Acker Sets 97 New Wine Auction Records

Acker, Merrall and Condit, the world's leading wine auctioneer and America's oldest fine wine merchant, continued the strong momentum this year by achieving impressive results in its two-day sale held on 22^nd and 23^rd March at Island Shangri-La and Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong. Some of the world’s most outstanding fine wines from France’s most revered properties were featured in the sale which totalled over HK$38.25M/US$4.94M and was 94% sold.

John Kapon, CEO of Acker, Merrall and Condit Companies, said: “I was quite pleased to see Bordeaux have a nice bounce in the salesroom, as people were quite active, particularly for wines with ten years of bottle age or more, and results for Lafite and Petrus also stood out. While most of the recent talk in HK has been about Burgundy, it felt like Bordeaux was once again in charge – after getting a hall pass from DRC, of course.”

AN EXQUISITE COLLECTION OF SEVEN VINTAGES OF ROMANEE-CONTI

Burgundy was on fine display thanks to Romanée-Conti (Lots 704-713) featuring seven vintages of Romanée Conti in multiple bottle lots. The top lot of the auction was an original wooden case of 12 bottles of 1988 Romanée Conti that realized HK$984,000/US$126,154 (Lot 707). Further highlights included 3 bottles of 1990 (HK$344,400/US$44,154, Lot 709) and 3 bottles of the great 1999 (HK$295,200/US$37,846, Lot 713).

FOUR IMPORTANT FEATURED COLLECTIONS

Four featured collections in the sale showcased a wide array of superb and rare offerings of coveted vintages. The first represented a serious cellar of Bordeaux and Burgundy’s great estates (Lot 1-90). Among the highlights were an original wooden case of 12 bottles of 1982 Lafite (HK$442,800/US$56,769, Lot 6) and a very rare original wooden case of 3 double magnums of 1990 Pétrus (HK$590,400/ US$75,692, Lot 41), which was a world record . A bottle of 1947 Petrus also set a world record, selling for HK$118,080/US$15,138 (Lot 39).

Leading the Burgundy section was an original wooden case of 1962 Leroy Richebourg (HK$344,400/US$44,153, Lot 65), another world record, leading the charge for eleven new world records for Leroy. Other highlights included an original wooden case of 1962 Leroy Romanée St. Vivant (HK$221,400/US$28,384, Lot 67) and 12 bottles of the highly sought after 2009 Rousseau Chambertin (HK$108,240 /US$13,876, Lot 44).

Another featured collection came from a knowledgeable collector who is passionate about provenance (Lots 260-489). Major performers included an original wooden case of 3 bottles of 1999 Romanée Conti (HK$319,800/US$41,000, Lot 365) as well as a lot containing 6 bottles of 2000 Pétrus (HK$196,800/US$25,230, Lot 329). The spotlight also shone on 12 bottles of 1996 Lafite (HK$$137,760/US$17,661, Lot 10), an original wooden case of 2000 Lafite (HK$167,280/US$21,446, Lot 290), a magnum of 1990 La Tache (HK$83,640/US$10,723, Lot 362) and 2 magnums of 2005 Comte de Vogue Musigny (HK$59,040/US$7,569, Lot 359).

The third featured collection from one of Europe’s leading collectors (Lots 91-221), featured an extraordinary selection of white Burgundies from great vintages such as Roulot, Sauzet, Henri Boillot, LeMoine and Bouchard. High points included 42 perfectly stored lots from one of France’s most respected estates, Raveneau, which resulted in ten new world records for the Domaine, led by a rare 6 magnum lot of 2005 Chablis Clos (HK$59,040/US$7,569, Lot 140) and a two-case parcel of 2006 Chablis Clos (HK$31,980/US$4,100, Lot 141-142). There was also an unprecedented offering of Trimbach’s Clos Ste. Hune Riesling, a wine that competes with the greatest of grand cru white Burgundies. Among the 20 lots of this iconic wine on offer were 9 bottles of 1983 that fetched HK$34,440/US$4,415 (Lot 194).

The last featured collection came from a collector with a keen eye toward premier producers and top vintages (Lot 714-861). Big format rarities of this collection realized strong prices, highlighted by a world record price for a jeroboam of 1975 Petrus (HK$167,280/US$21,446, Lot 805) and a Jeroboam of 1989 La Mission Haut Brion selling for HK$73,800/US$9,462 (Lot 746). Also of note were 6 magnums of 2000 Lafite (HK$196,800/US$25,231, Lot 753). An exceptional vertical of 18 bottles of Yquem beginning with 1934 achieved HK$157,440/US$20,185 (Lot 816).

DRC HIGHLIGHTS

There was great interest throughout the sale for the world’s leading producer, Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC), marked by 12 bottles of 1999 DRC Assortment in original wooden case (HK$344,400/ US$44,154, Lot 688), 3 bottles of 2001 Romanée Conti (HK$270,600/US$34,692, Lot 690) and 3 bottles of 2004 Romanée Conti (HK$221,400/US$28,385, Lot 691)

2009 BORDEAUX HIGHLIGHTS

A special section of the sale was devoted to parcels of the top Chateaux from the heralded 2009 vintage, featuring Carruades, Haut Brion, La Mission, Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Mouton as well as Cheval Blanc and Pétrus all in pristine original wooden cases. Highlights included 12 bottles of 2009 Petrus in banded owc (HK$344,400/US$44,153, Lot 249), 6 bottles of 2009 Petrus in owc (HK$186,960/US$23,969, Lot 250), case parcels of 2009 Lafite in original wood (HK$127,920/US$16,400 each, Lot 235-237) as well as Latour (HK$127,920/US$16,400 each, Lot 240-242).

Acker Merrall will conduct its next live auction in New York on 3 April at Tribeca Grill Restaurant and in Hong Kong on 31 May & 1 June at Island Shangri-La and Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.