Decanter luxe list: Spring 2024

Every year is worth celebrating, but 2024 is one for the books, filled with major milestone moments saluted in the most lavish of ways.

Spring feels like a global fête with everything from pop-up parties by lauded wineries in major metropolises around the world to super-exclusive wine-pairing dinners in legendary cellars and private estates that will have you living out your Bridgerton or Downton Abbey fantasies in no time.

The beauty of wine is that with just a sip you’ll be transported to the vineyards, and you can keep the memory alive with collector pieces in collaboration with major artists like Daniel Arsham, who partnered with Moët Hennessy for the launch of a new Champagne collection.

But if you do have the urge to travel somewhere of bucket list calibre (with wines just as exclusive), we’ve found splurge-worthy options everywhere from a sophisticated river barge in Champagne to a luxe lodge in Antarctica. Spring couldn’t be off to a more exhilarating start.

Join Emidio Pepe’s worldwide tour honouring the Abruzzo winery’s 60th anniversary

For family-run Abruzzo winery Emidio Pepe, this year marks the 60th anniversary of when the eponymous founder vinified his first vintage, operating with the philosophy that quality wine could only come from healthy soil. His pioneering vision of sustainable agriculture continues to grow and thrive, with his daughters and granddaughters at the helm, adapting farming practices to face the changing climate.

As part of the roving anniversary tour, winemaker Chiara Pepe, agriturismo director Elisa Pepe and chef Pietro La Rosa (as well as other members of the family) will host a series of masterclasses, tastings and pop-up dinners in cities across the world, with events in Rome, New York and Menton, France, this spring, followed by soon-to-be-announced dates in Florence, Turin and Torano Nuova, the town in Abruzzo where the winery is based.

‘We’re incredibly proud of where everything started back in 1964, when our grandfather had different ideas about wine and winemaking,’ Chiara said at one of the recent wine-pairing dinners held at Le Rigmarole in Paris. ‘We’re inheriting strong roots and we’re determined to preserve and cherish those with the utmost respect, because our grandfather created something incredibly special; he wanted to age Montepulciano and Trebbiano, something no one back then had thought of.’

Bask at Palm Beach, a private members’ club and splashy new beachfront in the French Riviera

In the 1920s, when the French Riviera was a playground for the society set and writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Palm Beach, on the tip of Cannes’ La Croisette, was where the glitterati gathered for galas, cabarets and games at the casino.

The casino closed in the 1960s, shortly after it featured in the Alain Delon film Mélodie en sous-sol, but this spring, around the same time as the Cannes Film Festival, the large-scale renovation of Palm Beach will debut.

The same team behind La Guérite, the buzzy beach bar on nearby Sainte-Marguerite island, has spent the past four years reimagining the Hispano-Moresque and Art Deco buildings with the help of local architects Caprini & Pellerin (who are also behind large-scale projects like Yula Island in the Red Sea).

The 75,600m² concept will feature the only members’ club of its kind in the French Riviera, with bars and boutiques exclusive to members, plus a 43m saltwater pool overlooking the bay; a 1930s-inspired beach club; restaurants like La Petite Maison and Tamarin (the first outpost outside of St-Barths); Nammos Beach Club and Restaurant from Mykonos, and a recreation of the legendary lido from Mélodie en sous-sol.

The highlight for oenophiles is Le Clos, an expertly curated wine cellar sporting the most prestigious labels in France, including Pétrus, Château Margaux, Château Lafite Rothschild and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

Collect a limited-edition Daniel Arsham piece celebrating the new Moët & Chandon Collection Impériale No. 1

A memorable way to mark the launch of haute creation Moët & Chandon Impériale No. 1 – a multi-vintage brut nature that’s the first cuvée in the new collection – contemporary artist Daniel Arsham collaborated with the maison on 85 limited-edition bottles.

Referred to as ‘three-dimensional time capsules’ that double as packaging for the Champagne, the cast resin sculptures (a nod to Champagne’s chalky soils) are beautifully displayed in a chestnut wooden chest with a sculpted bronze plate and pewter historical label.

