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115-year-old Port sets Guinness World Record

PortLaliqueA Guinness World Record has been established for the most expensive port wine sold at auction.

The first of five Lalique demijohn decanters, each engraved with a name from one of the five van der Niepoort generations, has been sold for €111,000.

This port, created by the first Niepoort generation, Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort, was auctioned at Acker Merrall & Condit, Hong Kong.

Each of the five decanters created, represents a generation of the port wine dynasty from its foundation in 1842 by Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort up to Dirk van der Niepoort, the fifth generation, who runs the company today.

Each decanter is signed, numbered and filled with the 155-year-old vintage port from an original Niepoort demijohn decanter, filled in 1905 with an 1863 vintage in the Niepoort cellar in Porto.

Dirk van der Niepoort said, “We only have one demijohn from 1905, which contains one of our first wines, 1863. It is an incredibly rare port, the result of years of dedication and craftsmanship. A big wine, but very refined, not too sweet but highly concentrated.”

The Niepoort in Lalique 1863 decanter is packaged in a special Macassar ebony wood cabinet with Lalique grape pattern crystal inlays, a gift to the successful bidder.

The design of the decanter is based on the original 11-litre demijohn from 1905 created using one of the oldest glass production methods, a nod to the heritage of both Lalique and Niepoort, cire perdue or ‘lost wax’, a technique learned and passed down through the generations of craftsmen and still used today at the Lalique factory in Alsace.

Silvio Denz, chairman and CEO of Lalique added, “The figure achieved underscores the interest and value of such extraordinary decanters. This record pays tribute to the craftsmanship and excellence of Lalique and Niepoort, masters in their respective fields that go beyond the ordinary.”

The 1863 from Niepoort is the oldest vintage port to have been offered in recent years but it is not the oldest Port of any type to have been offered before and certainly not the first 19th century fortified wine in special bottling.

Taylor’s released two editions of ‘Scion’, an extremely old tawny port, starting with an 1855 and following up with an 1863, while Graham’s released an 1882 tawny port it called ‘Ne Oublie’ in 2014.

As for other old wines, there are still 18th century Madeiras that occasionally are offered at auction but the repackaging of the Niepoort found a willing buyer and, with four more in stock, this record may yet be broken.

 

For a video of the Lalique - Niepoort collaboration, click HERE

 

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Comments  

0 #1 James Mayor 2018-11-05 21:03
Niepoort and Lalique... what a blend! And when the wine is finally drunk, because one day it will surely be impossible for the new owner to resist, the decanter will still be there.

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