A dinner not to be missed

Pin It

The Specialist pinged me.  They were hosting a tasting in conjunction with an upcoming collection of amazing wines, and she wanted to know whether I would be available that evening.  Unfortunately it was to be held last night - the same evening when Asia's 50 Best Restaurants would be announced - and I was meant to be in Macau.  There was no way I could have made it to both events, and for a minute or so, I actually considered skipping the awards ceremony just so I could taste those wines.  Yes... it was truly a special selection of wines.  But eventually I gave up on the idea, and decided that I would rather go to Macau and see friends instead.

Then I got another message.  There was a dinner tonight, with wines from the same collection.  Best of all, it's being held at Uwe.  Would I be available for this?  FUCK YEAH!

So I dragged my tired ass - as I was surviving on less than 4 hours of sleep - and my luggage to the restaurant.  Uwe and I had spent a little time together last night at the awards, but I think he got a little more sleep than I did.

But first I met up with a friend from the Philippines who I caught up with last night, as she was having a drink with Hello Kitty at Le Quinze Vins.  So before I would go drink some serious wines tonight, I continued my bongwater streak from last night and took in some Ganevat...

Anne et François Ganevat J'Y Aime - first whiff showed much more metallic notes than expected, mineral, kinda ripe fruit, almost jammy, and a little sharp.

I was one of the last people to arrive at dinner, and most people had already started on their first glass of bubbly...

1979 Krug - beautiful.  Sweet and caramelized with some Chinese licorice, also coconut butter along with some salty plum.

The best of Penfolds

Pin It

Tonight I was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner hosted by Sotheby's just ahead of their wine auction tomorrow.  Part of the auction includes a consignment of wines made by Penfolds, including many old vintages and even rarer bottlings.  The consignor had very kindly offered up some of his collection to Sotheby's for a very special dinner tonight.  The Specialist knows I am a fan of Aussie wines, and asked me to bring along a date.  I knew that among my wino friends, the one person who probably would enjoy this most would be the Film Buff - who was, of course, only too happy to tag along.

We also had the privilege of having Peter Gago with us.  He is, of course, the current Chief Winemaker at Penfolds - and the fourth person to occupy that position.  Apparently he took time out from his holiday to join us for the event, as a favor to the consignor.  It certainly made a huge difference for me, listening to him discuss the history behind some of these wines.

The dinner tonight was catered by AMMO - a restaurant nearby which I have not had the pleasure of dining in.

2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs - nice and toasty nose, lovely, with flinty, mineral, and lemon notes.  Nice and ripe on the palate with some acidity upfront.

Château Margaux dinner

Pin It

I was very fortunate to have been invited to a dinner tonight featuring the wines of Château Margaux.  Sotheby's is holding an auction in New York this week entitled "A Celebration of the Mentzelopoulos Era" featuring vintages from 1900 to 2010 - where all the wines come directly from the château - and the auction house decided to host a dinner here in Hong Kong featuring a few of the wines.

I had the privilege of visiting the château a few years ago and was warmly received by winemaker Paul Pontallier and his lovely wife Béatrice.  It helps that Thibault Pontallier, Paul's son, has been stationed in Hong Kong for the last few years to represent the château.  He arranged for a shipment of wines direct from the château, so that the wines we tasted tonight would have the same provenance as the ones in the auction.  We are, of course, very grateful for this kind arrangement.

The food tonight was catered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which usually does a pretty good job.  Tonight the food was the best I've ever had at one of Sotheby's catered events, as just about every single dish was well-executed.

We started with some bubbly before dinner. R and L Legras Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru has been the Sotheby's house Champagne for a while, and it's always a nice drink, with good acidity balance.

Blue lobster, lemon curd, romaine foam, Parmesan - beautifully poached and flawless execution.  The flavors of the lobster were so pure, and the flavors so sweet.  The romaine foam was pretty tasty, and the use of lemon curd was pretty interesting.  Those bits of Parmesan crackers sure were tasty!

