The new decade’s early auctions have begun with a bang, with Acker Merrall & Condit’s first Hong Kong auction of 2010 grossing US$7.6m in back-to-back sales on 29 and 30 January.

In Chicago, Hart Davis Hart’s first 2010 sale brought in $US3.54m on 30 January.

Acker’s lots were 99.6% sold, and Hart Davis Hart’s were 100% sold.

The weekend’s highlight was Acker’s sale of 69 lots of the personal collection of Henri Jayer, the Burgundy producer, which generated US$1.17m.

They were provided by Martine Saunier, Jayer’s US importer.

A superlot of Sine Qua Non made US$138,351 – well over double its US$60,000 high estimate.

The lot consisted of 5 half-bottles, 92 regular bottles, 17 magnums and 7 double magnums and may have been the largest single Sine Qua Non lot ever presented at auction.

John Kapon, Acker’s president, said, ‘We saw particularly strong participation by Hong Kong, mainland Chinese and Taiwanese buyers.’

He predicted that this year Hong Kong would become ‘the world’s leading wine auction center.’

At Hart Davis Hart, six magnums of 1982 Pétrus fetched US$71,700, double the lot’s high estimate.

A case of 1990 La Tâche, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti fetched US$65,725, while a case of 1982 Lafite Rothschild drew US$41,825. Both sold for well over their high estimates.

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Written by Howard G Goldberg in New York

Howard G Goldberg
Howard G Goldberg
Decanter Magazine, Food & Wine Writer

Howard G Goldberg is a wine writer and critic based in New York City. He made his name writing about wine for The New York Times, where he worked for 34 years. He has written various books on food and wine, including Prime: The Complete Prime Rib Book and All About Wine Cellars. He compiled The New York Times Book of Wine – a collection of the publication’s best wine articles.