Wine has leaped into the spotlight at Hong Kong's top auction houses, with both Sotheby's and Christie's announcing plans for significant sales they believe reflect the speedy maturing of the Asian wine market.
The action starts next week, when Sotheby's Hong Kong gallery present the first-wine auction entirely dedicated to Chateau Palmer, more than 220 lots spanning 87 years (1928-2015), estimated at HK$7.7–HK$12.4 million ($980,000–$1.6 million).
Besides demonstrating the aging qualities of some great French wines -- the vintages go back as far as 1928 -- the June 4 sale also features a 225-liter barrel of Chateau Palmer 2015, a vintage that has yet to be released. That means buyers can choose the bottle sizes they want and even personalize them.
Wine fans intrigued by the Chateau Palmer event but who are not ready to jump into the auction can experience the wine in Hong Kong through July 31 in an unrelated event, a special wine-pairing menu at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong . The two-Michelin-starred Tin Lung Heen restaurant is matching the 2008 Alter Ego Palmer with baked wagyu beef served in black and white garlic, and the 1995 and 2011 vintages of Chateau Palmer with roasted crispy French duck with honey and preserved tangerine peel.
Meanwhile, Christie's announced on Tuesday that it will team up with Napa Valley Vintners to put rare treasures of the California wine industry on the auction block this fall.
At an announcement party hosted by Hong Kong-based Master of Wine Debra Meiburg, a California native, the "made-for-auction-only" Premiere Napa Valley wine range was previewed ahead of its debut Asian auction on Nov 3.
