Reviews

La Part des Anges
Drinks+ Bars & Restaurants №1 2009

On a late September evening ladies in evening dresses and formally dressed gentlemen gathered in a Town Hall garden.

Waiters were serving Summit — a new Cognac-based cocktail with lime, ginger and lemonade that had been created a few months earlier in Cognac by the world’s best mixologists. Glasses on the ice bar reflected its cold shimmer. A big open pit fire was burning nearby, a live source of heat and light that replaced the just gone down the horizon sun. There were many people, around 400, and familiar people, all of them representatives of the leading Cognac houses, appeared from the darkness once in a while. There were several Russians there, too, from Croizet and Domaine des Broix (both companies belong to Russian owners). Soon the guests moved a white marquee where dinner tables had already been set. Impressive ice candelabras with tall candles on each table accentuated the formal festive ambiance of the night. The third charity Cognac auction La Part des Anges was about to begin.

La Part des Anges is a relatively new event. It was first held in 2006. “The idea was to organise a beautiful event that can show diversity of the best Cognac, as well as confirm its great image”, recalls Jerome Durand, Director of marketing and communication for Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC). The Bureau is an association of Cognac producers, and the auction was born as their initiative. From the very beginning it was conceived as a charity event with a famous French fund La Fondation de France. The money raised at the auction goes for helping elderly people of Cognac. The right to supply lots is given only to the most reputable Cognac houses whose number is limited to 60. Only very rare bottles or cuvees specially made for the auction are sold.

Despite its youth, La Part des Anges is rapidly gaining more awareness and prestige. At the first event 17 lots were auctioned off, and the sales achieved around 15,000 euros, while the second event gathered over 26,000 euros. This year, at the third auction, the number of lots was 24, and almost 33,500 euros were raised, a third higher than the last year’s figure.

All bottles which were later to become the subject of heated bidding, were presented on ice pedestals and looked much like valuable objets d’art. There was Godet Renaissance Grande Champagne, blended with eaux-de-vie from the beginning of the 20th century, in a laconic rounded Renaissance-style decanter. Another rare blend of eaux-de-vie dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, in a feminine Belle Epoque style bottle, was supplied by Hardy and was called Noces d’Albâtre. There were also large formats — a magnum of vintage Lheraud Petite Champagne 1973, carefully wrapped in linen, and a double magnum of Hennessy XO L’Original it its signature bottle designed 60 years ago. Some bottles came from lesser known, but high quality producers — ABK6, Louis Royer, Normandin Mercier, while others — Courvoisier Succession J.S., L’Or de Martell and L’Age d’Or de Remy Martin — were made by prestigious Cognac houses and served as symbols of true luxury. The only non-Cognac lot was a bottle cooler designed by a French artist and sculptor Jean-Pierre Dussaillant.

The auction started closer to midnight, after a sumptuous dinner from a Cognac chef. Introductory speeches from the presidents of the Cognac bureau and the charity fund were brief. Lots followed one after another in alphabetical order, the bidding was intense, and an hour of sales passed like a few minutes. All lots were sold: none were bought below the minimal estimate, and the most successful was a 6-bottle case of aged Cognac Vielle Fine Champagne by Normandin Mercier. The price rose by 5 times from the initial estimate, and in the end the lot was hammered off for 800 euros. Curiously, auction prices multiplied most significantly for inexpensive lots, with the minimal estimate 150-400 euros, while super premium Cognacs were mostly sold below the maximum estimated price level.

The absolute leader was a steel angel-shaped cooler for Cognac bottles. It was bought by representatives of Hennessy for 3200 euros, with initial estimate of 1000 euros. Jean-Pierre Dussailant, the artist who designed the piece, has lived and worked in Cognac region for almost 40 years. He is passionate for depicting wine growing and wine tasting.

