HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong will open its autumn wine auctions, as well as kick off its Autumn 2010 Sale Series with The Magnificent Cellar of Marcus D. Hiles on 2 October 2010 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Marcus Hiles, a Texas real-estate investor and noted philanthropist, is a wine collector par excellence; going so far as to have an underground river in his cellar to cool and humidify his impressive collection. The upcoming offering from Mr. Hiles includes over 6,500 bottles, and is estimated at HK$23.4-36.7 million (US$3 - 4.7 million), yet represents only 20% of his holdings. The highlight of the sale is a superb collection of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with 1,030 bottles in various formats valued at HK$ 8.9 – 13.8 million (US$ 1.1 – 1.8 million), making it the largest DRC collection ever offered by Sotheby’s in Asia.

Equal to his impressive stable of wine is his taste. The Hiles collection is made up of wine from some of the most prestigious and important Bordeaux and Burgundy Châteaux; including an astonishing depth of bottle formats from the most renowned vintages. Mr. Hiles is as familiar with the vineyards along the Gironde and the Côte d’Or, as he is with the real estate market, and is known for buying all his wine upon initial release and storing the treasures in his immaculate, precisely controlled cellar.

His devotion to pursuing the world’s finest wines, and to cellaring them under ideal conditions, inspired Serena Sutcliffe, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine Department, to say, “Fantasies exist to bring us joy and this fabulous collection is the stuff of which dreams are made. Pure excellence is easy to define, but sometimes difficult to acquire, as the best is often severely rationed. The highly-discerning owner of this superb wine collection has done the shopping for you and his ability to choose the greatest châteaux and domains, in all the most illustrious years, is truly impressive. The Bordeaux is breathtaking as the wines are from the most mythical vintages, concentrating on each château in the years in which they excel. The Burgundy in this collection is also remarkable, with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti dominating to an amazing extent.”