The Rolex of the wine-tasting world

(MontrealGazette) - Costs more than some Mercedes, but luxury decanter comes with such extras as a making-of video.

Thierry Boivin-Fortin’s wine decanter, designed for the elite, weighs nearly 50 pounds and takes four months to fashion by hand from mahogany, Makassar ebony and polished stainless steel mirror.

Boivin-Fortin describes the decanter — priced at $85,800 U.S. — as the Rolex of the wine-tasting world. It is an investment piece that he signs personally with his “artistic” name: Thierry Forbois.

Made in a Boucherville workshop, the decanter — used to separate the liquid from the bitter-tasting sediments present in older wines — was a big hit at the Thursday night wine-tasting event where the businessman decanted three wines, including a 2003 Château d’Yquem, an acclaimed French Sauternes.

Can’t comprehend why anyone would spend more on the Purity Impérial wine decanter than on a Mercedes?

The price covers the high cost of labour, along with such extras such the film each client receives detailing the making of the decanter, Boivin-Fortin said.

Standing more than two feet high — and delivered to clients in a glass display box by a trained sommelier — the decanter is not to be used for $20 bottles of Pinot Noir.