The most expensive Cognac at the auction was Courvoisier Succession J.S., sold for 3000 euros. A limited edition blend was created to mark 200 years of Napoleon’s crowning as the Emperor of France in 1804. The bottle is housed in a wooden chest, which is an exact replica of the Chest of Secrets used by Napoleon during his military campaigns. Four specially designed glasses are supplied with the bottle.

The second biggest auction price was raised by a 5-bottle set of exceptional millesimes by Frapin. There are three bottles of 1979 vintage with various periods of barrel aging (18, 20 and 25 years), and one bottle each of 1982 and 1983 vintages. The set was sold for 2800 euros.

Along with these lots, high prices were achieved by L’Age d’Or de Remy Martin by Remy Martin (2700 euros, estimate 1500-1800 euros), Hardy Noces d’Albâtre (2000 euros, estimate 800-1000), Meukow Museum Nec Plus Ultra (1920 euros, estimate 900-1200), Hennessy XO L’Original (1600 euros, estimate 800-1000), Lheraud Petite Champagne 1973 (1500 euros, estimate 600-800).

At present La Part des Anges remains a heavily regional event, but Jerome Durand is certain that its success will continue to grow and that the auction will achieve international acclaim. Already this year a large group of journalists from different countries was invited, to help spread the information among professionals and consumers. Yet BNIC is against pushing too hard. “We do not want to go too fast”, says Jerome Durand.

The event will change its format to be seen as more exclusive, and thus to attract international attention. Next year, when Cognac producers will be celebrating a centenary of creating Cognac appellation, all participants who provide auction lots, are asked to create unique blends, especially for La Part des Anges. The date of the auction is already fixed — 17 September 2009. It will be again held in Cognac, and 500-600 guests are expected. In future the bureau is thinking about moving the venue to Paris, for the motives of fame and prestige.

The auction ended, and the hall was filled with the feeling of contentment found at any successful event. Jerome Durand had 2 reasons to be happy. Not only did the auction go beyond his expectations, but he also outbid his competitors and bought a bottle of Cognac from his birth year. In the meantime, the table where Hennessy representatives and their guests were sitting was adorned by another lot — an already open double magnum of Hennessy XO L’Original. Their feast was only about to begin...

ABK6 Tres Vieux Cognac Fut №19 Lot 5 — 400-600 — 800
Maison A. E. Dor Vieille Reserve №11 — 900-1100 — 1200
A. de Fussigny XO For Men — 200-300 — 600
Camus Family Heritage 1975 — 700-900 — 1200
Courvoisier Succession J.S. — 3000-3500 — 3000
Davidoff Extra — 400-600 — 750
Delamain Grande Champagne 1968 — 300-500 — 750
Dupuy Vintage 1966 mis en bouteille le 23/11/2007 — 200-350 — 850
Frapin Millesimes Exceptionnels (5 bottles, vintages 1979, 1982, 1983) — 2500-3000 — 2800
Godet Renaissance Grande Champagne — 800-1000 — 900
Hardy Noces d’Albâtre — 800-1000 — 2000
Hennessy XO L’Original (3 l) — 800-1000 — 1600
Thomas Hine & Co Hine Family Reserve — 800-1000 — 1200
Leopold Gourmel Grande Champagne 1969 — 500-700 — 900
Lheraud Petite Champagne 1973 (1,5 l) — 600-800 — 1500
Louis Royer Antarctica — 200-300 — 500
Martell L’Or de Martell — 1500-2000 — 1900
Meukow Museum Nec Plus Ultra — 900-1200 — 1920
Chateau de Montifaud 1975 — 150-250 — 600
H. Mounier Coffret Celebration 60 ans — 1000-1200 — 1050
Normandin Mercier Vielle Fine Champagne (6 bottles) — 150-270 — 800
Otard Signature Exclusive du Baron Otard — 500-700 — 700
Remy Martin L’Age d’Or de Remy Martin — 1500-1800 — 2700
Jean-Pierre Dussaillant Cooler for a Cognac bottle — 1000 — 3200