French publication Vitisphere reported that the most expensive wine is sold in the south-west of France.
Having become the most expensive of Bordeaux wines last year, Liber Pater now sells at the most expensive price per bottle in the world, bypassing its main competitor – DRC.
The founder of the Liber Pater Farm in 2006, Loïc Pasquet, estimates the wine from the 2015 harvest at 30 thousand euros per bottle, which is seven times more expensive than the average price of this producer’s wines.
The average retail price of DRC, which has been the most expensive wine in the world for the last five years, reached about 18 thousand euros per bottle. Pasquet himself claims to have surpassed the qualities of the mythical DRC, a bottle of which with wine from the 1945 harvest was bought in October last year at an auction by a collector for 484 thousand euros.
The secret of Liber Pater’s price is in the vines used by Pasca. They are unprovoked original, growing from their own roots. Almost all of today’s winemakers in France are planting American varieties of grapes grafted with local varieties. In the second half of the 19th century, it turned out to be a great discovery for the fight against the phylloxera imported from the USA, which was completely mowing French vineyards. A number of American varieties have proven resistant to these insects that feed on vine roots.
In other words, producers of wines from unprocessed vines of historical French varieties can claim to be identical, originality of their products. Of course, this also requires special care and investment, which Pasquet particularly insists on, who tells his many critics: “If I did the same thing and sold the bottle for 50-100 euros, everyone would think I was a handsome and genius. But my production costs are much higher.
“I’m the only one who’s given access to those Bordeaux wines that existed before the Phylloxera crisis,” Pasquet stresses his exclusivity.
Promising to give a taste of the region’s true great wines, he is orientated towards a rich public who will enjoy his delights. So far, only 500 bottles have been produced, of which only 240 were sold to “give a taste of what Bordeaux was like before the phylloxera”.
“Demand is strong, and prices are high. We make wine like a work of art,” Pasca Vitisphere quotes.
The publication also refers to the opinion of Fabrice Bernard, a merchant and head of Millesime online trading firm. The one who believes that the dispute over the value for money will never end. “But it’s just a matter of supply and demand. When people buy something, it’s their will,” says the wine merchant, who, however, does not offer Liber Pater 2015, believing that he will not find buyers for it. At the same time, his firm confirms that Liber Pater at 4.3 thousand euros per bottle is bought by American, Asian and Russian customers.
