I t seems fitting that the conclusion to the triumvirate of sales of the Monumental Collection from The Cellars of a Connoisseur is in Hong Kong. Collectors in the Asia region above any other at present, have a thirst and desire to collect and enjoy the greatest wines from the most sought after estates and the Monumental Collection certainly pays homage to this.
HERMITAGE, LA CHAPELLE 1961 PAUL JABOULET AINE, ESTIMATE HK$800,000 — 1,000,000 (PER LOT).
This is for the hedonist, the classist, the lover of the finest. There is no doubt that this is a collector who had the palate to appreciate and focus on the very finest wines ever made. Forty-eight lots of DRC, with standouts such as 1985 La Tache (in methuselah if you don't mind!) and the nigh on perfect 1990 Romanee-Conti. Whites from Burgundy focus on the finest of Grand Cru – Montrachet. This is offered in abundance with six different producers of this revered of vineyards: Bouchard, DRC, Comtes Lafon, Jacques Prieur, Leflaive and Ramonet.
The focus on the finest of Bordeaux shows that Bordeaux has an unmatched ability to craft consistently top class wines with such ageing potential. With that in mind the heart of this sale and the heart of this collection is focussed on the great names of Bordeaux scattered across both sides of the Gironde river: Petrus, Cheval Blanc, Trotanoy, Lafleur, Lafite, Latour, Mouton, Margaux and Haut Brion. Covering just under ninety years, the great vintages are all offered in the form of 45, 49, 55, 59, 61, 82, 86, 96, 00, 05 and 09, once again reinforcing this collector’s penchant for the very best the region can offer. The great whites of Bordeaux are also in focus, both dry and sweet.
MONTRACHET 1990 DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE-CONTI, ESTIMATE HK$100,000 — 130,000 (PER LOT).
A tribute to the diversity of this connoisseur’s palate are the last one hundred lots. Here we do a whistle stop tour of wine world and again each wine having one common thread – the best of the best, the reference point of the region from which they originate. Guigal, Jaboulet, Chave and Chapoutier from the Rhone. Sassicaia, Giacosa and Gaja from Italy. Finally Vega Sicilia from Spain and iconic Penfold’s from Australia. A roll call of the finest.
This collection and these sales are a tribute to the very finest wines the wine world has crafted over the twentieth century. This is a collector that unashamedly collected and enjoyed these vinous treasures. It's been a hedonistic pleasure to catalogue this collection and present the Connoisseurs Cellar to the Asian market. I hope that collectors in this region will take as much enjoyment in collecting and drinking these wines as this connoisseur most certainly has.
HERO IMAGE: CHATEAU HAUT BRION 1928. ESTIMATE HK$55,000 — 75,000(PER LOT).
