Monday 25 January 2010

Chateau Lafite 1982 goes for HK$363,000

A six-litre bottle of Chateau Lafite 1982 has fetched HK$363,000 (S$65,600), nearly twice its presale high estimate, at a sold-out wine auction as the quest for rarity and inflation concerns drove prices higher.

1 comment:

Guanyu said...

Chateau Lafite 1982 goes for HK$363,000

Wine auction in Hong Kong fetches HK$52.9m in total

Bloomberg
25 January 2010

(HONG KONG) A six-litre bottle of Chateau Lafite 1982 has fetched HK$363,000 (S$65,600), nearly twice its presale high estimate, at a sold-out wine auction as the quest for rarity and inflation concerns drove prices higher.

The 10-hour sale on Saturday of more than 800 lots tallied HK$52.9 million, beating host Sotheby’s own forecast of HK$40 million. Bidders at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel drank glasses of Louis Roederer Blanc de Blanc 2003 and Haut Brion 1998 as they competed with online bidders for choice items, such as twin 1.5-litre bottles of Chateau Petrus 1982 that fetched HK$435,600, against the lot’s top estimate of HK$130,000. Estimates don’t include commission.

As economies such as China show signs of inflation while the government increases spending to sustain growth, some buyers are converting their currency into assets such as fine wine to protect their wealth, said Agnes Hon, a private-equity investor and wine collector who bought several lots at the sale.

Others buy simply to enjoy their purchases, said Kevin Ching, Sotheby’s Asia chief executive.

That’s especially true of mainland Chinese buyers, who won at least a quarter of the bids at the auction, he said.

‘Many Chinese buy to drink, entertain and impress. That’s good, because it means they would have to replenish their stock and buy more often.’

Hong Kong scrapped wine duties in February 2008, spurring demand. The city was the venue for 14 wine auctions last year worth almost HK$500 million.

In October, Sotheby’s said that Hong Kong has surpassed London as its second-largest market, behind only New York.