Asian wine auction uncorks $8.2 mln in sales
HONG KONG (Reuters) - America's leading wine auction house sold $8.2 million of fine vintages in Hong Kong on Saturday in Asia's largest such sale, underscoring the city's potential as a regional wine hub.
Acker Merrall & Condit's inaugural auction of fine and rare wines in Hong Kong drew hundreds of collectors from Hong Kong, China, Asia and the West.
The mood was convivial and bidding brisk during the day-long session which netted HK$64 million ($8.2 million) in sales with 92 percent of the 922 lots sold, as well as smashing at least five world auction records for some of the world's finest wines.
The day's highlight was a 12-bottle case of 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, often considered the world's most expensive wine. It was sold for HK$1.89 million ($242,000) including the buyer's premium to a Singaporean buyer. The price was a world record for any case of Romanee-Conti of any vintage ever sold.
Three magnums of Dom Perignon champagne of '66, '73 and '76 vintages made $93,000, the highest price ever paid for any champagne. A case of Chateau Le Pin 1982 fetched HK$823,000 ($105,500) -- a world record for that vintage, while a case of 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild sold for $155,000.
The '45 Mouton Rothschild is considered one of the Chateau's greatest vintages and described as "a Churchill of a wine" with a "V" sign on its label to mark the Allied victory in World War Two.
"It's a very special piece of history," said Cecilia Piacitelli, the buyer of the 63-year-old wine.
The auction comes months after Hong Kong decided to abolish its 40 percent wine duty in February to try to develop into an Asian wine hub along the lines of London and New York.
"The tax cut is great, I think the rest of the world needs to follow Hong Kong's lead, maybe China will be next, Russia (or) Indonesia," said John Kapon, Acker's president.
"It'd be great to see other countries follow the lead and realize hey, good wine is part of good life and it just doesn't make sense to tax it so high," added Kapon who said China, Russia and South Korea's wine taxes hovered close to 50 percent.
But some top wine collectors who frequent European and U.S. wine auctions, said the prices in Hong Kong were high.
"I tried to find some bargains but it was difficult today," said George Tong, a respected Hong Kong wine connoisseur.
Over the years, a small clique of affluent so called "super-collectors" in Hong Kong has established a reputation for seemingly limitless spending on some of the best vintages coming onto the market each year, outbidding other global connoisseurs.
Bonhams hosted a recent $1.5 million wine auction in Hong Kong, the first in the city in over a decade and the first since the wine duties were abolished. Global auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's are reported to be considering sales of their own.
Acker will hold a second Hong Kong wine auction in November.
(Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
