THE LEGENDARY COLLECTION – THREE CENTURIES OF CHÂTEAU LATOUR 

 TO LEAD CHRISTIE’S HONG KONG FINE AND RARE WINES AUCTION

FROM 22 TO 24 NOVEMBER 2013

Hong Kong – Christie's Hong Kong is delighted to announce a three-day auction of Fine and Rare Wines from 22 to 24 November 2013. Comprising over 850 lots valued in excess of HK$46 million, the auction presents a stellar array of wines with perfect provenance. Leading the sale is The Legendary Collection – Three Centuries of Château Latour (Illustrated above), which features 105 different vintages from the world-famous Bordeaux First Growth, Château Latour including bottles spanning vintages 1881 to 2008.

Also on offer is a diverse range of outstanding wines by producers from classic regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhône, Italy, Spain, California, Australia and Portugal as well as highlights from private collections, exclusive Krug champagnes, and the 2013 Decanter Asia Wines Awards. An exceptional French wine and fine art collaboration between Château Suduiraut and Chinese contemporary artist Jiao Xingtao will also be making its first appearance in the auction. 

THE LEGENDARY COLLECTION - THREE CENTURIES OF CHÂTEAU LATOUR

Christie’s Hong Kong wine specialist team is proud to offer an extremely rare and unique collection of finest and rarest vintages from the world-famous Bordeaux First Growth, Château Latour. The collection spans three centuries and includes many of the finest vintages and rarest bottles starting from 1881 and up to 2008.

The collection is presented in nine magnificent bespoke crafted presentation cases with each bottle housed in a specific vintage-embossed drawer. This case is a fitting and majestic home for such an incredible collection of bottles of Château Latour. (Illustrated on page 1, Lot 5202, 105 bottles, Estimate per lot: HK$2,000,000-3,000,000)

TOP BURGUNDY AND BORDEAUX WINES

While the “famous Domaines and unsung heroes” from Burgundy were celebrated in The Henry Tang Collection in March and fine Burgundy and Bordeaux wines achieved strong results in our Spring auction and Dr. Ku’s Apothecary sale in May and August respectively, Christie’s Hong Kong will be keeping the momentum with a remarkable selection of top wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux this November.

A series of J. Vandermeulen-Decannière bottled wines will be offered, including Château Cheval Blanc 1921 and Château d'Yquem 1921. J. Vandermeulen-Decannière founded the fine wine merchant bearing his name more than 100 years ago in Ostend, Belgium. Purchasing barrels from some of the best vineyards in France, he bottled all wines on his own. These wines enjoyed a very high reputation; and in particular, the wines from the mythical vintages are still excellent. Until the early 1960’s, J. Vandermeulen-Decannière was still bottling with the label bearing its crest "J.VANDERMEULEN-DECANNIERE to OSTEND." The auction presents rare opportunities to acquire some of the best J. Vandermeulen-Decannière bottlings still available on the market. (Illustrated left, Lot 5331, 12 bottles of Cheval Blanc 1921, Estimate per lot HK$400,000-600,000; Lot 5358 & 5359, 3 bottles of Yquem 1921, Estimate per lot HK$70,000-100,000)

Amongst the impressive lots from private collections on offer is a very rare Magnum collection of Mouton Rothschild from 1929 to 2009. From the property of a gentleman, this magnum collection was removed earlier this year by a Christie’s wine specialist especially for this sale from a professionally maintained temperature-controlled cellared environment. Also included in the auction catalogue are short introductions to the famous artists that have designed the labels of some of the vintages of Mouton Rothschild that are offered in the collection. (Lot 5434, 61 magnums, Estimate per lot: HK$1,500,000-2,000,000)

FINE KRUG CHAMPAGNES

The auction is further highlighted by a collection of champagnes from the 1980’s and 1990’s featuring 144 bottles from the House of Krug. An outstanding selection of Clos du Mesnil and Clos d'Ambonnay with four vintages from the 1980’s (1982, 1985, 1988, and 1989) and four from the 1990’s (1990, 1995, 1996, and 1998) will be featured with an exclusive VIP visit for two people to the Krug Maison in Reims, France. (Lot 5372, 40 bottles & VIP visit, Estimate per lot: HK$500,000–800,000)

Another highlight is a compelling selection of Vintage Krug, Krug Collection and four batches of Krug Grand Cuvée, which is the only Prestige cuvée that has been developed every year since 1843. (Lot 5373, 104 bottles, Estimate per lot: HK$200,000 – 300,000)

CHARITY LOTS FROM 2013 DECANTER ASIA WINES AWARDS

Further highlights include the charity lots from the 2013 Decanter Asia Wines Awards. They are drawn from the samples submitted to this prestigious wine award competition. All money raised from the sale of the lots from the Decanter Asia Wine Awards wine will go to the newly created "The Decanter Asia Wine Scholarship Programme", which supports Asia's promising wine palates and future wine professionals. Each case contains 12 different bottles ranging from Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhône to Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and North America. All of the bottles have been selected from the upper end of the wines submitted with regards to price. (Lots 5692 to 5728)

CONTEMPORARY ART AND FINE WINE COLLABORATION

As the world’s leading auction house offering world-class fine art, Christie’s is pleased to present the collaboration between Château Suduiraut and Chinese contemporary artist and sculptor Jiao Xingtao on an initiative that brings together Chinese contemporary art and French wines. Château Suduiraut 2009 signed by Jiao Xingtao and Edition N°1 of Jiao Xingtao’s sculpture The Golden Wine will be the sale highlights, in which both lots include a VIP stay at Château Pichon-Longueville Baron for two people for two nights with a special visit to Château Suduiraut. (Illustrated left, Lot 5425, Sculpture by Jiao Xingtao & VIP visit, Estimate per lot: HK$40,000–80,000: Lot 5426, 6 bottles of Suduiraut 2009 & VIP visit, Estimate per lot: HK$15,000–25,000)

PERFECT PAIRINGS

Warmly welcomed by collectors and connoisseurs since its debut in May 2013, Christie’s ‘Perfect Pairing’ food and wine notes will also be included in the auction catalogues. Recommendations include Penfolds Grange with stewed pork in brown sauce, Pétrus 1947 with braised pork belly with sweet pork and Richebourg 2001 from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with fried mushroom and chicken. (Lot 5195, 12 bottles of mixed vintages of Penfolds Grange Estimate per lot: HK$28,000–42,000; Lot 5340, 12 bottles of Pétrus 1947, Estimate per lot: HK$240,000–350,000; Lot 5141, 6 bottles of Richebourg 2001, Estimate per lot: HK$45,000-55,000)

FINE AND RARE WINES

Grand Hall, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, No. 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai

22-24 November 2013, Sale 3251

AUCTION:

22 November 2013 (Friday)   4pm to 7pm: Lots 5001 to 5208

23 November 2013 (Saturday) 10am to 4pm: Lots 5209 to 5691

24 November 2013 (Sunday)   10:30am to 12.30pm: Lots 5692 to 5854

PRESS CONTACTS:

Simone Woo | Hong Kong | +852 2978 9966 | swoo@christies.com

Meng Mi | Bejing | +86 10 8572 7977 | mmi@christies.com

Please click here to view the factsheet and images of the above auction highlights.