The Remarkable Continental Cellar of the Célérier Family

Sale Overview

Christie’s is delighted to present the exceptional cellar of François Célérier. Born into a family of Bordeaux wine merchants and owner of Château Soubian, this is a collection that tells a story and speaks to a profound love of wine.

Built over decades with patience, intuition and an unwavering focus on acquiring only the highest‑quality wines, the cellar brings together some of the world’s most distinguished producers and finest expressions of winemaking. It stands as a testament to discernment, consistency and a deep respect for provenance.

Guided by a quest for excellence, François Célérier has assembled many of the most iconic names in the world of wine. From Bordeaux’s First Growth classified wines, including Château Margaux, to the legendary Grands Crus of Burgundy from Domaine de la Romanée‑Conti, alongside estates such as Coche‑Dury and Mugnier, each wine has been selected for its capacity to stand the test of time and to express terroir at its most refined.

The cellar also extends far beyond the borders of France, reflecting an exceptional curiosity for the world’s great wines. Highlights include the sun‑drenched Tuscan wines of Bibi Graetz, the timeless nobility of Château Musar in Lebanon, and the celebrated winemaking of Penfolds at Magill Estate.

At the heart of this remarkable collection lies a more intimate story: that of Château Soubian, a family estate located in Léognan, within the prestigious Pessac‑Léognan appellation. Acquired in 1930 by the Célérier family, Bordeaux wine merchants, the estate has weathered the vicissitudes of history, most notably the cessation of production following the devastating frost of 1956. Today, under the guidance of successive generations, Château Soubian is undergoing an ambitious revival, producing wines of notable precision, structure and elegance.

Brought to you by

Charlotte Sère

Associate Specialist | Wine & Spirits

Charlotte joined the Christie’s Wine Department in London in the spring of 2018 having worked in the wine trade in London for several years. Charlotte manages the cataloguing processes and as a Specialist is involved in sourcing collections, negotiating consignments and auctioneering in London and internationally. Charlotte has been a driving force in several Single Owner auctions including The Chalk Cellar, The Wine Cellar of Le Gavroche and The Avery Family Collection. Charlotte works closely with clients in the UK and throughout Europe and is fluent in English and French. Charlotte holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of London, her professional interests include the wines of Bordeaux and Alsace.

Noah May

Head of Wine and Spirits EMEA | Wine & Spirits

Noah joined Christie’s London Wine Department in 2007, after graduating from The University of Leeds with an honors degree in English Literature and Philosophy. Noah has been involved in several high-profile wine auctions in Europe, including the sale of Historic Cognacs from the Private Cellars of La Tour d’Argent in 2012 and the sale of Fine Wines from the Private Collection of Sir Alex Ferguson CBE in 2014. In May 2013, Noah was awarded the British Guild of Food Writers Award for Food Writer of the Year for various publications relating to wine and gastronomy. In September 2014, Noah joined Christie’s New York Wine Department, where he worked as Head of Sale, focused on building relationships with American collectors, the sourcing of rare wines and spirits for auctions in the US and Europe, sale curation and specialist wine events. In June 2018, Noah returned to Christie’s London Wine Department as Head of Department and is mainly focused on developing Christie’s Wine Department’s profile in the UK and across Europe, sourcing exceptional collections of Wines and Spirits for sale, inspection and authentication of property and building long-term relationships with collectors around the world. Noah’s professional interests include the fine wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rioja, and the rare spirits market, with a focus on collectible whisky.

Edwin Vos

International Head of Department | Wine & Spirits

After graduating from Hotel Management School Edwin Vos started working in the wine trade where he held various positions buying and selling fine wines. From 1998 he commenced by noting all the fine Bordeaux, Burgundy, Madeira and Vintage Port wines in a personal database. From 2002 Edwin started visiting the annual primeur tastings in Bordeaux, during these extensive tastings of all the grand crus’s of the young vintage he has built up a wide reference and experience of fine Bordeaux wines.

During the Fête de la Fleur 2007, Edwin was introduced in the exclusive Commanderie de Bontemps de Medoc, Graves, Sauternes et Barsac. The introduction of Blandy’s Madeira on the Dutch market in 2009 was a personal passion where Edwin has greatly contributed to the on-going success of this category.

In 2012 Edwin joined Christie’s as Head of the Amsterdam Wine Department bringing with him more than 15 years of wine trade experience. After a year and a half he focused his attention to assisting the London, New York and Hong Kong sales. Following his knowledge and connections on Madeira Edwin has started to annually set up selective offerings of old and rare Madeira for all our global auctions. These have attracted a loyal following and are showing great success. Meanwhile breaking multiple world records for Madeira’s on sale. Christie’s remains the number one specialist in this field.

Under Edwin’s management in 2015 the exclusive bi-annual Geneva wine sales were successfully re-introduced. With Bouchard Pere & Fils he has set up a great single owner auction in 2016 offering reserve wines coming directly from their Chateau de Beaune cellars. To this day this remains the largest offering of old Burgundies coming direct from the producer’s cellars. The Historic Comte de Vogue auction that followed in May 2018 is a record for this sought after Burgundy producer and among the most elusive direct from the producers sales. He worked closely with the team at de Vogue to bring this auction to life. Edwin is a member of the Christie’s Wine executive team and has started auctioneering in 2017.