Hell week day 4: dessine-moi un Mouton

Pin It

Much like Tuesday, tonight was supposed to be my one free night in between all my nights of eating out this week.  I was already cringing about eating out 5 nights this week when I got a call from the Specialist: would I be free to attend the pre-auction dinner for the upcoming Château Mouton Rothschild ex-château sale?

Now, my first reaction was pretty similar to the one that Hugh Grant's character had in Four Weddings and a Funeral when Carrie showed up at the church moments before he was to be married - "Bugger!  Bugger!  Bugger!"  Why, oh why did this dinner have to be on the one night that I had hoped to be free, when my body would be allowed to take a break from all the excessive eating (and drinking) I was going to do this week?!  I had already turned down an invitation to another wine gathering.

But one does not turn down an invitation like this one.  It may not be gold dust, but pretty darn close.  It was a privilege to be invited and I was most certainly undeserving, so I gratefully accepted the kind invitation.  I was very much looking forward to a second chance to taste a legendary vintage, only this time the wines would come directly from the château!

I arrived at the appointed time, and spent a little time chatting with everyone from Sotheby's Wine Department.  The drink of the cocktail session?  Why, Champagne Barons de Rothschild Brut, in magnums of course!

We took our assigned seats at the different tables, and I was assigned to Miguel Barceló - named after the artist whose work adorns the 2012 vintage.  I found myself seated next to Aline Baly, who happens to be one of the co-owners of Château Coutet.  I was eagerly waiting for the food catered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and of course the wines!

The most expensive whisky in the world

Pin It

The wine auction circuit started again today, with 3 auction houses holding simultaneous auctions in Hong Kong.  These days I've stopped going to the Acker and Zachys auctions, and I dutifully showed up at Sotheby's bright and early.  I was pretty surprised to find the room very full at just a quarter past 10 a.m., as I had expected the other auctions to be busier.

The auction started with some "leftover" lots from some of the auctions last year... especially those which were ex-château.  The largest consignor today offered a good collection of 1982 Bordeaux... notable for both its breadth and depth.  It seemed that any '82s - even those from Fifth Growth or unclassified châteaux - found ready buyers.  Quite a few wines had parcels of 10 cases or more.  And there were plenty of other older vintages on offer, and all of them were snapped up.

But the highlight of the day was one special lot - the Macallan M Decanter - Constantine.  The whisky is a blend of "a handful of casks dating from the 1940s to the early 1990s", which is kinda vague as far as descriptions go.  The selling point here is that it is housed in a 6-liter imperial decanter created by Lalique, and is one of only four in the world.  All four are apparently named after Roman Emperors - with Caesar, Justinian and Augustus being the other three.

This was a charity lot, with 100% of the hammer price going to local charities in Hong Kong.  Sotheby's is also donating part of the buyer's premium to the same charities.

With no reserve and an estimate indicated at between HKD 2 to 4 million dollars, the eyes of the world were on this lot.  Shortly before the action started, I noticed a few of my friends popping in from the auction next door.  Then I noticed Jeff Zacharia from Zachys was standing by the entrance as he, too, wanted to witness the bidding for this lot.

A few weeks ago the Specialist was fretting about whether people would actually bid for this lot.  Sure it's pretty rare, but it was also gonna be one incrediby expensive bottle.  The pressure was on.

But she need not have worried.  Absentee bids meant the bidding actually started at HKD 2 million, and the action turned out to be between two guys in the room.  As the auctioneer, Bob gave each bidder ample time to decide whether or not to go to the next increment, as each increment was a whopping USD 25,000 equivalent.  Eventually the hammer fell at HKD 4 million, which made the total purchase price HKD 4.9 million inclusive of buyer's premium.  That's more than USD 628,000, and set a new world record for a single bottle of whisky.

The rest of the auction went without incident, and I ended up picking up several cases of aged Burgundy for my friends and I.  A few of the MNSC boys realized at the tasting yesterday that I would be here today, and asked me to bid on a few lots on their behalf...  Auction duty today...

