Pledging your cellar: grands crus, champagnes and cognacs

Paris only covers grands crus

In the official list of the Crédit Municipal de Paris, the only line devoted to wine mentions "grand cru wines". No minimum number of bottles is published, but a table wine or an everyday growth clearly falls outside the scope.

Bordeaux extends to champagnes and cognacs

The Bordeaux institution accepts classified growths, but also cognacs and champagnes. Its rate scale applicable from 15 November 2022 cites wines among the examples and asks customers to contact the institution in advance for any item other than jewellery.

Reims and its secure cellar

In the heart of Champagne, the Crédit Municipal de Reims accepts wines and spirits and stores them in a secure cellar. Its six-monthly formula includes a flat insurance charge of 1% of the amount lent per half-year.

Strasbourg: an appointment is essential

The Crédit Municipal de Strasbourg classes wines among the items received only by appointment with the auctioneer, like paintings and rare books. Bottles are therefore not examined at the walk-in counter reserved for jewellery and watches.

How a lot of bottles is priced

The appraiser, a judicial auctioneer within the meaning of article D514-2, reasons in terms of the lot's likely hammer price. The institution then lends at most two thirds of that valuation, a cap set by article D514-8 for all goods other than precious metals.

Storage with CC ART

In its fine art lending offer, the Crédit Municipal de Paris presents a cellar devoted to wines and spirits run by CC ART. The launch press release of September 2018 already mentioned this dedicated cellar among the conservation services.

Rates published in Bordeaux in 2022

The Bordeaux sheet of November 2022, to be rechecked, showed an APR of 14.81% from 100 to 3,000 euros, 9.85% up to 6,000 euros and 5.10% above that, with a 2% six-monthly storage fee below 6,000 euros.

The Crédit Municipal de Paris scale

In Paris, the rates page updated in September 2024 shows an APR of 4.25% from 30 to 500 euros, 9.90% from 501 to 6,000 euros and 5.30% above that. Loans below 500 euros are exempt from storage fees.

Term: six months or one year depending on the city

Bordeaux lends for six months, renewable up to twenty-four months in total, whereas Paris concludes one-year contracts. In both cases, article D514-7 of the Code monétaire et financier forbids going beyond two years, extensions included.

Wine sales at the Hôtel des ventes

The Crédit Municipal de Paris holds around 80 public auctions a year and devotes a section to wine and spirits sales. That is where unredeemed grands crus end up, with 15% in fees deducted from the hammer price.

Asking for the lot to be sold yourself

Under the general terms of 1 May 2026, a Paris borrower can have the bottles sold three months after deposit, at least one month before the contract ends. Any surplus can still be claimed for two years after the auction.

Temperature changes: a clause worth reading

The same general terms exclude compensation for damage caused by temperature changes. For wine, storage therefore matters as much as the rate; also prepare the documents to provide, and compare with pledging wine in Belgium.

Where to deposit wine as a pledge

• Crédit Municipal de Paris: Accepts grand cru wines; dedicated cellar at CC ART and specialist wine and spirits sales.
• Crédit Municipal de Bordeaux: Classified growths, cognacs and champagnes accepted; prior contact requested for these items.
• Crédit Municipal de Reims: Wines and spirits accepted and stored in a secure cellar, six-month contract.
• Crédit Municipal de Strasbourg: Receives wines only by appointment with the auctioneer.

Pledging bottles, in order

1. Draw up an inventory of the lot: appellation, vintage, bottle size, fill level and condition of labels and capsules.
2. Check that the chosen institution takes this type of wine, then book an appointment with the auctioneer.
3. Transport the bottles lying down or in their original wooden case, away from heat, with the purchase invoices.
4. Read the lot's valuation and the amount offered on the valuation slip before signing the contract.
5. Pay interest and fees on the due date to renew, or repay the capital to get the cellar back.
6. Otherwise, follow the announced sale and claim the surplus if the hammer price exceeds the debt.

Published scales for a wine pledge

Useful papers for pledging a cellar

• Official identity document bearing a photo
• Proof of address dated less than three months for a new customer
• Bank details of a current account in your name
• Wine merchant or négociant invoices, or auction sale slips for the bottles
• Written inventory of the lot with vintages and bottle sizes

Mistakes to avoid with pledged wines

• Offering everyday wines: Paris limits acceptance to grands crus, and Bordeaux to classified growths, champagnes and cognacs.
• Carrying the bottles in a car boot in midsummer, at the risk of spoiling the wine before it is even valued.
• Forgetting that damage caused by temperature changes is not compensated under the Paris general terms.
• Confusing the public institution with a private wine buyback website: selling your cellar is not borrowing against it.
• Missing the six-month due date in Bordeaux or Reims, which is shorter than the annual Paris contract.

General information, up to date as of October 2026 and non-contractual: always check the terms with the Crédit Municipal or the institution concerned.