Chateau Latour sets auction record

Sometimes people do get carried away in the excitement of an auction. That may be what happened on Nov. 29 at the first Christie’s International wine auction in Hong Kong in seven years.

Pre-event estimates predicted a 12-bottle lot of 1961 Chateau Latour might bring HK$650,000. Instead, it sold for a record HK$1.32 million (US$170,320).

The bottles were bought in the Nov. 29 event by an Asian private collector Christie’s didn’t identify. Another two lots of Latour 1961 were the second- and third-most expensive items at the auction. Of the 246 lots offered, 231 sold for a combined HK$31.5 million.

The Hong Kong government last February abolished duties on wine, thus cutting the costs of trading and storing bottles in Hong Kong to encourage more Asian collectors to move their wines from current trading centers such as London.

To Dowd's Wine Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Spirits Notebook
To Dowd's Brews Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Non-Alcohol Drinks Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd On Drinks home page.