HONG KONG – Two years after selling US$11.4 million (S$15.6 million) worth of wine from his cellar, Taiwanese billionaire Pierre Chen is set to sell an even bigger tranche starting this fall.

Some 25,000 bottles, worth an estimated US$50 million, will go to auction at Sotheby’s in five dedicated auctions over the next 12 months.

The first will be staged in Hong Kong in November.

Mr Chen is the founder and chairman of the Yageo Group, an electronic component company that employs 40,000 people worldwide, according to its website.

Outside industry circles, he is known for his art collection. ARTnews named him one of the top 200 collectors in the world.

In an interview with the Art Newspaper, Mr Chen disclosed that he has seven Picassos, 10 Gerhard Richters and two Francis Bacons, among others.

“The key thing for Pierre is that this underlines his approach to all the things he considers great in life,” said Mr George Lacey, Sotheby’s head of wine for Asia. “Not just wine, but also food and art. His approach to life is that things are best when shared.”

The bottles Mr Chen has placed to auction represent “a fraction of Pierre’s entire collection”, Mr Lacey said.

Mr Chen is selling because his collection has simply grown too large for him to enjoy on his own.

“We were given a list of wines within the collection that he would be interested to sell,” Mr Lacey said.

“We had a conversation about valuing them and what works in the market now,” he added. “We went back and forth with him and his team and ultimately put together a collection that’s representative of him and his tastes.”

Should Mr Chen’s collection sell for its estimate, it will become one of the most expensive single-owner auctions in recent history.

In comparison, the Hospices de Beaune auction in 2022 netted US$32 million. In 2019, a single-owner sale in Hong Kong with nearly 17,000 bottles drew US$30 million, and in 2018, the cellar auction of legendary producer Henri Jayer sold for US$35 million.

What’s for sale?

Mr Lacey said the five upcoming auctions well represent Mr Chen’s taste in collecting.

“He’s driven by exploring, tasting and finding new producers and new things, but the reality of his journey is that he’s been particularly captured by Burgundy and Champagne,” he said. “They represent the vast majority of the collection in terms of volume and value, but there’s really a cross section of the whole wine world.”

Top lots include bottles of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. Two ​​methuselahs (six-litre bottles) of the wine from 1985 are estimated at US$120,000 to US$190,000 apiece.

Six separate magnums of the Henri Jayer Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux 1er Cru from 2001 are estimated at US$50,000 to US$70,000 per magnum; and two bottles of 2001 ​​Domaine Leroy Musigny are estimated at US$12,000 to US$18,000 per bottle. A magnum bottle contains 1.5 litres of wine.

Another extremely rare bottle coming to auction is a six-litre Imperial bottle of 1982 Château Petrus, estimated at US$45,000 (S$62,000) to US$65,000.

“The collection has been divided up and the destination is very specific to what we feel works well in different markets,” Mr Lacey said. “It’s not just parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 but with all the same wines; each has a very different identity.”

The first auction in Hong Kong “is a cross section of the whole collection”, Mr Lacey explained.

The Paris auction will be focused exclusively on Champagne; the Burgundy sale “is unsurprisingly, focused on Burgundy wines”; and the New York auction will place a particular emphasis on Mr Chen’s collection of Italian producers.

The final sale will occur in Hong Kong in 2024 “with what’s essentially the peak of the collection: the very rarest Bordeaux and the most sought-after bottles”, said Lacey.

Market timing

Unlike estimates for art, which can be rendered artificially low to stimulate demand, Mr Lacey said the prices – and overall estimate for the collection – reflect real-time market conditions.

“In that respect, my job is much easier than some colleagues in the fine art department,” he said, “because wine is inherently much more commoditised. There are transactions for even the rarest examples of bottles, so it’s easier to price a 1947 Cheval Blanc than it is to price a Picasso that hasn’t been seen in 70 years.”

As a result, he said, “the estimates with wine are already much more in line with what’s expected to be achieved by the market and what will be accepted by the market”.

Mr Chen’s decision to sell comes at a unique moment in collecting. The secondary wine market, particularly at the highest end, continues to grow.

“The strongest year we’ve ever seen for demand for Burgundy was 2022, and the strongest centre of demand was from Asia,” Mr Lacey said.

But China’s economy continues to falter, with sales of luxury goods shaky, at best, leading some to wonder if the market for art and collectibles could slow next.

In response, Mr Lacey said “the market for the rarest and most exclusive bottles remains strong, and that’s what Pierre’s collection is focused on”.

“He’s essentially realised he has more wine in his personal cellars than any one individual could ever drink in a lifetime,” Mr Lacey said, a choice that does not reflect market timing. “He realises he’s ended up in a position with the greatest private cellar in the world, and wants to share it with wine lovers everywhere – and know that it will be appreciated and enjoyed.” BLOOMBERG