Christie’s Hong Kong started the Spring season with its sale of Finest and Rarest Wines (Part I ) on Friday, 4th March 2011, with 91% of its lots sold, totalling HK$53,023,000/US$6,808,179. The two top lots of the day were both La Tâche – Vintage 1961 (6 magnums), each of which sold for HK$720,000/US$92,448. (estimate: HK$750,000-1,100,000). Part II of this sale will continue on Saturday, 5th March, 2011 from 12 noon at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong.
David Elswood, International Head of Wine at Christie’s, said, “Hong Kong remains the global centre for the wine auction industry, and continues to be a focus for our activity. I and our expanded team in Asia are excited about the prospects of this season – looking at the encouraging sale results today, we anticipate continued demand for rare wines of the best quality, which we will be offering not only at our sales tomorrow, but also in April and May here in Hong Kong.”
Charles Curtis, Christie’s Head of Wine, Asia, commented, “The first day of our season showed very robust results, with sales of more than HK$53 million/US$6.8 million. Highlights included a wide range of wines, from 1929 Romanée Conti selling for HK$200,000/US$25,680 per bottle and magnums of 1961 La Tâche selling for HK$720,000 /US$92,448 . The 1982 vintage was also quite popular, with cases of Pétrus and Lafite Rothschild among the top selling lots . We look forward to continuing the momentum at the sales tomorrow. “
