Penfolds and single malt HK auction season

Various lots of Penfolds Grange and single malt Scotch and Japanese whisky powered Sotheby’s first Hong Kong sale of the year to a total of HK$33m.

Stellar collections of Australia’s leading fine wine label, top Burgundy and rare whisky achieved big results at the recent sale, with over 50% of the lots offered going for more than their high estimates.

The 88 lots of Penfolds on offer combined realised HK$1.9m (US$242,645) in total, with a vertical of Grange in magnum spanning 1979-2014 making HK$396,800 (US$50,584).

Meanwhile, another three lots of nine bottle cases of The Macallan Exceptional Single Cask Releases consigned from the distillery went for HK$1.8m (US$241,854) combined.

The sale’s top lot however was a bottle of The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky Aged 50 Years, which went for HK$1.9m (US$252,920).

Various vintages of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Romanée-Conti also dominated in the sale’s best-selling lots chart.

Adam Bilbey, head of Sotheby’s Wine, Asia, said: “We are thrilled to open our 2019 wine auction season with a strong sale last weekend in Hong Kong, with over 50% of the lots sold above their high estimates. DRC Romanée Conti and rare whiskies including The Macallan and The Yamazaki dominated the top ten lots; while the highly anticipated collection of Penfolds attracted active bidding from across Asia.

“The results illustrate the expanding taste of Asian wine lovers for a diverse offering of the very best wines and spirits. We are very pleased with the outstanding performance of The Macallan Exceptional Single Cask 2017 Releases, and we look forward to the results of our Whisky + Moutai Online sale that closes on Thursday 24 January.”