This time there were a larger number of wines served at auction:

2004 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin - yeasty, a little toasty, with lemon citrus.

1982 Pichon Baron en double magnum - smoky, earthy, lead pencil and some fruit.

1982 Pichon Lalande - very lovely.  Smoky, earthy with tea leaves, cedar and woody notes.

1982 Vieux Château Certan - savory, soy sauce, smooth and velvety on the palate.  Very nice.

1986 Climens - lots of plastic, honey, dates, orange blossom water, apricot on the nose.  Sweet but slightly bitter finish.  Beautiful.

1981 Beaucastel - very smoky, burnt rubber, manure, brett.

2000 Beaucastel - minty, forest, berries, jammy, with a hint of sharpness.  Good concentration and there are still tannins here.

2005 Clos des Papes - really sweet and jammy, with lots of forest, pine needle and cedar.  Syrupy.  Opened up nicely.

After the auction, I attended a birthday celebration dinner of a friend at the Hong Kong Club.  The birthday girl was kind enough to serve us something from her vintage.  Not quite the Macallan M perhaps, but very small nonetheless.

1974 The Clan Denny Cameronbridge 38 Year Old - initially this was like paint thinner, but also heavy with sweet vanilla, some marmalade and a hint of smokiness.

The elBullicellar

Pin It

A bunch of friends have been poking fun at me for the last few days, saying that I've become a stalker of Ferran Adrià…  Yes, I was most fortunate to have dined with him and his business manager Ernest Laporte 2 days ago… and yes, I also attended the presentation he gave at Sotheby's in advance of the auction, where he spoke about his vision for the elBullifoundation and its projects, including Bullipedia… and yes, my post about the dinner with Ferran made me sound like a teenage school girl gushing and going ga-ga at the sight of her idol… but I don't care.  I've been on a high for the last 2 days, and no one's gonna rain on my parade!

And so it was that, for the very first time, I took time off from work to attend a wine auction.  Not just any auction, but the first half of the sale of the elBullicellar.  As it's a mid-week auction (as opposed to Fri-Sun, which is normally the case) I had thought about bidding online from the office.  On second thought, I figured that I would be spending too little time focused on work as I stared at my browser during the auction, so I might as well be physically present in the room.  This turned out to be the right choice.

Photo courtesy of Sotheby's

When the auction finally got under way, it was clear that there were few bargains to be had today.  The first part of the auction comprised of wines from DRC and Leroy, and not surprisingly a few Chinese bidders were out to grab these.  A friend sitting next to me joked that we'd both be leaving very early, as we just weren't prepared to pay that kind of prices for the wines…

Acker Hong Kong XV pt 2: 3 Petrus vintages

Pin It

So here I go again... after complaining to my friends about suffering from "auction fatigue" - I did end up skipping 2 other auctions in the last week - I am back at it today.  Part 2 of the Acker auction was held at Grissini in the Grand Hyatt today, and this would be the first time I stepped foot in the restaurant for the last 5 years or so.

I arrived mid-way through lunch, and ended up having some of the antipasti buffet.  As usual I chose not to have the steak as my main course, but would go on to nibble on a selection of yummy desserts later in the afternoon and some finger sandwiches.

My friend once again was kind enough to invite me to join him at his VIP table, and I got to taste a good selection of wines:

A very long day pt 2: excruciatingly slow auction

Pin It

My friend asked me to accompany her to the Christie's auction today, as her usual escort was unavailable and she didn't want to be sitting through it all by herself.  This was a pretty unique auction, with the single consignor being Bordeaux's famed Château Latour.  The consignor had taken wines from their own cellar (an ex-cellar/château sale) so the provenance is impeccable and cannot be surpassed.  There were more than 100 vintages on sale, including just about every vintage from the 20th Century and reaching back into the 19th Century.  There were 392 lots in total.

