Sotheby's To Hold Major Auction Of Ex-Cellar Collection Of Mouton Rothschild

by Westgarth Wines January 13, 2015

To mark the Chinese Year of the Ram, Mouton Rothschild will be auctioning off a collection of its top wines on January 30th in Hong Kong. Sotheby's is projecting the sale to bring in up to $2.5 million with top selling lots expected to include several old vintages, including 1870, 1878 and 1901.

A similar auction in 2010 brought in sales that, in some cases, were nearly 300% over normal trading prices. According to the auction recap from Decanter, the high yields were due to the lots being directly from Lafite's own cellars, reminding everyone about the importance of status, history and provenance in Chinese culture. Provenance is as much about the people that owned the stock, as it is the storage conditions.

"People are willing to pay for well stored wine," says Alexander Westgarth, founder and president of Westgarth Wines.

As in previous notable auctions, the lots for the upcoming auction are coming directly from the château, which could again yield significant sale prices.

Related links:
Decanter China
The Drinks Business