Century club: Upper estimates top HKD100 million for Sotheby’s April auctions in Hong Kong

Mouton Rothschild 2000, various formats, image via Sothebys

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By Jim Boyce

Sotheby’s has a pair of wine auctions lined up for early April that will help replenish the dwindling drinking stocks of wealthy buyers in the region. And if the upper estimates for both are reached, the take will top HKD100 million / CNY80 million.

The first is called “A Magnificent Bordeaux Cellar II“, slated for April 4, and includes 381 lots estimated at up to HDK26 million. Says a Sotheby’s press release (my highlights):

Finest Bordeaux – all First Growths plus their equivalents, Cheval Blanc and La Mission Haut-Brion – from the top vintages, such as 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000, are available in multiple formats. Many of these are offered in parcel quantities including 11 cases of Château Mouton Rothschild 1986, 12 cases of Château Margaux 1996 and 15 cases of Château Cheval Blanc 2000. For Sauternes lovers, the impressive selection of Yquem in parcel quantities from the great vintages over the past 20 years, including 10 cases of 2001, is definitely not to be missed.

Fitting into the Year of the Horse theme, there are 88 Lots of Cheval Blanc from 1966 to 2004.

The second is called “Finest & Rarest Wines Featuring the Collection of Ambassador Ronald Weiser“, slated for both April 4 and 5, and includes a whopping 1219 lots estimated at up to HDK75 million.

The press release says the wines come from “a superb collection from the home cellar of Ambassador Ronald Weiser… offered by the University of Michigan with all proceeds benefiting the Food Allergy Center. The collection represents over a century of liquid history, from 1899 to 2008, with an emphasis on historic, mature wines of remarkable complexity and depth.”

Along with plenty of lots of First Growth wines as well as Right Bank powerhouses like Le Pin and Petrus, the release notes “magnums of La Mission Haut-Brion 1945, Cheval Blanc 1929 and Lafite 1959. A 57-bottle vertical of Mouton Rothschild from 1918 to 1996 is another major sale attraction. There is also a magnificent collection of top class burgundies highlighted by 80 lots of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from 1952 to 2008 and 26 lots of Henri Jayer from 1980 to 1993.”

 


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