Only 15 pieces will be available in the US for private clients, and each comes complete with a case of Moët Collection Impériale No. 1, all for a cool US$30,000.

Toast to Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo Wine Cellars’ 150th anniversary at a chef-curated dinner in Monaco

The largest hotel wine cellar in the world is Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. Carved into the rock under the palace in Monaco, it spans nearly 5,000m². Home to more than 350,000 bottles bearing nearly 6,000 different labels, the cellars are considered ‘inestimable in value’, with a collection of carefully chosen and rare wines that have made the hotel famous around the globe.

As the cellars turn 150 years old, Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is giving them a revamp and showcasing the first stage of the modernised look – a new entrance, reception and tasting room designed by Agence Moinard Bétaille (who are behind Paris’ Hôtel Plaza Athénée and Rome’s Hotel Eden) – with four exclusive private dinners held in the hotel’s opulent Princess Grace Diamond Suite.

The first two dinners were paired with wines from Petrus, Cheval Blanc, d’Yquem, Château Haut-Brion and Château Margaux. The next takes place on 11 June, with chef Yannick Alleno – whose restaurants have garnered 16 Michelin stars – designing the menu for a Bolgheri-themed dinner in collaboration with Tenuta San Guido, the Tuscan vineyard behind Sassicaia.

After a visit to the cellars, join a sommelier-led masterclass and private tasting with Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta, the current generation of the family at the helm of Tenuta San Guido.

Be the first to sample Billecart-Salmon’s two new cuvées: Elisabeth Salmon 2012 and Louis Salmon 2012

This spring, the latest vintage from Billecart-Salmon made its debut with a splashy celebration in Paris at the iconic Hotel Costes. Toasting the Salmon siblings, one of the two founding families behind the historic maison, the rosé Elisabeth Salmon 2012 – an ode to the co-founder – beautifully balances power and finesse, with aromas of red and black berries, gooseberries and peonies, with pastry and panettone notes on the palate.

Louis Salmon 2012 blanc de blancs pays tribute to Elisabeth’s brother, the first chief winemaker, and the latest vintage showcases an expression of floral elegance, with a touch of hazelnut and chestnut bread, then fresh mangos and candied chestnuts on the finish.

‘Our Louis Salmon and Elisabeth Salmon 2012 demonstrate that some of Champagne’s greatest vintages can be born out of adversity early in the blooming season,’ says Mathieu Roland-Billecart, CEO and seventh generation at the helm of Billecart-Salmon. ‘These two cuvées showcase the very best of our savoir-faire in blanc de blancs and rosé, respectively.’

Cruise through Champagne on board Coquelicot, a Belmond boat

Slowly drifting down France’s rivers by barge is one of the most romantic ways to see the countryside, but now Belmond is making this experience even more luxurious with the debut of Coquelicot, launched in partnership with the world’s oldest Champagne house, Ruinart.

Formerly the Hirondelle barge, French duo Humbert & Poyet (behind projects like The Hoxton Paris and multiple Beefbar restaurants) have transformed the three double cabins to include marble ensuite bathrooms. Meanwhile, the indoor, skylight-crowned lounge and Champagne bar can be customised with guests’ preferred labels.

While on board, join chef-in-residence Valérie Radou for a private, five-course tasting lunch before stepping out for guided tours of Ruinart’s historic Taissy vineyard.

Everything about the experience can be tailored to your taste, whether you prefer dinner al fresco on the top deck or an intimate meal in one of the tiny villages dotting the region. You can even arrive in the most stylish of fashions – by helicopter from Paris.

Week-long private charters start at €82,000.

Sleep at the new Paragraph Freedom Square, a luxurious base for a wine trip in Georgia

The first Luxury Collection Hotel in Georgia, Paragraph Freedom Square, is the latest addition to Tbilisi’s modern architecture scene, with a double-curved glass façade designed by Hausart Georgia and interiors by the duo at HAT Design Paris.

