An Epic Collection of Liber Pater Wine Will Be Auctioned Off This Fall

Most Liber Pater is special—if not for the price tag alone—but Bonhams is auctioning what it says are the “greatest, rarest, and most impressive bottles” the boutique winery has ever produced.

Held in honor of Liber Pater’s 20th anniversary, the fall sale will fittingly include 20 lots curated from the vintages 2006 to 2021. It is the first time owner-winemaker Loïc Pasquet has opened his private reserves to collectors directly, making it an incredible opportunity for Bordeaux lovers. The offering, comprising coveted large formats and multi-vintage cases, serves almost as a mini retrospective, tracing Liber Pater’s evolution from humble beginnings to heady heights.

The journey began in 2005, when winemaker Loïc Pasquet planted the gravel of France’s Graves region with Franc de Pied, or ungrafted vines of rare and historic grape varieties, such as Castets, Mancin, Pardotte, Tarnay, and Saint-Macaire, which thrived before the phylloxera ravaged European vineyards in the late 19th century. His goal? To recreate Bordeaux as it was before that agricultural crisis. Pasquet’s distinctive farming methods limit production to around 500 bottles per vintage. He releases only the best years, with just 10 vintages since 2006.

Liber Pater was thrust into the spotlight in 2019, when Pasquet released the first vintage produced entirely from ungrafted vines. He priced the 2015 at $34,110, making it the world’s most expensive wine. The subsequent lofty figures have drawn criticism, but Pasquet stands by his valuations, putting it to Robb Report in 2024: “What is the price you are ready to pay to have dinner with Napoleon?”

The star of the upcoming auction is a one-of-one 27-litre bottle of Liber Pater 2019 (pictured top). The wine was produced from nine indigenous Bordeaux grape varieties, all grown on 100 percent Franc de Pied vines. “The 2019 Liber Pater is the essence of purity,” Amayès Aouli, global head of wine and spirits at Bonhams, tells Robb Report. “There’s no makeup, no oak performance, just black cherry, violet and crushed graphite, then warm earth and dried rose as it opens. What strikes me is the tension. Ungrafted vines give this vertical, saline energy, and the tannins are fine-grained. A long, refreshing finish of licorice, iodine, and graphite, still going minutes later and becoming an unforgettable memory. That’s the Liber Pater signature.”

The unique bottle—signed by Prince Albert II of Monaco, no less—comes with an exclusive Liber Pater experience, including a private estate visit, an insider look into the Conclave during annual blend discussions with the Liber Pater team, a private dinner, and an invitation to the Francs de Pied Gala Dinner. It is expected to sell for between 5 million and 8 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $637,700 and $1 million based on current exchange rates.

Other highlights include an 18-liter bottle of Liber Pater 2011 that comes with another winery experience (estimate: $255,000 to $383,000) and seven lots of the “Seven Virtues/Seven Sins” collection (estimate: $127,400 to $191,000), which features between nine and 13 bottles of Liber Pater (2006–2019) as well as selected bottles from Denarius (2019–2020) and Tetradrachm (2021).

“For the first time in our history, we are opening our private cellar for a direct release to celebrate our 20th anniversary,” Pasquet said in a statement. “This milestone reflects two decades of relentless pursuit to restore Bordeaux’s pre-phylloxera heritage, to save antique grape varieties, and ultimately to revive the taste of a terroir-driven wine in Bordeaux.”

Liber Pater Jubilee: 20 Years of Wine History in Motion will be held at Bonhams Hong Kong on November 21. You can check out the full catalog here.