Wine draws record price

A 300-bottle collection of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild — covering every vintage from 1981 to 2005 and packed as 25 cases of Bordeaux first-growth — fetched a record price at the start of the two-day Hong Kong auction.

The lot sold for HK$4.2 million (about A$500,000), a price that included fees and made it the most expensive single lot of wine auctioned that year, according to Christie’s.

The sale was handled by London-based auction house Christie’s, which reported the Chateau Lafite-Rothschild lot as the year’s most expensive single wine auction lot.

The 25 cases were sold to an absentee bidder, meaning the buyer participated without being physically present at the auction.

No — the final price of HK$4.2 million was slightly below the pre-sale high estimate of HK$4.5 million, with the article noting some bidders were hesitant amid a market slump.

The lot’s highlights were its status as Bordeaux first-growth, the complete run of vintages from 1981 to 2005, and reportedly pristine storage condition — all features that attract collectors and wine investors.

The two-day Hong Kong auction was estimated to raise as much as US$8.3 million (about A$7.7 million).

Yes — the article says a slump in regional financial markets, with the region’s stocks posting their biggest monthly fall since May 2010, made some bidders hesitant and contributed to the final price falling short of the high estimate.