Five top lots to watch at Bonhams’ upcoming Hong Kong auction

But this month, even in an auction world familiar to glitz and glitter, Bonhams’ upcoming ‘Fine and Rare Wine and Whisky’ Sale on 18 May still commands utmost attention, with a rare pair of bespoke 1926 60 Year Old Macallan that are likely to smash world records.

Bonhams put the estimate for the respective bottle at HK$3.6 million – HK$4.6 million, yet earlier this year in Dubai, the same pair with different bottle numbers were sold for US$600,000 each, surpassing Bonhams’ high estimate.

In addition to the two supernova lots, the sale will present a total of 650 lots with 210 lots of wine and 440 lots of whisky, including the oldest expression of Japan’s cult whisky Karuizawa 1960, a bottle of Suntory-Rolling Stone 50th anniversary bottle, a magnum of 1986 Domaine d e la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti and a double magnum of 1986 DRC Montrachet.

Here we’ve rounded up five of the top lots to watch at the upcoming auction. Click through the pages to see details of each lot.

The two Macallans are still in a Brass and Glass Spirit Safe in pristine condition. On the left is the Peter Blake label, and on the right is the Valerio Adami label.

Macallan today has grown to be one of the world’s most coveted whisky brands, with rare bottlings and old vintages commanding hefty prices and cherished by collectors as crown jewels.

The two rare bottles of Macallan 1926 at the Bonhams’ Fine and Rare Wine and Whisky sale were among the 24 bottles with labels commissioned by two of the 20th century’s renowned Pop Art artists, Sir Peter Blake and Italy’s Valerio Adami, making them highly sought-after among whisky collectors and art connoisseurs.

The bottles were distilled at The Macallan Distillers in Craigellachie in 1926 and matured in Sherry casks for 60 years before being released in 1986 to offer as corporate gifts to the distillery’s most valued customers. Only 24 bottles – 12 of the Blake label and 12 of the Adami label – were produced.

The bottle with the Peter Blake label has the bottle number ‘8/12’ on its front label, indicating it’s the eighth bottle of the 12 bottles produced, while the Adami label on offer is the second bottle of the 12 bottles produced. Both bottles are signed by the respective artist and The Macallan chairman Allan Shiach.

Each bottle is estimated to fetch HK$3,600,000-4,600,000 (US$460,000 – 586,000). The Peter Blake bottle is expected to go under hammer at 7.30pm on 18 May, followed by the Valerio Adami bottle at 9.30pm.

This is believed to be the oldest bottling of Karuizawa after the distillery was founded in 1955, using imported Scottish ingredients for owners Mercian to supply the domestic Japanese market. The 1960 edition comes with a netsuke – miniature wooden sculptures – that hangs from its neck. The 52 Year Old bottle is thus named as ‘The Dragon’ because of the dragon netsuke.

Production at the distillery, however, ceased in 2000 after Mercian was acquired by Kirin, and the casks were sold to Number One Drinks. Bottled in January 2013 for a total number of 41, the whisky is aged in ex-Sherry hogsheads, and housed in a Japanese puzzle wooden case.

The label has been handmade by Norito Hasegawa, a third generation paper maker, and then embellished by a Master Calligrapher, Soji Nishimoto 西本宗璽.

The bottle is expected to fetch HK$1,500,000- HK$1,800,000 (US$191,000 – US$229,000).

Distilled and bottled by Suntory, the whisky is one of the 150 bottles created by the Japanese distillery for the legendary rock band Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary, bearing the rock band’s signature lips and tongue logo.

This whisky is a blend of carefully selected malts distilled and casked in milestone years throughout the band’s 50 year history, including a malt from the year the band formed that has been long-aged in Mizunara (Japanese oak) casks.Its weighty, complex aroma is described to have notes of “dried and ripened fruits, and even cacao and espresso,” and its rich heaviness and slight bitterness expand in the mouth with a velvety smoothness. The aftertaste consists of woodiness akin to the “fragrance of the finest aloeswood, and a soft smokiness,” the auction house describes.

The bottle is set to attract between HK$260,000 and HK$320,000, based on Bonhams’ estimates.

Romanée-Conti 1986

No other wine evokes the same kind of imagination and reverie as Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), a wine that has been known for its quality, longevity and the prices it commands in the secondary market.

At the Bonhams’ auction this Friday, a magnum of Romanée-Conti 1986 is going to go under the hammer for an estimated price of HK$240,000 – HK$300,000. The bottle still bears the Leroy sticker before Lalou Bize-Leroy, former co-manager of DRC, parted ways with the estate to focus on her own family estate Domaine Leroy.

This DRC Montrachet comes in its original wooden case. Similar to the red of the same vintage, this double magnum (three litre) bears a Leroy sticker as well. Ranked as one of the most rare white wines in the world, the DRC Montrachet is made rarer given its large format.

Rated a perfect 100 points by The Wine Advocate, the bottle’s high estimate is HK$280,000.