Autumn season starts for Sotheby’s HK

Sotheby’s Hong Kong October auction features two single-owner sales estimated at over HK$36 million and described by the auction house as a “tempting treasure trove full of allure and promise.”

Sotheby’s Hong Kong has announced its autumn sale which will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 3 October.

Consisting of two single-owner sales, “The Classic Cellar from a Prestigious Collection” held during the day and the evening sale of “The Contemporary Cellar from Impeccable Storage at Octavian”, the auction will offer more than 1,400 lots estimated in excess of HK$36m (US$4.6m).

The day sale features 998 lots estimated at HK$25-34m (US$3.2-4.3m) and includes more than 100 lots of DRC from 1997 to 2011 in multiple formats as well as 800-plus lots of iconic Bordeaux labels including nearly 200 lots of Château Lafite and over 100 lots of Château Margaux – 15 cases of Margaux 1998 is estimated between HK$30,000-45,000 (US$3,800-5,500 per case).

Serena Sutcliffe, Master of Wine (MW), said, “This stunning collection is a tempting treasure trove full of allure and promise, wickedly appealing to all palates. The Bordeaux list is studded with First Growths, closely followed by Super Seconds, Fabulous Fifths and a liberal sprinkling of luscious Right Bank wines. Burgundy is brilliantly represented in this collection, with DRC to the fore. What more could one ask for?”

The evening sale offers 400 lots totalling HK$11-16m (US$1.4-2m), with a heavy focus on wine purchased direct from Octavian. The sale is based around more than 1,700 bottles from the best and most popular Domaines in Burgundy in multiple formats, highlighted by 200-plus lots from DRC, Rousseau, Leroy, Cathiard, Dujac and de Vogüé for the reds and Coche-Dury, Leflaive and Lafon for the whites.

Additionally there is a collection of over 600 lots of Champagne including 12 bottles of 1996 Dom Pérignon estimated between HK$55,000-80,000 (US$7,000-10,000) and 12 bottles of 1990 Krug estimated between HK$30,000-42,000 (US$3,800-5,500). There is also a rare 25-magnum vertical of Vega Sicilia “Unico” from 1960 to 2000 estimated between HK$190,000-260,000 (US$24,000 – 32,000).

Sutcliffe continued: “This is a truly stimulating, knowledgeably eclectic collection, gathered by a connoisseur who loved and appreciated the noble regions of France, but who also stepped out, at an early stage, and saw what stunning wines could be produced in Spain and Italy. It is the sheer desirability of these wines that impresses. This is a massed array Grands Crus, both red and white, from the producers that we most revere.”