President François Hollande, a Socialist who was elected a year ago, has made a point of trying to be a “normal president” and contrast his simpler style with the “bling bling” image of his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy. He has trimmed the presidential and ministerial fleet of cars, pushing for smaller hybrids, and has cut ministerial salaries.
But the wine cellars of the Élysée are rightly famous for showcasing the best of French wines. And while Mr. Hollande has offered guests a knowledgeably chosen selection of more modest wines, selling some of the older stock is a bit like selling grandmother’s silver.
The last Socialist president, François Mitterrand, was well known for his love of Burgundy and for a St.-Estèphe, Haut-Marbuzet. Georges Pompidou was said to love Chasse-Spleen, while Valéry Giscard d’Estaing favored fine Bordeaux from the Médoc. Jacques Chirac, who had high tastes in art and wine, with a fondness for Dom Pérignon, preferred to be seen in public drinking beer.
Given the size of the deficit, this auction represents just drops in the bucket — highly exclusive drops.
Among the wines to be auctioned at the end of the month at the Hôtel Drouot, through the Paris auction house Kapandji Morhange, are three bottles of 1990 Château Petrus, estimated to be worth $3,000 to $3,400 a bottle, and a 1998 Meursault Premier Cru, a fine white burgundy. There will also be bottles of 1975 Château Lafite Rothschild, estimated at more than $1,000 each, and 1985 Krug Champagne, as well as Champagne from Salon, some of the world’s rarest and most expensive.
In general, the best bottles are served to heads of state and monarchs. When President George W. Bush made his last visit to France in 2008, Mr. Sarkozy, who like Mr. Bush does not drink alcohol, served Château Mouton Rothschild to his guests.
The chief sommelier of the Élysée, Virginie Routis, who was appointed in 2007, selected the bottles to be sold. They make up just a tenth of the presidential cellars, which were established in 1947. Lesser bottles will be sold too, with some expected to start at as little as $20 and many available for less austere prices of under $130.
In a statement, the Élysée said that “the proceeds from this sale will be reinvested in more modest wines, and the excess will be returned to the state budget.”
While the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has been excoriated in France as the mother of austerity, especially by the Socialists, there will be no German wines for sale. The cellars of the Élysée allow no foreigners. But French rieslings from Alsace will be on sale.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/world/europe/austerity-reaches-frances-presidential-wine-cellar.html?partner=rss&emc=rss