In conjunction (and actually prior to) this auction, Château Latour and Christie's put together "The Ultimate Wine Game" and invited a small group of participants from around the world. Two of my friends were among the participants, and it was clearly a mind-blowing experience for both of them.  The friend I accompanied was featured both in the videos and the catalog, so I decided for once to dress up for the auction...

Amateur night

Pin It

I've been complaining about auction fatigue for the last few weeks, and have managed to skip the auctions by Sotheby's, Christie's and Zachys for 3 weeks in a row.  I did, however, end up tagging along with a friend and his family to the Aberdeen Marina Club today for their auction.  When I arrived I found out that the auction was organized by ASC Fine Wines, which pretty much meant that the stock came from these guys...

Jean-Guillaume Prats was back in Hong Kong, and brought with him a bunch of ex-château Cos d'Estournel, especially in large formats.  Good provenance is paramount and it doesn't get better than ex-château stock!

Acker Hong Kong XIV: auction fatigue

Pin It

It's auction season again and I was back at the Acker auction tonight.  There wasn't anything I wanted until the end of tonight's session, so I didn't have much desire to spend a lot of time in the room.

A couple of friends joined me as my guests before dinner time to keep me company.  As I didn't feel like waiting in the long line for the buffet, and the food isn't particularly interesting, I decided to leave the auction and grab dinner somewhere else.  A few of us ended up at Classified Mozzarella Bar nearby.

Offline at Sotheby's

Pin It

I returned to the Sotheby's auction again today, choosing to arrive around lunch time as there was nothing I wanted early on.  The room was full as expected, but the atmosphere was a little different today.

Yesterday's big online bidder was noticeably absent today.  Action returned to the room but there were still few bargains to be had.  I ended up picking up some old red Burgundy which I had tasted a few days ago, hoping that they'd turn out better than the bottle I tried.  Most of my friends were unable to pick up anything at what we thought were "reasonable" prices.

Sotheby's sells Andrew Lloyd Webber

Pin It

Ever since she started her new job, the Specialist has been prodding me to attend one of her wine auctions.  She complained about my continued patronage of Acker auctions while never having registered as a client of her more prestigious employer.  My response has always been that a poor slob like me isn't classy enough to be a Sotheby's customer.  In any case the prices at their auctions are simply ridiculous, even worse than those achieved at Acker.  If I couldn't afford much of the wines sold at Acker auctions, what chance do I have to pick up something at Sotheby's?

Acker Hong Kong XIII: Friday the 13th

Pin It

I went to the first session of the Acker auction tonight.  There wasn't anything I wanted at the start of the auction, so I kinda timed my arrival to the first lot I was interested in.  Amazingly, I sat down at the table exactly 2 lots before I needed to raise my paddle.

Before long I moved to join a friend along with my new best friend George.  We collectively marveled at the looney prices people were willing to pay, especially for old wine, and any old wine at that.  The old wines weren't even from good vintages and somehow managed to hit stratospheric prices.  Guys, when Gil stands on the podium and tells you that these wines are "rare", he's only doing his job to make sure all the wines are sold.  And there's a reason why the wines are "rare"... it wasn't a good and collectible vintage so almost all of it was drunk within the first few years of release!

Zachys again

Pin It

It's been more than 2 years since I went to the inaugural Zachys auction in Hong Kong.  After a period of almost a year, during which they sent me catalogs of every one of their auctions - some of which were returned or destroyed by Fedex upon non-delivery while there was no one at home - I was taken off their mailing list.  No skin off my nose, since I ended up giving all my business to Acker.

Acker Hong Kong XI: part 1

Pin It

Back at another Acker auction after missing the last one.  Since I'm an occasional customer and by no means a big fish, I found myself sitting in the back of the room.  This means instead of getting the choice wines served to me, I got the run-of-the-mill stuff.

I passed on the 1995 Haut-Marbuzet and wait for something better.  1995 Ducru-Beaucaillou showed up and was certainly better.  Nose of mint, cigar smoke and fruit.  Initially OK on the palate, then turned pretty funky and a little nasty.  A second bottle drank better, with noticeable floral perfume in the nose on top of the sweet fruit.

