VGS Chateau Potelle Makes Napa Valley History

VGS Chateau Potelle Winery set a new record-becoming the only winery in Napa Valley history to have the highest bid, three years in a row.

The record-setting wine, FOURMEAUX 2021 Red Blend, sold for $71,200, or $593 per bottle (and $7,120 per case). The auction was held at Raymond Vineyards, St. Helena, California.

The Bordeaux-style red wine is named after VGS Chateau Potelle proprietor Jean-Noel Fourmeaux. Fourmeaux who hails from France, founded the winery in 1983 and has been overseeing the production of small-batch, Bordeaux-style wines since then.

“Wow – the results at this year’s Barrel Auction are overwhelming…3 years in row! Especially because we know that to consistently get this type of response means that our customers and our community believe in our product. At VGS we are not just a regular winery, but we are a VGS Community and today that was exemplified. It’s a community built on loyalty, support, and friendship.”

This FOURMEAUX 2021 is a highly concentrated, rich, and complex wine from grapes grown atop Mount Veeder at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. The production is 200 cases—10 of which were accounted for in the winning barrel. The wine itself was aged for 24 months in French oak and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (76 percent), Cabernet Franc (8 percent), Malbec (8 percent), and Petit Verdot (8 percent). 

“Making mainstream wines has never been my calling,” said Fourmeaux. “I make wines with passion and without pretention. I’m glad this one appealed to this very connoisseur group of bidders.”

The high bidders on the Fourmeaux wine were long-time Auction Napa Valley bidders Bruce and Jennifer Adams from Louisiana. Bruce Adams said he was delighted to play a part in such an important event. “Jean-Noel Fourmeaux has been a friend of my family for a long time,” Bruce Adams said. “My father bought his first auction lot in 1989,” Bruce Adams told Wine-Searcher. “We came here to support the valley. We didn’t come here to kick tires. We’re here for 30 days a year. We came to give back to the community.”

The famous Napa Valley Barrel Auction that has been running successfully for the last 40 years was reinvented for 2022 into a series of smaller events throughout the year. Renamed Collective Napa Valley. This year’s barrel auction raised $1.5 million for local charities. This year’s auction take is devoted to mental health care for kids

As for FOURMEAUX Red Blend, it is available by allocation only from VGS Chateau Potelle. For more information about the wine or to request an allocation, visit www.vgschateaupotelle.com