JAY-Z just unveiled a rare bottle of D’USSÉ Cognac at Sotheby’s. The bottle, which features an engraved signature from JAY-Z, is expected to sell for $25,000 to $75,000. Its auction will benefit the Shawn Carter Foundation, which helps individuals facing socio-economic hardships further their education at institutions of higher learning.
The “Bottle No. 1” is part of the new D'USSÉ 1969 Anniversaire Limited Edition collection, which features a batch of incredibly rare Grande Champagne Cognac from a single barrel, aged for decades at one of the oldest and most storied Cognac houses in France—the Château de Cognac, where other D’Ussé expressions XO and VSOP are made. Each 750mL bottle is numbered with an inscription on the topper and features a 12-cut crystal diamond decanter design encased in a stunning leather box.
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The prized liquid has matured to reach wholeness under Maître de Chai Michel Casavecchia, the senior-most cellar master, and can not be replicated once the barrel is emptied. With a walnut, hazelnut and candied apple flavor, the inimitable liquid of D’Ussé 1969 Anniversaire features superb eaux-de-vie aromas. Upon the first sip, it reveals a distinct potency with powerful, woody notes and a long stewed fruit finish, with a touch of leather and cigar box. It is now distributed for the first and only time for the release of the 1969 Anniversaire Limited Edition.
"When our Cellar Master, Michel Casavecchia, discovered the aged liquid at the Château de Cognac and explained how truly one of a kind it is, it was important to me to honor it by doing something that would celebrate its singularity,” Jay-Z says in an emailed statement. “Once that barrel is emptied, there’s no way the liquid can be recreated. The whole process behind the 1969 Anniversaire collection reminded me why I got involved in the spirits industry in the first place – to create something that will stand the test of time. It means a lot that we’re finally able to share the D’USSÉ 1969 Anniversaire Limited Edition with the rest of the world, and we’re proud to auction the first bottle in the collection with Sotheby’s to benefit the Shawn Carter Foundation.”
The Cognac connoisseur and partial owner of the spirits brand initially received the bottle as a gift for his 50th birthday in 2019. What makes it unique? Aside from the celebrity’s signature, it boasts 24 karat gold foil around the neck.
The online bidding for Bottle No. 1 begins on Sotheby’s website on March 1 at 9 a.m. ET. The highest bid will be awarded and announced at the Sotheby’s Finest & Rarest Spirits auction on March 13 at 9 a.m. ET. Starting in May, the remaining bottles in the collection will retail for a suggested retail price of $10,000 in cities across the United States.