My friend John very kindly came over and offered me a glass of 1933 Bouchard Beaune 1er Cru.  I had no expectations for this wine, and was pleasantly surprised by the nose of salty plum, smoke, grilled meats, beef jerky and a hint of herbs.  Smooth but not watery and light.

2005 Hervé Roumier Clos Vougeot - I guess I'm more familiar with Georges Roumier... minty, sharp, reasonable amount of fruit...but not great.

1999 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze - smoky, earthy and peppery.  Decent amount of fruit underneath but needs time for the smoke cover to dissipate.

Prices continue to reach stupid levels, although not to the levels seen last week at the Sotheby's auction.  Hammer prices continue to exceed estimates when it comes to Lafite, although there seemed to be a lot less of it this time around.  The multi-vintage verticals of Bordeaux First Growths weren't very popular as they were offered later in the evening, and went for prices below estimates.

The Acker auctions continue to be long and increasingly painful for me to sit through.  John's pace isn't very fast when he's in Hong Kong, and the pace seem almost snail-like when Gil is wielding the hammer while trying to impress us with his Cantonese.  I felt like pulling my hair out while waiting in between lots I wanted to bid on.

And what's up with these guys hiring a bunch of (mostly European) leng mos (靚模) as spotters?  Other than looking tall and (somewhat) pretty in very short skirts - one showed up in a very revealing dress looking like a Mainland hooker - they weren't very useful.  Some of them weren't in position, and those who were didn't really do their jobs of pointing out bidders who had raised their paddles.  My friend who works for a large auction house made one comment: "Cheap".

In the end I did pick up a few lots, although none of them were the birth vintages I had originally set my sights on.  I even wore a long-sleeved UNICEF shirt in my lucky yellow, matching the color of the auction catalog... but no dice.  Oh well... At least I can console myself with some 1990 Amoureuses...

Acker Hong Kong IX: ODing on auctions

Pin It

I skipped the morning session of day 2 of the Acker auction today.  I woke up pretty early this morning, but wasn't feeling particularly great because of a general lack of sleep for a second day, plus honestly I had actually been sipping/drinking almost non-stop since 2pm...  I was feeling a little lethargic, and since there was nothing I really wanted to bid on this morning, I decided to just stay home and play with my new iPad.

Initially I sat in the "general section" - filled with people like me who, whilst being clients of the auction house, are essentially nobodies in terms of business volume.  After a while my friends invited me to join them at their VIP table, and I was only too happy to do so.  While any wine being served at an Acker auction is of good quality and I would never complain about them, VIPs get a much better selection.  When the Acker people bring around the rare stuff, my friends were generous enough to pour a portion of what's in their glass into mine.  So I got to taste some pretty good stuff...

2000 Pichon-Lalande - classic nose of coffee, smoke, grilled meats and a little peppery.  What you would expect from a Pauillac from this vintage.

1995 Gaja Costa Russi - smoky and coffee notes on top of a very sweet nose.  What a wonderful wine... Finish was still kinda tannic, though...  Drank from a second bottle later in the day which was also beautiful, with smoky and soy sauce notes.

1993 Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux - sweet red fruits with a hint of smoke.  Acidity was pretty high.  Honestly...if I actually paid for this bottle I'd be pretty disappointed...

1999 Rouget Echezeaux - I didn't see the vintage on the bottle, but guess it was the '99 that I drank last night.  Nose was very open with game meats, very sweet, fruity and smoky.  Acidity was fairly high.  Judging by the nose alone this blew the Jayer away... But then again, it is a much better vintage.

1982 La Mission Haut-Brion - it's been a long time since I last tasted this wine, and it was nothing like I remembered!  The nose was huge, with loads of smoke, soy sauce, dried oysters, a hint of brett and a bit of fruit struggling to break free.  The wine was almost salty on the palate... Finally, there was some rust and nori (のり) seaweed on the nose.

2000 Guigal La Mouline - beautiful sweet fruit, mint, orange, a little gamey, a hint of floral notes I would expect from La Mouline.  What a beautiful wine... I'd be happy drinking this any day of the week.

2006 Ausone - finally!  My friend remembered that I was dying to taste this, and made sure I got some in my glass...  Huge, explosive nose that was so jammy, minty, vanilla, tropical fruit, marzipan, with a hint of smoke, toffee and cinnamon.  I loooooove this stuff. Yes, I do like very extracted wines...

2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - way too cold when it was poured... Nose of butter, oak and minerals.  Acidity was pretty high.

As usual, the early morning and early evening segments were the times where one is able to pick up some "bargains" - you actually see some lots selling for below the low-end estimate.  The middle part of the sessions can get pretty crazy, with most of the lots selling towards the high end estimate or easily blowing through it.  My friend told me about the bidding for the cases of DRC Montrachet, where the hammer price was almost 3 times the high end estimate.  I'm sure the consignor was really happy!

There were long stretches where I wasn't interested in what was on offer, and was getting tired of marking down the hammer prices as I used to do.  Fortunately I brought my iPad and ended up playing Uno...  I think my friends got a kick out of this.

I managed to pick up a little more wine... some rare Alsatian Riesling, some Spanish Rioja from my birth vintage, and some old white Burgs to drink with mom and dad on their wedding anniversary.  Pretty good day...

Acker Hong Kong IX: kicking off early

Pin It

Acker's back in Hong Kong with another auction, and like their first auction 2 years ago, they held it right after Vinexpo ended.  This time they called it the "Imperial Cellar", as the collection on sale came from a single seller and would make just about any wine lover very jealous.  The headline number was HKD 125 million...

Because of the large number of lots on sale, the first session of the auction started earlier than usual at 3pm today.  My friend and I arrived not long after it started, as we both wanted to bid on lots in the early part of the session.  As usual I ran into a few friends, and was pleasantly surprised to see François Mauss from Grand Jury Européen.

I managed to win a lot consisting of 3 cases of white Burgundy from arguably the best producer in the region, going slightly above the high estimate to grab it.

I took a short break from the auction and returned to the office to finish up the daily routine.  Yes, I had work to do... eating and drinking isn't my day job... Anyway, I stepped back into the auction room just as they were finishing up another lot I wanted to bid on, and before I realized what was going on, the hammer went down and someone else had grabbed the wines.  Aargh!!!

There were now wines on the tables as it was approaching dinner time.  And I was only too happy to start sipping wines and continued for the rest of the evening.

2003 Haut-Brion - smoked meats, mint, black fruits, sweet, almost honeydew.  Still kinda tannic.  After half an hour, it transformed into an amazing wine with a huge, sweet nose like toffee.  I initially stopped by to visit my friend as they were drinking 2006 Ausone at her VIP table, but this was what she poured me instead of the Ausone...

1999 Rouget Echezeaux - sweet and honeyed with a little caramel, some orange, a little smoky and a little bit of moss.  This was my second, subtle attempt at getting a glass of the 2006 Ausone, and I still failed to get one!  Oh well...

1997 Masseto - my friend open this bottle in honor of the man who made this wine, Lodovico Antinori.  Unfortunately it didn't turn out the way I expected.  Nose was pretty funky, with smoke, black pepper, paprika and stewed fruit.  I last tasted this wine back in early 2002, and it had been sweet and jammy.

1985 Solaia - again, this was drunk with Lodovico whose brother Piero made the wine.  I liked this bottle much better... Nose was a little oxidized with street strawberries, smoke, a little vegetal with green pepper, herbs and soy sauce. I almost wanted to say dried bean curd (豆腐干)...

2005 Méo-Camuzet Morey-Saint-Denis - nose was a little muted at first, with mint, pine needle and red fruits.

1995 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Faletto di Serralunga d'Alba - a very interesting wine to drink.  The color was now golden brown with amber rim, and very deceiving.  The nose was a little high in alcohol, with lots of sweetness like honeydew and some light glycerin.

