2025 Auction Lots

1 – 5 Liter 1988 Château Léoville Las Cases
1 – 4.5 Liter 1970 Château Léoville Las Cases
3 – 3 Liter Château Léoville Las Cases (1 each: 1997, 2000 and 2015)

Six (6) night exploration in bountiful Bordeaux, Rioja and San Sebastián for two (2) couples

VIP Meet and Greet, roundtrip airport services with customs assistance
Roundtrip, airport transfers and ground transportation to stated experiences

Bordeaux, France:
Three (3) nights’ accommodations in One Bedroom Suites at InterContinental Bordeaux–Le Grand Hotel
Intimate insider’s cellar tour followed by an exclusive wine-paired dinner at Château Nénin featuring the wines of Château Léoville Las Cases and Château Nénin
One-way private ground transfer from Bordeaux, France to San Sebastián, Spain

San Sebastián & Rioja, Spain:
Three (3) nights’ luxury accommodations at Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastián
Welcome multi-course wine-paired dinner at Rekondo, which boasts one of the best wine cellars in the world
Two (2) private winery tours with tastings at top Rioja wine estates, including lunch prepared by a Michelin-starred chef
Multi-course wine-paired lunch at One Michelin-starred Asador Etxebarri
One (1) traditional pintxos and local tapas lunch in San Sebastián, including wine
Two (2) traditional pintxos and local tapas dinners in San Sebastián, including wine
Access to local Spanish gastronomic expert for meals in San Sebastián

For six nights, two couples will indulge in the best of both worlds: world-class wine in Bordeaux and traditional Rioja and cutting-edge cuisine in Spain’s Basque country.

Your home base in Bordeaux will be the venerable InterContinental, first opened to guests in 1904 as Le Grand Hotel. The hotel contains 13 intimate lounges, three terraces, two bars and two restaurants—including Le Pressoir d’Argent Gordon Ramsay, awarded Two Stars in the Michelin Guide.

The wine focus of your time in Bordeaux will be centered on two properties, Château Léoville Las Cases and Château Nénin. Léoville Las Cases, ranked as a Second Growth in  the Classification of 1855, sits on the northern edge of Saint-Julien. The wine is structured and powerful, with a grape variety distribution of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.

Château Nénin is located on the opposite Right Bank, in the appellation of Pomerol. Despite a grape composition which is almost the inverse of Léoville Las Cases (70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon), Nénin is considered a true vin de garde, a wine that benefits from extended bottle aging to reach maturity. Despite their surface differences, both wines are considered among the finest of their appellations.

Your party will experience an in-depth view of both properties hosted by a senior member of the management team. The winners will enjoy a private cellar tour at Château Nénin, followed by a dinner featuring the wines of both Nénin and Léoville Las Cases. It will be a fascinating opportunity to compare the similarities and differences between the two estates.

From Bordeaux, your journey continues to San Sebastián, where you’ll delve into the rich world of Basque gastronomy and explore the nearby wines of Spain’s greatest wine region, Rioja, alongside wine expert and Global Managing Director of Acker Wines, Jamie Pollack. Rioja’s wine history is closely linked with Bordeaux: The region’s winemakers were inspired by the oak aging and blending used in the Médoc, and French winemakers traveled to Rioja to set up wineries during the late 19th century.

San Sebastián is celebrated as the culinary heart of Spain, boasting a concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants and a vibrant mix of casual dining establishments. The nearby Bay of Biscay provides some of the world’s finest seafood, and the city has become a hub for modernist cuisine and innovative culinary techniques.

Upon arriving in this beautiful coastal city, you’ll settle into the luxurious Hotel Maria Cristina, a landmark of elegance in San Sebastián since 1912. Afterward, indulge in a relaxed, authentic lunch featuring pintxos and tapas, curated by a local gastronomic expert. In the evening, your welcome dinner awaits at the renowned Rekondo restaurant, where you’ll enjoy a private dining experience in their famed 100,000-bottle wine cellar, complete with expertly paired wines.

The following day, set out for Rioja, visiting two of the region’s leading estates: CVNE, a family-owned winery since 1879, known for its aged Reservas, and La Rioja Alta, established in 1890 and celebrated for its Gran Reservas. Both estates offer private tours, and you’ll be treated to an exclusive wine lunch prepared by a Michelin-starred chef at CVNE’s private restaurant.

On your final full day, one of the highlights will be lunch at the Michelin-starred Asador Etxebarri, ranked #2 on the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list in 2024. Famed for its mastery of grilling meats and fish over various types of wood, as well as one of the absolute best wine cellars in the area, Etxebarri offers a singular wining and dining experience. In the evening, further immerse yourself in local Basque culinary traditions with a traditional pintxos and local tapas dinner.

The winning bidder will receive a remarkable cellar treasure: a vertical collection of Large Format bottles of Léoville Las Cases from some of the greatest modern vintages, stored in pristine condition at the estate.

This lot provides an overview of two of the world’s great wine regions, interconnected through history. Dig deep, bid high and establish a new connection with the next generation of children.

Insider's Info

This lot is for two (2) couples. It is to be planned for mutually agreeable dates, based on availability, and must be planned at least three (3) months in advance of travel. The San Sebastián and Rioja portion of the trip must be scheduled Thursday-Sunday to ensure availability of restaurants. Blackout dates in Bordeaux include harvest and French holidays. Blackout dates in Rioja include April 12-21, 2025; the months of August-November; and December 20, 2025-January 6, 2026. Airfare is not included. A one-way airport transfer from the Bordeaux airport to the InterContinental Bordeaux–Le Grand Hotel and one-way airport transfer from Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastián to the San Sebastián airport are included. If the winning bidders fly into or out of other airports, airport transfers are not included and are the responsibility of the winning bidders. Ground transportation is only included from the InterContinental Bordeaux–Le Grand Hotel to Château Nénin, from Bordeaux to San Sebastian and during the Rioja, Spain portion of the trip. Restaurants and winery experiences are based on availability at time of planning. All meals are included as stated above and served with non-alcoholic beverages and select wine. Additional meals, alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages are not included. Gratuities are only included for the stated meals. All additional gratuities are at the winning bidders’ expense.

Donor

Acker Wine Auctions and Mr. Jean-Hubert Delon