Year's biggest wine auction nets $18.4m in Hong Kong

A bottle of Maison Louis Jadot Montrachet white wine from 1992 and valued at at 3000 - 4000 USD per dozen is displayed in Hong Kong on Nov 1, 2011. A weekend sale of rare French wine returned 14.5 million USD, making it the year's biggest wine auction and underlining Hong Kong's status as a leading wine market, the auction house said on Nov 7. -- PHOTO: AFP

HONG KONG (AFP) - A weekend sale of rare French wine returned US$14.5 million (S$18.4 million), making it the year's biggest wine auction and underlining Hong Kong's status as a leading wine market, the auction house said on Monday.

The two-day auction by US house Acker Merrall & Condit featured the Don Stott Collection, considered a 'reference library of great Burgundy', the organisers said.

With 98 per cent of the lots sold, the intense interest in the premium French vintages demonstrated the strength of Chinese demand for high-end luxury goods despite the euro zone crisis and rising inflation at home.

'Highly competitive bidding was witnessed throughout this two-day landmark auction, which reflected the escalating demand and passion for fine Burgundy wines in the global market,' Acker Merrall & Condit said in a statement.