2007 George Vintage V Leras Family Vineyard Pinot Noir - I was so surprised when the guys at Acker brought this out... I love this wine!  This was such a classic Cali Pinot, with lots of sweetness, caramel, toffee, cotton candy, raspberry, oxidized pear and mint.  Beautiful and lovely.

2000 La Mondotte - drank pretty nicely after breathing for a long time.  It was surprisingly old world... sweet but not too extracted, with mint, smoke, forest and a little floral.

2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - lots of minerals, citrus, cheese, straw, toast, popcorn, a little butter...ripe and sweet.  A beautiful wine.

A lady from Acker came over with a bottle of 2007 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet.  My friends all gestured that they did not wish to taste it, and she subsequently misunderstood my gesture... I wasn't waving her off!  When I got up after her to try to get a glass, I was told by the hotel staff following her that there was no more wine, as I saw her pouring the rest of the bottle for the group of investment bankers (from the bank that's been in the headlines lately) at the next table...

2000 Trotanoy - very classic and a great wine.  Lots of smoke, pencil lead and soy sauce on top of the fruit.

We left before the end of the first session, and ended up grabbing some food at Sumi (澄). I had eaten some food at the buffet dinner, so I restrained myself.  I did go home and grabbed my last bottle of Kokuryu Shizuku (黒龍しずく).  This daiginjo (大吟醸) with a semaibuai (精米歩合) of 35% drank beautifully. It was sweet and smooth, with tropical fruits like banana in the nose. Fortunately my apartment was only a stone's throw away and it was easy for me to crawl (oops) stagger (oops) walk home...

Acker Hong Kong VII session 2: going gaga over Jayer

Pin It

Got up bright and early to get to the second session of the Acker auction.  For the first time I actually arrived before the auction started, because there were a few lots I wanted at the start of the session.

There were only a few people in the early hours, and bidding was a little more civilized.  As time went on and the room filled up, prices started going out of control again.  I ended up getting a case of mature Bordeaux for "everyday drinking", and finally did manage to pick up a bottle of 1969 DRC Richebourg that I really wanted.  I drank a bottle of the Grands Echezeaux last year for my parent's anniversary, and it was superb.  I am looking forward to the day when I open this baby up...  All the other lots I really wanted got bid up beyond reason so I let them go.  Guess I'll have to source my bottles of Pétrus elsewhere...

I thought 9am was a little too early for Champagne, and later on I turned down both the 1998 and 1985 Léoville-Las Cases when offered to me.  I think Gil was a little surprised, and asked me what I wanted.  My reply was "Do you have anything other than Bordeaux?"    He came back with the perfect answer, pouring me a glass of 2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante.  There was no way he could have known that I am a big fan of Sine Qua Non, but this was just awesome...  Nose was very, very sweet, plummy, jammy with minerals, smoked meats underneath the fruit, and later coming up with tropical fruits like lychee.  Needless to say it was very alcoholic, but the wine was already showing a good degree of complexity - surprising for an SQN Syrah less than 10 years old.  Yummy.

Later on Gil got up to the podium and handled some of the lots.  He tried to be charming, and conducted part of the auction in Cantonese.  I must applaud him for his efforts, but he needs a little more work.  Getting confused between the words for "thousand" and "ten thousand" is no small thing, especially when you're inflating the price by 10 times...

I left the auction early because I needed to go for a lunch appointment upstairs, but heard that the prices for Henri Jayer wines got ridiculous.  Admittedly the source of the wines is impeccable, but still... Many Asians only got to know Henri Jayer thanks to the Japanese comic  Kami no Shizuku (神の雫), as the series starts with a famous wine critic drinking a bottle of 1959 Henri Jayer Richebourg on his death bed.  Prices for Jayer wines have only gone one way since then...

Acker Hong Kong VII session 1: still looney bins

Pin It

After a prolonged absence - during which I tried to "rationalize" my wine portfolio and stopped buying the really good stuff - I finally returned to the auction market tonight.  I piled into the crowded hotel ballroom and sat in the very back with a couple of friends.

