Sotheby’s Hong Kong to auction US$2.1m DRC collection

A Sotheby's auction exclusively devoted to the wines of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (DRC) is expected to raise up to HK$16m (US$2.1m) when it takes place in Hong Kong this autumn.

The sale of the single private collection on 7 September follows the announcement of a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction of Domaine Clarence Dillon wines, featuring Château Haut-Brion, set for 4 October.

The DRC sale has more than 140 lots, including 36 methuselahs (equivalent to eight bottles each), more than 70 magnums and more than 400 bottles from eight DRC vineyards.

Vintages span 1970 to 2003, with 15 DRC Assortments from years including 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001.

There are 18 lots of Romanée-Conti, more than 20 lots of La Tâche and more than 30 lots of Echézeaux and Grands Echézeaux.

Sotheby’s said the wines had been taken from ‘impeccable’ underground storage in the north-east of the US, adding that all wines had been purchased on release from one of DRC’s importers.

Serena Sutcliffe MW, head of Sotheby’s International Wine Department, described the collection as ‘both pristine and rare’ and added: ‘The origin of these wines is exemplary, the tastes they offer among the most memorable known to any wine lover.

‘This is an unsurpassed opportunity for those who revere the pinnacle of Burgundian brilliance.’

Written by Richard Woodard