LOUIS XIII Breaks Live Auction Record at Black Ball

Hosted by Alicia Keys and emcee Chris Rock, the 12th Annual Keep a Child Alive Black Ball Gala on November 5th was a raging success. While the event was a star-studded affair, including a performance by Lenny Kravitz, a highlight of the evening was certainly the auction, where the lot provided by LOUIS XIII set the record price for a bottle of LOUIS XIII cognac sold at auction, with a 3-liter Jeroboam decanter of cognac fetching $95,000. The starting price was $15,000, however after a long bidding process, the Baccarat crystal decanter was ultimately sold for $95k. The generous bidder then decided to give the money to charity and allowed the “runner up”, who placed a bid for $92.5k, to leave with the decanter. In the end, LOUIS XIII raised $282,500 for the cause surpassing not only expectations but records as well.
 
Created in partnership with leading wine and spirits merchant, Sherry-Lehman, the exclusive lot included the 11 lb. decanter– a 3 liter format that is otherwise not available for sale in the U.S. – as well as a private invitation from LOUIS XIII’s cellar master, Baptiste Loiseau to visit Cognac in France. Each decanter of LOUIS XIII represents one century in a bottle, taking four generations of cellar masters over 100 years to craft and representing a true mastery of time.