Spectrum Wine Auctions Rounds Out June With Over $8 Million at June 25 & 26 Sale in Hong Kong and June 30 Internet Auction

Chateau Lafite Rothschild Continues Dominance while Chateau Mouton Rothschild Shows as New Asian Darling; Large Format Bottlings Regain Appeal

IRVINE, Calif., July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Spectrum Wine Auctions dazzled bidders in Hong Kong on June 25and 26 at its largest sale to date since launching in July 2009. Guests entered the newly built 118-story gem of Hong Kong, the International Commerce Center (ICC), passing by Rolls-Royces and Ferraris parked at the entrance, arriving to an auction room filled to capacity. The Spectrum team matched the splendor of the space by offering the packed room of bidders tastes of rare wines such as 1989 Chateau Haut Brion, 1995 Chateau Latour, 2004 Chateau Ausone, 1986 and 1990 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, and 2007 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache. Bidding was fierce on both days as collectors vied for prized lots from collections with impeccable provenance. Richard Brierley, current Head of Fine Wine at Vanquish Ltd. and previous Head of North American Wine Sales at Christie's, presided as auctioneer. The Summer 2011 Auction realized $7.5 million (HK$58.3 million) against a pre-sale estimate of $7 million, selling 94 percent of the 1,994 lots on offer. Over 65 percent of lots were awarded to Asian bidders. Spectrum Wine's Summer 2011 Internet Auction, which closed on June 30 and featured wines from the same consignments as the live sale, brought in an additional $566,165 (HK$4,404,933) for a combined total of over $8 million.

"Our prices realized and sell-through rate confirm our strong relationships with collectors," says Spectrum Wine Auctions President Jason Boland. "Our dedication to connecting the world's top wine buyers with our consignors has made Spectrum Wine Auctions one of the world's largest and leading wine auction houses in a very short time period."

Bordeaux attracted the most interest, with large-format bottles making a surprise return to the forefront of collectors' attention. The top performing lots were driven by provenance and condition, and buyers proved willing to pay a premium for wines coming from the auction's three extraordinary single-owner collections, "The Aubrey McClendon Collection Part V," "The Pennsylvania Underground Collection," and "A Major General's Collection."

Spectrum Wine Auctions Summer 2011 Auction Highlights:

• Lot 2197: 12 bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982 in OWC at US$77,675, HK$604,598
  (estimate: US$50,000, HK$380,000)
• Lot 426: 37-year Chateau Mouton Rothschild vertical spanning 1970-2005 at US$50,787, HK$395,310
  (estimate: US$22,500, HK$170,000)
• Lots 1161-1163: 12 bottles of Chateau Petrus 1995 in OWC at US$32,862, HK$255,787
  (estimate US$25,000, HK$190,000)
• Lot 228: 14-bottle Screaming Eagle vertical 1993-1999 and 2001-2007 at US$32,862, HK$255,787
  (estimate: US$27,500, HK$210,000)
• Lot 2152: 1 imperial of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2000 in OWC at US$29,875, HK$232,538
  (estimate US$20,000, HK$150,000)
• Lot 299: 12 bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 in OWC at US $21,510, HK$167,427
  (estimate US$14,000, HK$100,000)
• Lot 592: 6 magnums of Chateau Latour 1962 at US$17,925, HK$139,522
  (estimate US$9,000, HK$70,000)
• Lots 265-268: 12 bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2006 in OWC at US$10,157, HK$79,059
  (estimate US$6,500, HK$50,000)

Total hammer: $6,271,196 (HK$48,790,532)
Total aggregate: $7,494,079 (HK$58,304,684)
Percent sold by lot: 94%

Bidders interested in purchasing wines from the collections featured in the Summer 2011 Auction may visit www.spectrumwine.com to partake in Spectrum Wine's semimonthly internet auctions, which take place on the second and fourth Thursday of every month with pre-bidding beginning two weeks prior. The next internet auction closes July 14 at 6:00 p.m. PDT.