Hong Kong businessman Joseph Lau sold a collection of fine wine for HK$72.9 million ($12 million) in an auction, fetching more than US$41,000 ($52,859.04) a bottle for some rare French vintages.
All of the wine lots sold, and the amount raised exceeded the US$4.5 million estimate from Christie’s, according to a statement Thursday from the auction house.
The sale offered more than 200 lots of wine, including rarities from producer Henri Jayer, vintages from Petrus and selections from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti as part of Christie’s Hong Kong Luxury Week.
The 10-bottle lot of Henri Jayer, Vosne-Romanēe Cros Parantoux 1999 sold for HKUS$3.25 million, triple the low estimate, Christie’s said.
Named “Iconic Wines From Joseph Lau Part III”, the auction marked the third time that Lau sold his wine at Christie’s, after two sales in 2022 yielded a combined US$16 million. The auction house also said they are planning two more sessions of Lau’s fine wine collection in the future.
The former chairman of Hong Kong real estate firm Chinese Estates Holdings is a well-known collector. Lau owns a variety of luxury items, from paintings, diamonds, handbags to wine. He also worked with Sotheby’s to offload dozens of mostly Hermes bags for HKUS$25.2 million, and another antiques collection.
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Lau, 73, has a net worth of about US$5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Lau’s property business has been caught in a property downturn in the Asia financial hub. It reported a loss of HKUS$2.1 billion last year, mainly due to a decrease in fair value of its investment properties.
Previously, the group’s revenue was hurt by its investment in failed developer China Evergrande Group.
