Queen Elizabeth's whiskey and other collectible wines to be auctioned next week at Artmark.

Collectible wines, old and very old whiskeys, and champagnes, but also limited edition cigars, which cannot be bought in shops or dealers, but can only be identified in the cellars and collections of enthusiasts, come together in the Whiskey Auction, Collectible Wines and Cigars – a rare event for collectors, taking place next week on Wednesday, April 12th.

One of the most important appearances in the auctions of the world is Port Ellen Maltings whisky, whose age of 12 years is less impressive than the rarity of the edition, it is bottled in only 40 copies, of which only 40 remain in collections today a few bottles. The extreme rarity, with a starting price of 5,000 euros, was bottled on the occasion of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain to the Port Ellen distilleries on August 9, 1980. On the occasion of the royal visit to the distilleries, a celebratory character was bottled a small amount in approx. 40 70cl bottles, which were given to the Queen and her entourage. In the market, bottles from this special edition appear very rarely and are sold at exceptional prices, being appreciated not only for their extreme rarity but also for their quality score – it is the only whiskey that has achieved a score of 99/100 points (awarded by whiskyFun.com), the highest ever awarded by Serge Valentin, a leading authority in the world of collectible whiskey.

One of the best-rated wines in the world – Maison Leroy Auxey Duresses – is also being put up for sale as part of the Collection Whiskey, Wines, and Cigars Auction. Maison Leroy is the most prestigious wine cellar in Burgundy. It is said that Mrs. Lalou Bize-Leroy (who is also the owner of the Romanee Conti estate) personally selects each client for her wines. The 2018 bottle of Maison Leroy has a starting price of 500 euros.

Another exceptional appearance in the auction is the two lots of 6 bottles of Chateau La Fleur Petrus, respectively from 2011 and 2019, appreciated as the best Merlot wines in the world, with starting prices of 500 and 1,000 euros, respectively. The wines proposed in the auction are the property of one of the few collectors in Romania who benefit from a direct allocation of the famous castle.

Spectacular are the very old collection wine lots, such as Chateau du Magne from 1945, which has a starting price of only 75 euros, or Chateau Montbrun, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, from 1937, which has a starting price of only 50 euros.

Another historic bottle is Cepa Semillon Extra, which has a starting price of just 75 euros. The wine was bottled in 1929 on the occasion of the Barcelona International Exhibition. We are pleased to remind you that during the same international exhibition event, Nicolae Vermont won the gold medal for the painting "The Piano", which later, almost a hundred years later, like the wine, was awarded in the Artmark Summer Auction in June 2021 with the record price of 110,000 euros.

For the first time, as part of an Artmark auction, two 225-liter barrels, unbottled wines, and two limited editions from Moșia Galicea Mare, from 2 different years, 2018 and 2019, are for sale. Both barrels contain wines from Fetească Neagră, made from grapes harvested from probably the oldest vineyard in Romania. The barrels are part of the "Owner's Reserve", limited editions that the winery owner selects each year for his collection. The starting price for each of the two lots is 8,000 euros. The collectors who will award these two lots will also benefit for free from the experience of visiting, together with 4 friends, at the invitation of the owner of the Galicea Mare Estate, where they will be hosted and enjoy a wine and food weekend.

Moșia Galicea Mare, an ambitious project, a model of restoration and refurbishment, is probably the most technologically advanced winery in Romania and certainly the most spectacular, bequeathing an exceptional historical heritage. Prince George Constantin Bibescu, married to the no less famous Martha Bibescu, inherited the lands from his grandfather, the Ruler of Romania Gheorghe Bibescu, in 1916 they produced the first wine of the winery, and since then the winery has produced wines every year until now.

In 2015, the property was bought by Iosefin Florea, who began rehabilitating the plantation and identifying the potential of each plot of grapes, which they vinify separately. After 100 year after the construction of the winery, the new owner vinified the first wines under the Moșia Galicea Mare brand.

The owner is a big collector with one of Romania's most spectacular collections of champagnes and collectible wines. Each year he selects his barrels to add to his vast private wine collection.

The barrels auctioned at Artmark are from the owner's private reserve, and the wines express both the variety and the place. They are unique, unrepeatable wines because they are vinified with natural yeasts, which let the place, the variety, and the year express themselves.

The collection drinks are available online and can be viewed physically in the open exhibition cellar in building B of the Cesianu-Racoviță Palace, under special light and temperature conditions, and then offered or auctioned, starting from starting prices of approx. 30-50% of the market price of Romanian and international wines, physically, in the Artmark auction room in C.A. Rosetti, no. 5, but also online on the Artmark Live 2.0 platform, on the evening of April 12, next week.