Sotheby’s is privileged to present the first-ever wine auction entirely dedicated to Château Palmer. The sale, titled Château Palmer Direct from the Château and the Cellars of Maison Mähler-Besse & Franck Mähler-Besse, will be held on 4 June 2016 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery. This is the first time a significant collection of wines direct from the Château Palmer cellars will be offered at auction.

The wines of Château Palmer combine aromatic richness and extraordinary elegance with a velvety texture and remarkable ageing potential. Immensely popular with connoisseurs in every country, Palmer’s scent, combined with its succulence and generosity, ensure delicious drinkability at all stages of its life.

One of the most exciting aspects of the sale is the auction debut of a 225-litre barrel of Château Palmer 2015, a vintage that has not yet been released. The winning bidder will have the opportunity to choose bottle sizes and the chance to have their name printed on the back label. The barrel equates to 25 cases or 300 regular size (0.75L) bottles. In effect, the buyer can choose from formats as small as half bottles (0.375L) to as large as a Melchior (18L). A private tour of the vineyard and winery, followed by a dinner at the Château is included. The estimate is HK500,000-700,000 / US$65,00-90,000 / £45,000-63,500.

The sale represents a historic journey through time going back to 1928 and spanning 87 years through to 2015. The total estimate for the 220 lots is HK7.7-12.4 million / US$980,000-1.6 million / £700,000-1.1 million.

The estate of Château Palmer was established in 1814, when it was acquired by Charles Palmer, a British Major General who instilled his namesake to see it become renowned throughout London's aristocratic circles. