HONG KONG.- Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the most prolific and best-known composers of our day. Famed for writing such musical greats as The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Evita and Cats, his music is universally recognised and performed in theatres around the world. A committed and knowledgeable collector of both art and wine, Lord Lloyd Webber has built up a magnificent cellar over many years, part of which will be offered for sale at Sotheby's Hong Kong on 22nd January, 2011. The sale of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Wine Collection offers a total of 748 lots and is expected to fetch HK$21.8 – 32 million / US$2.8 – 4.1 million / £1.8 – 2.6 million*.

Serena Sutcliffe, Master of Wine, Sotheby's International Head of Wine, said:"The Andrew Lloyd Webber wine collection has seen many enthusiasms and a plethora of vintages, but the discernment and selectivity have remained a constant. As with all collecting, the magpie instinct can get the upper hand and there comes a time when there is no more space on the walls nor in the cellar. So Sotheby's has been able to ‘design’ a sale of such splendour that wine lovers around the globe will be able to realise their own collecting ambitions. It is a marvel that wines of this quality and excitement can now come to the market, while the owner still retains glorious drinking for gatherings of family and friends."

Lord Lloyd Webber said of the sale: "I am very happy that Sotheby's is bringing part of my precious wine collection to Hong Kong, particularly given that many wine connoisseurs are now in Asia."

Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lord Lloyd Webber’s talent for all things musical began at an early age. At three years old he was already showing an aptitude for the piano and for composing. His mother noted: “All the pieces he was supposed to play, he wouldn’t touch. He wanted to play his own tunes, and no others”. Andrew Lloyd Webber had his first composition published at the age of eleven and his first song commercially recorded at the age of fifteen. Knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 1992 and created a peer in the House of Lords by the British Government in 1997 for his services to music, Lord Lloyd Webber has been referred to as "the most commercially successful composer in history."

Sotheby’s Sale
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s vinous devotion is to France and this sale contains mature, classic wines that can be broached immediately (1982 Bordeaux for example), to stupendous vintages that can age further, such as the formidable 2005s. Part of the collection has been stored in the temperature controlled cellars of Lord Lloyd Webber’s 16th century home, Sydmonton Court, while many younger wines come from professional storage.

Sale highlights include:

The collection regularly features all five First Growths in key vintages such as 1982, 2000 and 2005:
• Château Mouton Rothschild 2005 (Lots 142-162), twenty-one cases each estimated at HK$42,000 – 60,000 / US$5,500 - 7,500 / £3,500 - 5,000
• Château Lafite 2005 (Lots 1-10), ten cases each estimated at HK$80,000–120,000 / US$10,000 - 15,000 / £6,600 - £10,000
• Château Haut Brion 2005 (Lots 121-128), eight cases each estimated at HK$42,000– 60,000 / US$5,500 - 7,500 / £3,500 – 5,000
• Château Latour 2005 (Lots 39-48), ten cases each estimated at HK$60,000– 85,000 / US$8,000 - 11,000 / £5,000 - £7,000
• Château Margaux 2005 (Lots 82-91), ten cases each estimated at HK$46,000 – 70,000 / US$6,000 - 9,000 / £3,800 – 5,800
• Château Pétrus 2000 (Lots 490-493), four cases of six bottles, each estimated at HK$120,000 – 200,000 / US$15,000 - 25,000 / £10,000 – 16,600
• Château Cheval Blanc 1982 (Lots 438-439), two cases each estimated at HK$95,000 – 160,000 / US$12,000 - 20,000 / £7,900 – 13,300
• Château Haut Brion 1989 (Lots 135-138), four cases each estimated at HK$80,000 – 120,000 / US$10,000 - 15,000 / £6,600 – 10,000, and from the same stable, Château La Mission Haut Brion 1989 (Lots 412-415), four cases each estimated at HK$60,000 – 80,000 / US$7,500 - 10,000 /£5,000 - £6,600

A range of Domaine Leflaive – one of the greatest producers of White Burgundy:
• Puligny Montrachet, Les Pucelles 2002 Domaine Leflaive (Lots 690 – 695), 12 bottles estimated at HK$13,000 – 18,000 / US$1,600 - 2,250 / £1,000 – 1,500
• Chevalier Montrachet 2005 (Lots 665 – 667), Domaine Leflaive, three cases each estimated at HK$28,000 – 40,000 / US$3,500 - 5,000 / £2,300 - £3,300 and three magnums (Lot 668) estimated at HK$20,000 – 28,000 / US$2,500 - 3,500 / £1,600 – 2,300 for the lot

Fabulous Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC) Red Burgundy:
• Romanée Conti 1990, Domaine de la Romanée Conti (Lots531-532), two magnums each estimated at HK$160,000– 240,000 / US$20,000 - 30,000 / £13,300 – 20,000 and one Jeroboam (Lot 533) estimated at HK$320,000 – 480,000 / US$40,000 - 60,000 / £26,600 – 40,000
• La Tâche 1990, Domaine de la Romanée Conti (Lot 537), six bottles estimated at HK$120,000 – 200,000 / US$15,000 - 25,000 / £10,000 – 16,600

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium