A case of 1978 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru from Burgundy’s Côte de Nuit sold for $476,280 at Christie’s Hong Kong Fine and Rare Wines Auction, held from November 22 to 24. That was the global auction record for the esteemed vineyard and one of the most expensive cases ever sold at auction. The sale price was more than three-times the high estimate for the case. To simplify, it’s about $39,700 per bottle or about $4,900 per glass. Christie’s said the buyer was from Asia.
Romanée-Conti, which is considered the top brand in China also reached the second highest spot on the list with another case of its 1978 vintage for $301,644. In a demonstration of continued strong demand for wine at Hong Kong auctions, both of these sales tripled and doubled their respective high estimate of $141,933.
“This auction emphasized the growing demand and importance for premium wines with the finest provenance,” said Simon Tam, Christie’s head of wine for China.
The third highest seller of the auction was a set of 105 bottles of Château Latour bottles that reached $301,644. Rounding out the list of the top 10 lots were four more sets of Romanée-Conti from various years, one set of Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux, and two sets of Pétrus, a rising star among Chinese buyers.
