Fine wine news

The first fine wine auction of 2012 in Hong Kong will be held this weekend (January 14th) and will feature an array of super seconds and Burgundy, as well as top-rated first growth Bordeaux.

Highlights of the sale include Montrose 2003 and Cos d'Estournel 2005, both of which have an estimate of HK$14-19,000 (£1,164 - £1,580) per case.

Bottles of Pichon Longueville Lalande 2000 and Baron 1995 are also expected to sell well.

Estimates for first growth lots are high, suggesting that buyers will be out in full force for the bottles for sale. They include a case of Margaux 2005, which has a top estimate of HK$100,000, 2005 vintages of Haut-Brion, Mouton Rothschild and Petrus, and Chateau d'Yquem 2001.

"It goes without saying that these classic classed growths from this Collection are in superlative condition," Serena Sutcliffe, worldwide head of Sotheby's wine department said of the featured Bordeaux.

"Every time we have shown bottles from this source, the reaction of tasters has been nothing short of ecstatic as the wines have shown so beautifully and so youthfully – the last occasion was with the 2000s which were bursting with health and flavour."

A small but strong collection of Burgundy will also be featured to appease the growing interest in the region by Asian investors. A case of Romanee Conti 1990 and 1988 are the top lots of the sale and both have an ambitious high estimate of HK$1 million.

However, it is the vintage Veuve Cliquot that could make the headlines the next day. Three magnums of 1921, 1929 and 1947 will be sure to attract interested buyers, as they come direct from the cellars of Veuve Clicquot in Reims and are extremely rare.

Each bottle is estimated to be worth HK$36,000-60,000 and Ms Sutcliffe said they have "enormous intensity and length of flavour".

"These are true rarities of phenomenal interest," she remarked.

Posted by John Yates