A single owner Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet collection achieved 100% sell-through rate, leading Christie’s Hong Kong Wines & Spirits Autumn Auctions on December 5.
The collection of DRC Montrachet vintages attracted heated bidding in the region, with the sale totals achieving 1.56 times over pre-sale low estimates. The top lot in this group was Montrachet 2005, 6 bottles per lot which sold for HK$500,000 (US$64,790).
Another noteworthy highlight was DRC, Montrachet 2011, 3 bottles per lot, which realized HK$250,000 (US$32,395), more than doubling its pre-sale low estimate.
The second auction Finest & Rarest Wines and Spirits Including A Magnificent Collection of Karuizawa fetched HK$25,608,625 (US$3,318,356), with 96% sold by lot and 137% over the pre-sale low estimate.
Michelle Chan, Head of Wine at Christie’s Asia Pacific, commented, “We are delighted to wrap up the Hong Kong Autumn Auctions season with phenomenal results achieved by our two sales today. Single-ower collections continue to be the focal highlight of our sales, reflected by the private collection of DRC which was 100% sold.
“A robust market response and strong prices were seen across all types of wines, with 100% sell-through rate achieved by the collections of Scottish and Japanese whiskies (sale totals 1.4 times over low estimates) and Juyondai premium sake (sale totals 1.4 times over low estimates), as well as German wine from Egon Müller (sale totals more than 2 times over low estimates).
“Bordeaux and Burgundy wines from legendary chateaux continued to attract avid bidding and fetched exceptional prices. We look forward to extending this strong buying momentum to the upcoming live auction in London (10 – 11 December) and the 160ème Vente des vins des Hospices de Beaune in France (13 December).”
Other than the DRC lots, the assortment of rare Penfolds Grange vintages performed very well, led by the inaugural 1951 vintage which was never commercially released, realizing HK$237,500 (US$30,775).
The selection of German Wine from Egon Müller attracted heated bidding and was all sold. Leading this group was Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Auslese, 6 bottles per lot, which sold for HK$87,500(US$11,338), more than four times over its pre-sale low estimate.
Scottish and Japanese single-malt whiskies were highly sought after by Greater China collectors and were 100% sold, so were the Armand Rousseau wines.
