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    Sotheby's Hong Kong Auction Of Wine "Treasures" Pulls in $2.6 Million

    As the city prepares for the Hong Kong International Art Fair and the Christie's Spring Auctions, this weekend Sotheby's long-awaited auction of Château Cheval Blanc, Château d’Yquem and Dom Pérignon was held in Hong Kong.
    Jing DailyAuthor
      Published   in Finance

    Vertical Of Dom Pérignon Rosé Œnothèque Goes For $170,554#

    As the city prepares for the Hong Kong International Art Fair and the Christie's Spring Auctions, this weekend Sotheby's held its long-awaited auction of Château Cheval Blanc, Château d’Yquem and Dom Pérignon in Hong Kong. Following the auction house's hugely successful US$6.4 million "Classic Cellar From A Great American Collector V" sale on April 3 and US$6.8 million at its first wine sale of the year in January, Sotheby's has sold 100% of its wine lots in Hong Kong in 2010.

    As Luxury-Insider points out today, this weekend's Cheval Blanc, Yquem and Dom Perignon auction far exceeded estimates (something that's becoming par for the course in Hong Kong), "raking in" US$2.65 million (HK$$20.66 million), well above its high estimate of US$1.85 million (HK$14.45 million). Of the 330 lots included in the auction, the top lot was a vertical of Dom Pérignon Rosé Œnothèque -- which made its world premiere in Hong Kong -- which sold for US$170,554 (HK$1.3 million), setting a new world record for a single lot of champagne. Other notable lots included a 2005 Château Cheval Blanc that went for US$34,123, a 1959 Cheval Blanc that sold for US$29,470, and a multiple vintage of Yquem that took in US$52,736.

    Look for Hong Kong and mainland Chinese collectors to continue their fine wine shopping spree at Christie's “Finest & Rarest Wines” auction on May 29. Christie's, which saw an average lot value of $17,300 at wine auctions in Hong Kong, looks to build on the success of the "Finest & Rarest Wines" series (which it revived in 2008) with rare lots of excellent provenance, such as the “Liquid Gold Collection,” which includes Château d’Yquem vintages spanning three centuries, from 1825 to 2005. The collection also includes an extensive selection of Château Lafite-Rothschild (a China favorite), featuring rare Double Magnums, Jeroboams and Imperials of 1959, Jeroboams of 1961 and various formats of the popular 1982 vintage. All in all, the sale will feature over 350 lots, which are expected to realize upwards of $3.86 million (HK$30 million).

    However, if we've learned anything from auctions in Hong Kong over the last year, it's that we can expect the final results to be far beyond that.

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