I received an email this morning from southern California-based Spectrum Wine Auctions about an interesting auction coming up this weekend in Hong Kong.
The 2011 March Rare Wine Auction will take place this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. local time at The Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers. I’m told that it will be Spectrum’s biggest event to date, and will feature an impressive sounding collection, including more than 1,700 lots of some notable collectible wines such as Château Lafite Rothschild (including sought-after vintages such as 1982, 1986, 2000, and 2005) and other consignments purchased direct from the cellars of Château Mouton Rothschild, Château d’Yquem and Compañia Vinícola del Norte de España.
More than 14,000 bottles will be offered with a pre-sale estimate of nearly $5 million.
I’ve covered the growing interest in wine in China a few times—wine exports to China grew five-fold from 2005 to 2009, from 6 million to 35.6 million. This auction therefore seems bound to add to the buzz.
Helpfully, the organizers will be including a preview on their site of 360-degree photographs of bottles from each lot prior to the sale at spectrumwine.com, which allows potential buyers to take part even if they’re outside Hong Kong. It’s a nice touch that I hope we’ll see more of, inside and outside the wine industry.