As we expected, there were few bargains to be had these days at auctions in Hong Kong.  Lots of people flush with cash - often without a good sense of how much wine costs from suppliers around the world - just kept raising their paddles to build up their collections.  I kept finding lots whose hammer prices reached or exceeded the high end of estimates - sometimes hitting 2x.  I know this sounds like a cliché, but Lafite just can do no wrong in this city... even for off-vintages.

All of the lots on my watch list got close to or exceeded the high end of estimates, and as tonight's lots weren't my top priorities, I didn't pursue them.  Instead, I picked up two lots of whites - an unheard of Montrachet and a mature white Hermitage, both from great vintages.

For the first time in Hong Kong, Acker held the first part of the auction in the style they do in NYC - over dinner and asking clients to BYO.  I'm not sure how many other people did, but I did bring a nice bottle of red Burg.  I think, though, that most of the clients were just looking for handouts from Acker...and the hosts weren't too stingy.  I ended up drinking some nice stuff.

2001 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - obvious nose of grass, a little musty and  we think this was corked.  On the palate this was very ripe and very short.

2001 Marcassin Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard - very sweet on the nose, with pine needle, eucalyptus and minerals on the nose.  Finish was slightly short, but a pretty nice Cali Pinot.

2004 L'Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne - a limited production (5 barriques made in good vintages) wine, this is still young but already has plenty of botrytis, plastic, honey and orange in the nose.  Pretty sweet as one would expect, but with good acidity balance.

1997 A.-F. Gros Richebourg - I brought this bottle to share with the table.  Nose of grilled meats, smoke, sweet fruit and mushrooms.

2004 Sine Qua Non Poker Face - SQN is one of my favorite wineries, producing really, really big wines which require years of aging before being palatable to most people.  This huge Syrah was very sweet with typical notes of iron (I always think they smell like blood), caramel, plastic and lavender.  Very alcoholic, but I like it.  Not exactly a food wine.  Wait another 10 years to drink this.

I confess that I was pretty tipsy by the end of this session... Hopefully I can recover and wake up early for the second session tomorrow morning!

Acker Hong Kong IV: pricing gets silly

Pin It

I stopped by the Acker auction today for a few hours, and sat through about half the lots. Contrary to the last couple of auctions, I decided not to show up until after lunch, and also didn't stay till the end. Quite a few friends had decided not to show up this time, so I didn't have much of an incentive to hang around.

In view of the results from recent auctions at other houses, it appears that bargains were no longer to be had. The hammer prices before buyer's premium were already more than what one can get from reputable merchants in London. So I went to the auction more to observe the action and to keep my finger on the pulse of the market.

The room was noticeably emptier than previous auctions. I did arrive towards the end of lunch so that may be one reason, but the reserved tables were not full and the back was virtually empty.

The action was slow. John was running behind schedule as usual, as he tried to work the room to ensure that the lots received every bid out there. The addition of internet bidding made a lot of difference, as many lots were pushed up by bidders not in the room, and there were plenty of times when an internet bid came up "on the hammer" and bidding continued. 

Prices went the way many of us expected, with very few bargains to be found. By my estimate most lots sold for above the low estimate, with many changing hands near or above the high estimate. Irrational bidding - spurred on by ego - has returned to the room. When wines not considered ultra-rare and desirable sell for double of the low estimate (or more), it makes you wonder.

There were no superlots this time. The highest-priced lot was 6-bottles of 1985 Richebourg from Henri Jayer, who is being described in the Chinese press as the "wine god of Burgundy". No doubt the Japanese comic Les Gouttes de Dieu (神の雫) had a big hand in this...

I didn't stay till the end of the auction, as it was taking way too long to finish more than 1,100 lots and I had other commitments. Having failed in several attempts to bid on small lots of good Burgundies, I had to be content with one small lot from a birth year vintage that I bought just above the high estimate... I guess I didn't want to walk away empty-handed...