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First ex-cellar auction from Edouard Delaunay achieves white glove sale

10 December 2025 By Eloise Feilden

Bonhams’ global head of wine & spirits “fully expects Burgundy to remain a cornerstone” of Hong Kong’s fine wine market following a a white glove sale of ex-cellar wines from producer Edouard Delaunay.

First ex-cellar auction from Edouard Delaunay achieves white glove sale — Laurent Delaunay

The sale (5-27 November), titled Jubilant Revival in Burgundy: Maison Edouard Delaunay Ex‑Domaine – Finest & Rarest Wines, was 100% sold via an online auction hosted by Bonhams Hong Kong.

It offered 69 lots in total – an array of rare verticals, large-format bottles, and exclusive cuvées, all sourced directly from the Delaunay family’s private cellar – and sold for a total of HK$965,375 (£93,062).

Leading the sale was a unique barrel of Vougeot Premier Cru Les Cras 2023 released in various bottle formats, including one Salmanazar (9l), 12 Jeroboams (3l), 36 Magnums (1.5l) and 135 bottles (750ml). The lot was sold for HK$375,000, surpassing its high estimate of HK$360,000.

This lot also included the offer of personalised labels for the winning buyer and an exclusive visit, dinner and private tasting for four guests at Maison Edouard Delaunay.

Laurent Delaunay with the single barrel of Vougeot Premier Cru Les Cras 2023

In November, Bonhams Hong Kong also achieved a white glove sale for wines from the cellar of French restaurant Hostellerie Jérôme.

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The Hong Kong auction is the first of a six-auction series of the cellar of Hostellerie Jérôme in La Turbie held across three locations. With over 25,000 bottles, the collection spans French wine regions including Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and the Rhône Valley. Part I featured the cellar’s finest Burgundies.

Amayès Aouli, global head of wine & spirits, Bonhams, told db that the auction house chose to host these two Burgundy sales in Hong Kong because the city “retains a particularly strong and loyal following” for the region’s wines.

“The level of connoisseurship is remarkably high in Hong Kong, and bidders are often deeply knowledgeable about domaines, climats, evolutions in winemaking, and the nuances between vintages. This creates a very receptive environment for sales that offer depth, authenticity, and impeccable sourcing,” he said. “This is precisely why we chose Hong Kong for both the Hostellerie Jérôme cellar PART I and the inaugural ex-cellar sale from Edouard Delaunay. The market values direct-from-cellar releases enormously, and when a historic Burgundy house such as Edouard Delaunay opens its doors for the first time, collectors here recognise immediately how rare an occasion that is.”

Aouli only sees the demand for Burgundy growing among Hong Kong fine wine consumers. “We are seeing renewed interest from seasoned collectors, but also an expanding cohort of younger buyers across Asia who are gravitating toward Burgundy for its precision, its individuality of terroir, and its long-term value. This creates a very healthy and diversified landscape for the category,” he said, adding that Bonhams “fully expects Burgundy to remain a cornerstone of the market in the years ahead”.

Edouard Delaunay was founded in Burgundy in 1893, based in Nuits-Saint-Georges and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. In 2017, Laurent Delaunay, a fifth-generation winemaker and oenologist, reclaimed the family estate and began its revival.

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