Ex-cellar Cheval Blanc sale in HK

An ex-cellar collection worth over HK$6 million is to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong at the end of the month.

Over 200 lots of the Right Bank grand cru classé will go under the hammer on 28 May, valued between $6.3m and $9.5m and the collection includes large formats of the first and second wines from magnum to Melchior and spanning the vintages 1936 to 2011.

Serena Sutcliffe, the house’s international head of wine, said: “We are thrilled to celebrate the Year of the Horse with a special, direct-from-the-château sale of fabulous vintages and formats from Château Cheval Blanc.

“When assembling the wine list, the château came up with the idea that all wines should be in large format, from magnum to Melchior, so rare and so dramatic.

“These superb large formats will, we hope, be brought out in decades to come, to play their part in parties, birthdays, marriages and anniversaries.

“There are mouth-watering, mature vintages that can be broached in the near future, but the younger, famous vintages may well be served by children and grandchildren, proud that their fathers and grandfathers acquired these wines when it was still possible – and from the perfect source.”

Particular highlights include three magnums of the 1966 vintage for $32,000-$46,000; two double magnums of 1978 for the same; an imperial of 1990 ($80,000-$120,000)and a Balthazar of Le Petit Cheval 2002 ($9,000-$13,000).

Alongside the collection is an impressive line-up of fine and rare wines including Haut-Brion 1989, Lafite 2005, Petrus 2004, L’Evangile 2005 and Palmer 2003.

The main body of the auction (some 600 lots) is valued at $16-$23m.