With design elements influenced by choka, Georgia’s national folk costume, the hotel has embraced Georgia’s history and heritage as inspiration for rooms and suites. Chef Stéphane Gortina, who cut his teeth with Alain Ducasse and was executive chef at Rech by Alain Ducasse in Hong Kong when it received its Michelin star in 2018, heads up the restaurant.

A fine-dining take on traditional Georgian cuisine, floor-to-ceiling windows frame picture-perfect views of the old town, which are best enjoyed while sipping a selection of curated Georgian wines stocked in each of the in-room personal wine fridges.

Sip South African wines at Ultima Oasis Camp’s high-design cabins in Antarctica

This spring, Cape Town-based Ultima Antarctic Expeditions is debuting its first lodging in Antarctica. Located in one of the most remote places on the planet, Ultima Oasis Camp is a super-luxe way to visit the seventh continent. Instead of spending weeks on a cruise to reach your destination, it’s just a five-and-a-half hour flight from Cape Town. 

From one of the three wooden cabins (the camp sleeps a mere 20 guests), you’ll wake up to views of the sweeping, sheltered ice valley from massive bay windows.

After excursions exploring ice caves and ice walls or hiking to the edge of the ever-moving ice sheet, which stretches north toward the Southern Ocean, warm up in the traditional banya (sauna) before preparing for a hearty meal paired alongside a selection of South African wines.

The seven-day South Pole and Emperor Penguin Expedition costs $75,000 per person for the all-inclusive experience.

Attend a botanical sound-tasting dinner party in a private hunting club in Paris

In the first of a series of sound-tasting dinners in glamorous locales around Europe, Ciao Down is taking over a private hunting club and Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris’ Le Marais on 15 and 17 May for an experiential dinner party.

Featuring musician Casey Barth of Botanical Sound, the event will be guided by electronic music that uses the natural electricity in plants to pair with a vegan tasting menu from chefs (and couple) Marine Hervouet – who has worked in the kitchens of Alain Passard and Bruno Verjus – and Pascaline Albicini, who cooked alongside Philippe Etchebest at the Michelin-starred Le Quatrième Mur in Bordeaux, before becoming a private chef for the Pinault family.

The evening will commence with apéritifs in a private garden with bites from fermentation expert Yumi Kim, before moving into the private hunting club for a concert and dinner. Wine pairings – presented in hand-blown Murano glasses custom-made for the event by el mono home – will be chosen by Paris Wine Company export director Ryan Lim to match each song and course. After dinner, stroll through the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature on a private, after-hours visit.

Tickets are €450 per person: register here for 15 May or here for 17 May.

Indulge in Les Créations de 2011, a rare, collector-worthy case of Krug

Joseph Krug once wrote in his notebook: ‘A good Champagne House should only create two Champagnes of the same quality.’ This year, Krug is showcasing two singular expressions crafted around a truly exceptional year: 2011.

Dubbed ‘Les Créations de 2011′, 1,500 limited-edition wooden cases will pair Krug 2011 (which the house’s tasting committee nicknamed ‘Spirited Roundness’) alongside Krug Grande Cuvée 167ème Édition, a blend of 191 wines from 13 different years, spanning 1995 to 2011.

‘In the 167ème Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, you will find wines of 2011 from plots behind the Montagne de Reims Nord, in Mareuil-sur-Ay, selected for their surprisingly beautiful, ample and fruity expressions, complemented by Pinot Noir wines from Ambonnay, Aÿ and Bouzy, which were chosen for their structure. Some of the older reserve wines came from plots in Verzenay, to bring finesse and mature elegance,’ explains Krug’s cellar master, Julie Cavil.

With a profile crafted around the 2011 harvest, Krug Grande Cuvée 167ème Édition mirrors Krug 2011, which is ‘opulent yet crisp,’ working with 42% reserve wines from the house’s library for the final blend to create a beautiful roundness, perfect for savouring with aged parmesan, oysters, or something more decadent like tarte-tatin.

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