Christie’s Hong Kong Finest and Rare Wine Auction Tops US$5 Million

Christie’s Hong Kong second fine wine sale a huge success.

Christie’s auction held recently on November 28 offered up 376 lots and by the end was 80% sold, achieving a whopping HK$39,936,000 in total sales. This marks an increase of 27% compared to the Fall 2008 auction and David Elswood, International Head of Wine for Christies, said; ” Our average lot value this season of HK$134,000 is by far the highest for any auction house operating in Asia.” Nine out of of the top ten lots sold were to Asian private buyers, showing a growing sophistication of the market and a collector base that is becoming more discerning and willing to compete for rare wines.

The sale contained a number of notable highlights, including the Super Lot of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1999 which fetched an impressive HK$1.44 million when sold to an Asian private collector.

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Expert Wine Picks: Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2005

The Peninsula’s sommelier selects a Californian wine for this week’s wine pick.

Jordi Chan is the sommelier at Peninsula Hotel. For our wine pick this week, he selects the Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2005 by Star Lane.

Star Lane is a vineyard located on the lower slopes of the San Rafael Mountains in Santa Ynez Valley, in sunny California. The terraine features a unique mix of weathered sand, gravel and alluvial cobbles over clay subsoil. With both excellent drainage and good water-holding capacity, these conditions mimic terrain found at the best vineyards in Bordeaux.

Their Sauvignon Blanc is bottled unfiltered after 10 months on fermentation lees (lees being the yeasty residue found in the cask); giving the wine a more rounded & creamy texture on the palate.

Tasting Notes

• White flowers, gooseberries and mandarin orange nose, with a taste of passionfruit and grapefruit. On the palate, refreshing acidity keeps the wine lively and well structured.

Food Pairing

• It is a delicious wine to pair with shellfish dishes, like mussel or clams with white wine sauce.

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French Wineries ‘Authentique Sud-Ouest’ and ‘Cellier de Genne’ Visit Hong Kong

Two winemakers bring 15 new wines to Hong Kong via Cottage Vineyards.

Hong Kong retailer and distributor, Cottage Vineyards, invited two French winemakers on a 10-day tour of Hong Kong and Southern China to showcase their exquisite line of French wines.

Frédéric Lornet of Cellier de Genne in Jura, France, and Olivier Allamagny of Authentique Sud-Ouest – a group of six independent wine growers – recently spoke to Winebuzz.hk during a private wine tasting about the very special regions of France where they make their unique wines.

First up, Mr. Allamagny is in Hong Kong representing 6 independent wineries from the primary AOC regions across the French southwest; a wine-producing area situated south of the Bordeaux wine region. All are fiercely proud of their unique terroir, history and grape varietals, and seek to make wines authentic to their Southwest roots.

Five of the six members grouped under Authentique Sud-Ouest available in Hong Kong are:

1. Domaine de Gineste: AOC Gaillac
2. Château La Renaudie: AOC Bergerac, Pécharmant, Montbazillac
3. Clos Cavenac: AOC Côtes du Marmandais
4. Château Cantelauze: AOC Cahors, Vins du Lot
5. Château La Petite Bertrande: AOC Côtes de Duras

Mr. Allamagny’s wineries sell 95% of their wines in France already, so he’s looking to Asia as a new outlet to bring a small portion of his wines out East. His father bought the winery not long ago, and he himself left an executive position at Nokia to pursue his one true passion: wine-making.

Some of the wines we tasted included:

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94Wines.com Offers Custom Made Wines Specifically For You

A new wine website to find you that perfect bottle of wine.

Snowflakes are often alike, but wines, never. Each bottle blends differently to provide a unique taste and no-one knows this like 94 Wines.

This website helps you discover the best bottles for your particular palette so that every sip is simply perfect. Each number displayed by 94 Wines represents high-quality flavors, so you know you’re getting a unique bottle every time.

A WineID test will help you find the perfect blend and just the right taste, its six questions determining which wines suit you best. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or someone else, 94 Wines will personalize that special wine just for you, and you get to add your own message to each bottle that you purchase, or choose standard wording when creativity fails (as if, we know!) 94Wines even allows you to choose your own packaging preferences, picking the box size and other options.

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