Chinese luxury thirst give rise to Romanee-Conti

The Chinese demand for wine is part of the luxury-goods market. And Romanee-Conti is the best of the best.” Simon Davies, head of marketing at the London-based wine brokers Fine + Rare Wines Ltd., said in an interview.

New York-based Acker Merrall, which last year topped the league of auctioneers with $98.5 million of sales, has billed a “vertical” run of DRC Romanee-Conti bottles from 1952 through 2007 as the “most important wine lot to be sold in 2011 anywhere in the world.” From a European cellar, it will be offered in the company’s Hong Kong auction with an estimate of HK$4.8 million to HK$6.4 million.

Twelve bottles of 1962 Romanee-Conti in their original wooden case are priced at HK$1.6 million to HK$2.4 million.

Acker Merrall’s 825-lot event will be December’s most significant test of Asia’s continuing thirst for rare Burgundy and Bordeaux. The presale estimate is HK$70 million.