Chêne Bleu – The 2024 Golden Vines® Fine Wine & Experience Online Auction Lot
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Summary
Ultimate Provence/Rhône wine experience: Double magnums (3L) of flagship reds Abélard & Héloïse; plus 2 nights’ VIP stay for up to 3 couples at award-winning La Verrière private estate with a 1-day wine experience of guests' choice, and a fine wine-pairing dinner created by the resident Michelin-trained chef, hosted by Nicole/Xavier Rolet.
Region
Provence / Rhône Valley
Country
France
Estimate
£10,000 - £20,000
Lot Components
Fine Wine Bottles ✓
Experience ✓
Estate Visit ✓
Vineyard Visit ✓
Tasting ✓
Social Occasion (Dinner) ✓
Overnight (2-Nights) Stay ✓
The Fine Wine
Double magnums (3L) of flagship reds Abélard & Héloïse from limited edition private collection, signed by the owner.
The Experience
The ultimate Provence/Rhône wine experience: 2 nights’ VIP stay for up to 3 couples at La Verrière, the estate’s exclusive, luxuriously renovated mediaeval priory in the heart of a UNESCO biosphere, the only winery in the world to currently qualify for Positive Luxury's Butterfly Mark Certification for its landmark sustainability practices and winner of the Wine Tourism Trophy in Terre de Vins 2020. Choice of VIP experiences such as hands-on serious winemaker-for-a-day experience or a taster of the signature Extreme Wine bootcamp. Dinner for 6 by Chêne Bleu’s acclaimed, Michelin-trained chef, Guillaume Delauné, hosted by Nicole and/or Xavier Rolet.
The Estate
Chêne Bleu Winery: Multi-award-winning winery high up in the South of France; small-production, critically acclaimed, sustainably produced age-worthy wines heralded as Super Rhônes. Chêne Bleu is a family-owned vineyard nestled high within a UNESCO biosphere mountain forest, in the Ventoux region of France, rising star of the Southern Rhône Valley. Their limited edition award-winning wines are critically acclaimed globally for their quality but also for eschewing the use of chemicals. A pioneer of regenerative organic viticulture, the estate is currently the only winery in the world currently qualifying for the exacting Butterfly Mark Certification by Positive Luxury.
Rubbing shoulders with a vast array of native, often rare, species of flora and fauna, the estate prioritises preserving the extraordinary environment and unique biodiversity. The biosphere boasts 1,400 species of butterflies and provides an exceptional natural environment, harnessed into cutting edge winemaking practices, through work with world-renowned scientists and experts.
The property lies at 550m+ (1,800ft+) making it one of the highest vineyards in the South of France. This pronounced altitude offers slow maturation and heat control, allowing concentrated fruit aromas to develop in the wines whilst retaining freshness and acidity. It also sets the stage for exceptional ageing potential, and the flagship reds are released with almost a decade of bottle age, underscored by the environmental purity and atypically complex mineral soils.
The single-estate “couture” wines are rooted in over 1,000 years of local history. La Verrière, the mediaeval priory at the heart of the wine estate, operates as a guest house recognised for both luxury and environmental sustainability. Meticulously restored, it was named after the glass-blowing workshop that once stood in its place. Both the winery and the wider estate integrate forward-thinking, qualitative approaches as part of an ongoing quest to create a centre for excellence in winemaking, wine instruction, and wine appreciation. It is home to the rigorous Extreme Wine Experience, an enhanced WSET-based short course for enthusiasts, deemed the most intensive and effective of its kind.
Xavier Rolet KBE first laid eyes on the ruins of the remote estate in 1993 and was instantly enchanted. Along with his wife Nicole and their family, they embarked on the challenging journey to restore a derelict shell to its former glory, while regenerating the idyllic mountain vineyards to the highest international standards.
Aspiring to being good neighbours, team players and custodians of the planet for future generations, their motto states: non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis (not mine not yours, but ours).
Terms & Conditions
Experience to be taken up by September 2025.
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Register to get notified when The Online Auction goes live on 6 October 2024 >>