2019 Liber Pater Denarius Graves

Liber Pater: One of the Most Expensive Wines in the World

No longer does the most expensive wine in the world come from the French Burgundy region, but from Bordeaux. It is Liber Pater, which surpasses Romanée Conti in price.

Loïc Pasquet, the Bordeaux winemaker behind Liber Pater, "the most expensive wine in the world" at €30,000 per bottle, has launched a new label, Denarius. “I wanted to create something affordable,” says Pasquet ironically. Although he does not intend to surpass Domaine La Romanée Conti in terms of prices, he still exceeds the 1855-classified First Growths.

Back to the Roots of Bordeaux: Liber Pater’s Old Techniques

“Liber Pater is extremely expensive and rare. Denarius brings wines from own-rooted vines to the tables of French restaurants. This is actually very affordable to taste pre-phylloxera wine,” explains Pasquet. He makes wines as they were made in the past, with vines from the same era.

He returns to the roots of the Bordeaux wine region, going back to the mid-19th century. He does this by using old vineyard management techniques, such as mixed crops, trained vines, organic sprays, and very high planting densities of 20,000 vines per hectare, along with extremely old original vines. Liber Pater claims to offer the historical taste of Bordeaux wines. Pasquet's approach is deliberately confrontational. The wines are produced outside the appellation system and are labeled as Vin de France.

The Vineyards of the Liber Pater Winery

The vineyards currently in production include Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with at least 40 years old vines. The Semillon vines are over 80 years old and are used to make dry white and/or sweet white wine, depending on the vintage and specific conditions.

Pasquet is also in the process of planting several very old grape varieties in his vineyard. These varieties include Castets, Mancin, and Pardotte, which were present in the vineyards of Bordeaux before they were destroyed by the phylloxera aphid in the 19th century.

Innovative Vineyard Management of Liber Pater Against Phylloxera

Today, his vineyard is the only one in Bordeaux – and the world – where these historic varieties are grown. In addition, Loïc Pasquet plants his vines with an extremely high density of 20,000 vines per hectare, which is twice the density of the Premiers Grands Crus in the Médoc.

To prevent attacks from the phylloxera aphid, Pasquet created three small lakes, allowing him to flood the vineyard when necessary, as phylloxera cannot survive in water.