Assembled over some forty years with care, connoisseurship and a keen palate, 25,000 bottles of wine from the revered cellars of Pierre Chen – epicurean and aesthete in equal measure whose collections of both wine and art rank among the greatest in the world – comes to Sotheby’s starting this autumn.
Representing just a fraction of Mr. Chen’s vast collection, the wines – replete with rare bottles and mythical vintages – will be offered in a landmark series of six dedicated sales, each one devoted to a different type of wine or aspect of the collection, and together titled “The Epicurean’s Atlas”.
The first of these, to be staged in Hong Kong at the end of November, will be an auction event unlike any other. While subsequent sales will focus on specific regions or types of wine, the first offering from Mr. Chen’s cellars is designed to give a broader sense of the scope and quality of this truly extraordinary encyclopaedic collection.
'To me, wine is the 9th art. It is the only art form one can consume, using senses that other art forms don’t typically involve, such as one’s taste and smell, and it requires creativity on the part of the owner. What dishes should I pair this bottle with, and what other bottles should I include in this meal? The combination of wine, food, and company at any one moment makes each encounter totally unique, but every memory of every encounter brings a smile to my face. I suppose that is the magic of wine to me: the power to relive moments through a single sip.' - Pierre Chen
