S
otheby's is delighted to present our first spirits auction in Asia for 2024, and we are extremely excited to kickstart the year with a carefully curated collection of Whisky, Cognac and Moutai. The whisky market in 2023 has seen some major corrections in pricing. While major big brands and distributors are adapting to the market changes, the drop in price levels has sent shockwaves into the secondary market and provoked some of the rarest bottles, which would otherwise be hoarded for many more years, to resurface the market, allowing us to present to you some very interesting items at a reasonable valuation.
Starting from lot 5001 – 5045 are our Macallans, in which the spotlight shines on the two pre-war vintages, the Macallan 1937 Golden Age of Travel – Aeroplane, and Macallan 1937 Golden Age of Travel – Motor Car. Much like the famous Fine and Rare series, these Macallans were first bottled in the 70s but later re-bottled into Lalique crystal decanters for a better presentation. The liquid inside is from a single vintage of 1937, which at the time produced a drastically different style of distillate compared to that we know of today. For each of these in the series, only 50 bottles were produced, making it one of the rarest Macallans you could possible own, only a handful has ever appeared in an auction since it was released.
From lot 5045 – 5096 we have a variety of Scotch whisky from top tier distilleries, and a good amount of single cask offerings from independent bottlers, many of which are offered at no reserve. This includes closed distilleries such as Port Ellen, Brora, Littlemill, as well as beloved Islay malts such a Lagavulin, Bowmore, Laphroaig and Caol Ila. We are also offering the oldest Glendronach ever bottled, the Glendronach 50 Year Old. Meanwhile lot 5097 – 5104 consists of rare Cognac bottles for connoisseur’s looking for some “malternative” options.
Lot 5105 – 5213 are Japanese whiskies. Sotheby’s remains to be the major marketplace for collectors looking to complete their missing pieces, by constantly curating some of the rarest Japanese single casks.
The two Karuizawa 1965 50-Year-Old by La Maison Du Whisky, both bourbon cask and sherry cask, are the second oldest Karuizawa casks ever bottled, with a detailed booklet recording the process and history of how La Maison Du Whisky chose their casks from the remaining stocks of the now demolished distillery.
Finally, we have a variety of Moutais comprised of a kaleidoscope of special editions, large formats, aged moutais and old vintages.
Distilled | Whisky + Moutai will open for bidding on Friday 16th Feb, with the lots beginning to close at 30 seconds intervals online from 11AM HKT on Friday 1st Mar.
新年伊始，蘇富比欣呈 2024 年亞洲首場烈酒拍賣，精挑細選一系列威士忌、干邑與茅台珍品，與您分享。2023年，威士忌的市場定價經歷重大調整，各大品牌及經銷商積極應變。所謂失之東隅，收之桑榆，價位下調為二級市場帶來衝擊之同時，亦驅使本應長年囤積的稀有酒款再度流入市場，讓我們得以帶來一些別具特色、估價合理的新奇醇酩，萬眾期待。
首先登場的拍品5001–5045是一系列麥卡倫威士忌珍釀，包括兩款戰前年份釀製的「麥卡倫1937年旅行黃金時代：飛機」及「麥卡倫1937年旅行黃金時代：汽車」罕有臻品。如品牌著名的「珍稀系列」一樣，這些麥卡倫威士忌在70年代首次裝瓶，後來被重新裝入精美絕倫的萊儷（Lalique）水晶玻璃瓶，讓人賞心悅目。瓶內的黃金玉液為1937年單一酒廠釀製，當時的蒸餾方法與我們現今所熟悉的截然不同。此系列各酒款只限量生產50瓶，屬於最稀有的麥卡倫威士忌之一，自推出以來罕見於拍賣場上，定教藏家為之心動，收藏機會千載難逢。
拍品5045–5096為多款產自頂級酒廠的蘇格蘭威士忌，以及來自不同獨立裝瓶廠的多款單桶酒品，當中許多更無設定底價出售。當中包括Port Ellen、Brora、Littlemill等已結業酒廠之純釀，以及Lagavulin、Bowmore、Laphroaig與Caol Ila等備受喜愛的艾雷島麥芽威士忌（Islay Malts）。此外，我們更找來歷來最古老的格蘭多納（Glendronach）——格蘭多納50年陳釀威士忌，以及稀世干邑白蘭地（拍品5097–5104），為一眾美酒鑑賞家提供代替麥芽威士忌的上佳選擇。
拍品 5105–5213乃多款日本威士忌。蘇富比多年一直領軍日本威士忌拍賣市場，竭力協助明鑑善藏的藏家搜羅世上最稀有的日本單桶酒款，以集齊全套臻藏。
當中包括兩瓶由La Maison Du Whisky釀製的「輕井澤1965」50年波本桶及雪利桶陳釀，均來自歷來第二古老的輕井澤威士忌。隨附的小冊子詳細記錄了現已拆卸的La Maison Du Whisky酒廠挑選庫存的過程及歷史。
除此之外，我們還有各式各樣的稀珍茅台佳釀，包括特別版、大容量、陳年及舊年份，琳瑯滿目，任君選擇。
「點滴成金：威士忌及茅台」網上拍賣將於2月16日（星期五）開放競投。拍品將由香港時間3月1日（星期五）上午 11 時開始，以30秒的間隔陸續終止競投。
EXCEL LOT LISTING
Below are some of the highlights that you must not miss out on:
以下是一些不容錯過的焦點拍品：
