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2013-2-6 22:15
A year ago, Henry Tang lost his bid to be the Hong Kong's top official after an illegal cellar, built in part to store some of his wine collection, was discovered during the election campaign. Now the former politician is selling thousands of bottles of Burgundy in an auction that could fetch him more than $29 million Hong Kong dollars (US$3.7 million).
The 60-year-old retired city official said his collection, housed in 'various cellars around the world' is in need of 'culling' now that he has the time to manage it. 'That's only a very small portion of my vast collection of wine,' Mr. Tang told the Wall Street Journal in a phone interview Monday, adding that the whole of it couldn't be consumed over 'multiple lifetimes.' The political legacy of Mr. Tang, known as one of the biggest wine collectors in Asia, has been often tied to his favorite drink. As Hong Kong's financial secretary, he slashed the city's wine duty to zero in 2008. That spurred a boom in the wine trade and by 2011 vaulted Hong Kong ahead of New York and London as the world's top auction hub for fine wines. But wine also played a part in Mr. Tang's political downfall. Last year, he lost the election for Hong Kong chief executive after local media revealed that one of his luxury homes contained a 2,400-square-foot basement, including a wine cellar, that had been built without government approval. (According to news reports at the time, the illegal basement also housed a small theater and Japanese-style bath.) Mr. Tang later admitted knowing about construction of the basement, but said it was his wife's decision to build it. He said none of the wine in the coming sale was stored there. Christie's, which is holding the auction, said it would comprise exclusively wines from Burgundy, a region that has been especially hot among mainland Chinese and Hong Kong collectors. While auction prices for Bordeaux, wines from the world's most-collected fine-wine region, have fallen 20% since their peak in 2011 due to falling demand in Asia─particularly Hong Kong and China─prices for Burgundy, wines from France's other top region, have remained buoyant. Last month, a collection of four bottles of one Burgundy, a 1978 Montrachet (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti), sold for US$30,750 at an Acker Merrall & Condit auction in Hong Kong. Per bottle, that's almost 40% higher than the price at a similar Hong Kong auction in January 2011. The Christie's sale, titled 'The Henry Tang Collection,' will take place on March 15 and 16. FIONA LAW / JASON CHOW 一年前，唐英年竞选香港特首失败，原因是他违规兴建的地下室在竞选期间被外界发现。他建这个地下室的部分目的是为了存放他收藏的部分葡萄酒。现在这位前政界人士计划通过拍卖的方式出售数千瓶勃艮第葡萄酒，这可能给他带来超过2,900万港元（约合370万美元）的收入。
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images一年前，唐英年竞选香港特首失败。葡萄酒是唐英年在政坛遭遇滑铁卢的部分原因。这位现年60岁的特区政府退休官员说，他收藏的葡萄酒存放在全球多个酒窖。现在既然他有时间来打理，他打算出售一批需要淘汰的藏品。 唐英年周一接受《华尔街日报》电话采访时说：此次出售的藏品只是我庞大的葡萄酒收藏中的一小部分。他还说自己收藏的全部葡萄酒几辈子都喝不完。 唐英年的的政治遗产常常和他对酒的喜好联系在一起。他也是亚洲最大的葡萄酒藏家之一。在任职香港财政司司长期间，唐英年曾在2008年把香港的葡萄酒关税降至零。这刺激了葡萄酒贸易的繁荣，并令香港在2011年一举超越纽约和伦敦成为全球最大的上等葡萄酒拍卖中心。 但葡萄酒也成为唐英年在政坛遭遇滑铁卢的部分原因。去年，他竞选香港特首失败。此前香港当地媒体发现，唐英年的一座豪宅中有一个面积达2,400平方英尺（约合223平方米）的地下室，其中包括一个酒窖。而这个地下室的建设没有得到政府批准。据当时的新闻报道，这个非法搭建的地下室中还包括一个小影院和日式浴室。 唐英年后来承认，他了解这个地下室的建设情况，但他说是他妻子决定要建这个地下室的。他还说，将要出售的这批酒没有一瓶储藏在这个地下室里。 负责此次拍卖的佳士得拍卖行(Christie's)说，此次拍卖的葡萄酒全部来自勃艮第产区。这一地区出产的葡萄酒尤其受到中国内地和香港藏家的追捧。 虽然自2011年创下价格高位以来，波尔多葡萄酒的拍卖价已经下跌了20%，但勃艮第葡萄酒的价格却依然坚挺。波尔多葡萄酒价格下跌的原因是亚洲需求下降（尤其是香港和中国内地）。全球藏家收藏的上等葡萄酒中当属来自波尔多产区的最多，而勃艮第葡萄酒则来自法国另一个顶级葡萄酒产区。 上个月，酒商Acker Merrall & Condit在香港举行的一场拍卖会上，一位藏家收藏的四瓶勃艮第葡萄酒以30,750美元的价格成交。这四瓶酒是罗曼尼-康帝酒庄(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti)在1978年出品的蒙哈榭(Montrachet)白葡萄酒。和2011年1月香港一场类似的葡萄酒拍卖会相比，此次每瓶酒的成交价高出了近40%。 佳士得此次拍卖会的主题叫“唐英年的收藏”，将于今年3月15、16日举行。 FIONA LAW / JASON CHOW （本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。） |