Wines & Spirits

Art and gastronomy are inseparable pleasures for the collector

Our department adds a cheerfully gastronomic flavor to Artcurial, offering sales of wine-cellars that range from rare collections of great vintages for laying down, to ensembles of bottles ready for drinking.

Our experts Laurie Matheson and Luc Dabadie have vast experience of the wine market and have staged 10-20 sales a year since 1989, both in Paris and elsewhere in France. They attach great importance to selling only bottles from cellars which they have visited to check storage conditions. Along with Luc’s father Edouard, Laurie helped launch the first in house French Wine department at an English-speaking auction house in 1989.

All our departments contribute to the success of our wine sales, with over 25,000 bottles offered each year.

Experts

Laurie Matheson and Luc Dabadie form the specialist Wines & Spirits tandem at Artcurial | Briest – Poulain – F. Tajan. The duo delight us with sales of cellars and rare collections, and of ensembles of great vintages and mature wines ready to drink and discover, whose pedigree is always verified.

To Laurie and Luc, it is a matter of honour to offer only bottles from reputed cellars which they have visited and checked for conditions of conservation. They share a passion for wine and spirits, and work in close contact with connoisseurs, collectors and professionals, as well as having extensive knowledge of vineyards. They have personally built up the department, helped by a network that places them among the leading specialists in this type of sale, both in France and abroad.

Laurie Matheson

Laurie Matheson

Laurie Matheson, born in France of Scottish parents, began her wine career in 1984 with the L'Ecluse wine bars (specializing in Bordeaux), where she met Edouard Dabadie of Nicolas. In 1986, after attending courses at the Institut d’œnologie and Steven Spurrier's Académie du Vin in Paris, she was appointed head of exterior relations at Domaine Laroche (Chablis). After a stint as sommelière at the Terminal Elysées restaurant, she became director of the Académie du Vin. A turning-point in her career occurred in 1989 when, along with Edouard Dabadie, she launched a Wine Department for auctioneer Guy Loudmer—at the time, the first "international-style" wine department in France. The duo moved to Poulain-Le Fur in 1997, and subsequently joined Artcurial. When Edouard Dabadie retired in 2003, his son Luc Dabadie teamed up with Matheson. Now, together, they organize 10 auctions per year exclusively for Artcurial | Briest – Poulain – F. Tajan.

Laurie Matheson likes to say that wine is above all a physical passion that she expresses through her work. As well as her activity with Artcurial | Briest – Poulain – F. Tajan, she is an official expert (Conseil des Ventes certificate n° 2002-143) and regular writes on wine.

Luc Dabadie

Luc Dabadie

Grandson of the owner of Château Peyros (Madiran) near the Pyrenees, and son of wine professional Edouard Dabadie (former buyer for Nicolas), Luc Dabadie began his career in quite another field: science. After studying plant biology he undertook research into the forestry species used for paper-making, but in 1998 opted for a change in course that led straight to the vineyards – initially with his father, then with his brother at Dyonisos, before joining Laurie Matheson in 2004 to concentrate on auctions. Luc loves wine, from rare bottles to barrels that have reached maturity and are ready to drink. He particularly likes the contact with connoisseurs, and the tension and competitive intensity of the saleroom.