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Acker Merrall & Condit Break Wine Auctioneers Break $100 Million Mark
Acker Merrall & Condit last month became the first wine auction house in history to reach $100 million in annual sales.
The threshold was reached at a Hong Kong auction which saw a number of other records being broken, including a world record price for any lot of Romanée-Conti, the highly sought-after Burgundy red wine, ever sold.
The Superlot, which contained 55 bottles of every vintage of DRC Romanée Conti released from 1952 through to 2007, sold for $813,333 to a Chinese Collector.
Taking place on 8 and 10 December, the auction saw over 800 lots offered, culminating in a total sale of $9.09 million. In total during 2011, Acker Merrall & Condit achieved $69 million of annual sales in Hong Kong, illustrating the importance of the country to the wine auction industry.
Speaking after the Hong Kong auction, John Kapon, CEO of Acker Merrall & Condit Companies, said: “2011 was a spectacular year for Acker Merrall & Condit. The amazing result of this sale […] is a fitting round-up of another record-setting vintage for Acker in Hong Kong.
"Our tremendous success and continual lead in the global wine market has largely built upon the robust momentum of Hong Kong, now the world’s most important fine wine market."
Another record set at the Hong Kong auction was by a superlot of Château Pétrus vertical comprising 57 vintages, which fetched $250,256, the highest price ever for any lot of Pétrus sold at auction.
Founded in 1820, Acker Merrall & Condit is America’s oldest fine wine merchant and the world’s largest wine auction house.