Acker auction sets 50 world records

Acker Merrall & Condit’s Connoisseurs’ Club sale  saw more than 50 new world records set last week, of which nearly 40 were from Burgundy.

The idea behind Acker’s new ‘Connoisseurs’ Club’ auction was to expand its market and reach out to a wider range of drinkers and collectors, while also expanding the choice and selection of wines available, explained John Kapon, Acker’s CEO.

“Our traditional live auctions can have average lot values as high as US$8,000 per lot, while this inaugural auction averaged about US$2,000. The auction delivered on exactly what we set out to do.  It attracted a new set of buyers and many old clients we haven’t seen in a while, as the selection and size of the lots were very appealing.”

Unsurprisingly, Burgundy and Bordeaux still dominated the market but Burgundy set more of the world records and seized the most market share.

The auction focused on “try ‘em” smaller lots, including the rarely-traded Domaine de Chevalier Blancs, magnums of Leflaive Chevalier Montrachets, 1991 DRC La Tache, mature vintages of La Mission Haut Brion and Chateau Lafleur and young vintages of Chateau d’Issan.

“The auction room was packed,” said Kapon. “And that’s what this sale was about, bottles of the best, and more wines from more producers that people need to know about.  This sale was so great, we’re doing it again here in June!”

This month also features Acker’s web-only Hong Kong sale with another 172 lots which closes 30 April at 8pm HKT. Details are available on the Acker website.