Hong Kong sale sets rare wines records

New auction records for rare wines have been set in Hong Kong, after three lots including the rare Romanée-Conti were sold over the weekend, auctioneer Acker Merrall & Condit said. Two cases of the highly sought-after 1988 DRC Romanée-Conti in pristine condition were sold for $106,359 each at the two-day auction which ended on Saturday, setting a world record for a case of the wine. Another case that set a world record was the 1982 Chateau Lafleur Pomerol grand cru which sold for $56,308, part of an American collection that offered bidders the finest from Bordeaux and Burgundy. One lot of eight bottles produced by Louis-Michel Liger-Belair spanning 2002-2009 took in $68,821, setting a record for a single lot of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, one of Burgundy's top wines. Acker Merral & Condit took in a total of HK$91 million ($11.67 million) during the two-day wine auction, and said there had been "very spirited bidding" throughout the sale. "The remarkable success of the sale testifies to the robust growth of the Hong Kong and Asian wine market," John Kapon, CEO of the wine auctioneer, said in a statement late Sunday. Hong Kong has emerged as the world's third-largest auction centre after New York and London, thanks in large part to China's rapidly growing number of millionaires. Mainland Chinese are regular buyers of the top lots at sales of art, jewellery and wine and Hong Kong has positioned itself as a wine hub for Asia as well as the gateway to China's vast market.