he is tasting most of the time.
I remember the Wine House in San Francisco had wood cases stacked up that high in 1989 and those were not damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake. And the store was then on Bryant, South of Market, an area where there was a lot of structural damage. I guess it’s like stacked bricks without mortar – pretty hard to tip over things that heavy and flat.
I’ve been to the cellars and it is impressive, especially all the 19th century bottles with the embossed crests on the neck. The family owns Feytit Clinet in Pomerol. The museum for looking at bottles, not drinking. His hope was that the collection could be donated, if the right deal could be made. While mostly wine, ancient Cognac and other spirits are housed there as well.
Regardless of what you think, it is more than impressive. It is a part of of the history of wine that is unequaled in its size and scope.
Michel Chasseuil wrote a book on part of his collection. https://www.amazon.com/100-Vintage-Treasures-Worlds-Finest/dp/9079761958
As for being sad and all wines are meant to be opened, there is no difference here than you find in a car museum, airplane museum, boat museum, stamp collection, etc.
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None of those are consumables. You could view this like a food museum where all the objects are destined to go bad.
Agree with the food analogy. If one wants to save the empty bottles as part of a history display, along with wooden wine presses and such, then it makes sense. If the point is just to look at why not drink the wine and fill it back up with grape juice?
Ditto. I can understand if he intends it to be drunk eventually and is preserving it for the future but a museum for looking at wine? Sounds like a huge waste to me. Not to mention pretty boring.
I do not agree. It is like toys in the original packaging. It is much cooler looking at classic tops unopened in the boxes, and they are harder to find as well. But then I collect stuff, so I get it. What good does it do to open the last remaining bottle on earth? But to each his own.
Most cars, planes, boats, etc have been used before going to the museum. And they can still be used after the museum. Personally I do not agree with collecting anything that can not be used at some point, just looking at it does not do enough for me.
People who collect Star Wars action figures and never take them out of the packaging are just weird. Like you said, to each his own.
Fair enough. And that’s reasonable, as it’s consistent.
With many collectibles, the point is the unused condition, as the item may have been produced in large quantities. Older phonograph records that were never opened or played, uncirculated coins, unused stamps, full, non used tickets to historic concerts or sporting events, toys in the package etc. As time marches on, they become harder to come by. It is the condition that makes them collectible.
You can purchase Roman coins for $10, which is amazing, considering they are almost 2,000 years old. But the same coin in uncirculated, or mint condition would sell for much more money.
Hey, i understand the collectors argument. But why cases of the stuff? A representative sample should be enough. I don’t need to see a seceond Wright Flyer in a museum…i get it after seeing one. Your Roman coin example is perfect, if there are lots of them they are not so interesting, or so valuable. Look, this guy has fun with his wine and i have to admit it brings him a certain degree of fame. (Look at his visitors and WE are talking about him) But in this case it is just pretty classic hoarding behavior. “You may look at my wine but you can never drink it!”
Seeing one Jawa may be rare and interesting, but cases of them stacked up is mental…
I guess I am a wine lover, not a wine looker and find this collection pretty disgusting. It is like taking the world’s greatest painting and putting them in crates so nobody looks at them. Wine needs to be drunk to be appreciated. And, this makes the great wines of the world less available and less affordable. Give this guy Rudi’s wines. He can look at the bottles just as well and wine lovers can drink the real stuff
Label me disgusted.
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