Rare wines, vintage champagne and works of art from Michel Roux Jr’s recently closed two Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant Le Gavroche are to be auctioned at Christie’s.
Bottles of 2013 vintage Domaine de la Romanee-Conti grand cru and rare Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Rhône that once formed part of Le Gavroche‘s ‘lovingly curated’ wine cellar, are expected to sell for between £9,000 and £12,000, Christie’s said.
Tim Triptree, Christie’s international director of wine, said the bottles included in the auction are ‘the finest France has to offer’.
Paintings, port and porcelain
Running from 10 to 24 April, the sale will offer more than 100 lots spanning wine, pictures, drawings, prints, decorative objects, porcelain and silver from the storied restaurant, founded by Michel and Albert Roux in 1967.
The restaurant’s celebrated artworks will also go under the hammer. A painting of the street urchin from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables that gave the restaurant its name and hung above the bar is estimated at £10,000 to £15,000.
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The famous illuminated sign above the restaurant door has a starting bid of £1,000.
Take home a piece of Le Gavroche
Roux Jr said the restaurant’s artwork was ‘of significance to the Roux family and familiar to everyone who has eaten at the restaurant since we first opened’.
They had been unable to find room elsewhere for the pieces, but he was ‘pleased to know that our beloved guests will be able to enjoy a part of Le Gavroche in their homes’.
Le Gavroche closed on 13 January after 57 years. Roux Jr, who had been at the helm since 1991, said he wanted to find a better work-life balance and explore other ‘business ventures’.
[See also: The legacy of Le Gavroche: Michel Roux Jr reflects on the eve of its closure]
Le Gavroche became the first restaurant in the UK to earn a Michelin star in 1974. It received two more, in 1977 and 1982.
Roux Jr said: ‘The cellar at Le Gavroche has been lovingly curated over decades, and we are delighted that Christie’s, with its global reputation in art and luxury goods, will be holding the online auction for these wines. The sale will also include artworks and other special items from Le Gavroche that are of significance to the Roux family and familiar to everyone who has eaten at the restaurant since we first opened.
‘Sadly, we are unable to find a home in our other restaurants and businesses for these iconic pieces, but I am pleased to know that our beloved guests will be able to enjoy a part of Le Gavroche in their homes.’
Triptree said of the upcoming auction: ‘We’re delighted to be offering a selection from their cellar, the finest France has to offer, including exceptional vintage Champagnes, finest & rarest Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Rhône plus outstanding vintage Ports.
‘Iconic wines from the likes of Champagne Salon, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, de Vogüé, Domaine Leflaive, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, Le Pin, Lafleur, Quinta do Noval – truly exceptional wines allied with this exceptional provenance will attract interest from those around the globe looking to acquire a part of the legacy of Le Gavroche.’
