Westend61/Getty ImagesA recent Sotheby's auction exceeded all expectations: A 17,000-bottle collection spanning nearly five decades sold for almost $4 million more than its estimated sale price.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, the collection sold for $29.8 million this past weekend at the Tran-scend-ent Wines auction. Estimates leading up to the auction put the collection's anticipated price around $26 million. The auction took place in Hong Kong; China is quickly becoming one of the world's largest wine markets.
The sale set a new record for the highest value private wine collection ever sold at auction, surpassing a record previously held by billionaire Bill Koch's collection. Koch's 20,000-bottle collection sold for almost $22 million at a New York auction in 2016.This latest Sotheby's wine auction joins the ranks of other high-stakes wine auctions, where single cases have sold for as high as $363,000.
This rare collection included "grand cru" - or first-class - Burgundies and Bordeaux from an anonymous owner. According to Bloomberg, Sotheby's has yet to disclose the seller, though he was described as a "fifth-generation property developer."
The past year has seen several record-shattering liquor sales, including a single bottle of 60-year-old Macallan that sold for $1.1 million at auction. The sale set the record for the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold, only to be surpassed a month later by another bottle of Macallan, which sold for $1.5 million.