Burgundy and old Madeira offered in HK

Old Burgundy, Madeira and Japanese whiskies led Christie’s latest Hong Kong sale to a final tally of HK$28.9 million last weekend.

Overall the sale was 84% sold by lot and 89% by value with a final total of HK$28.9m (US$3.7m).

Christie’s reported that there was “global interest” with bidders from 13 countries, across four continents.

As might be expected, the top two lots came from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; a six-bottle case of Romanée-Conti 1999 (HK$937,500/US$120,836) and some of the 1989 (HK$750,000/US$96,669).

The other top lot was a case of 1945 Mouton Rothschild which went for HK$625,000 (US$80,557).

Other leading wine lots included Mosel wines from the late 1970s and early 1980s from producers such as Egon Müller and JJ Prüm and rare Madeira dating back to 1801.

The spirits section of the sale was led by Karuizawa’s ‘Aqua of Life’ 50 year-old which was scooped up for HK$525,000 (US$67,668).

Tim Triptree MW, international director & specialist at the Wine Department, commented: “The fantastic results achieved demonstrate the continued strong demand for outstanding vintages from the worlds top wine estates. The exceptional result realised for Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 1999 indicates that the finest Burgundy continue to attract the attention of wine connoisseurs and collectors.

“Japanese whiskies remain highly coveted, as we saw from the stellar sale result for the Karuizawa ‘Aqua of Life’ 50 Year old. Overall, we have seen sustained purchase activity, and we hope to see this encouraging momentum carried forward to our Fine & Rare Wines Sale in London on November 28th – 29th, and also our Finest and Rarest Wines & Spirits Sale in New York on 13 December.”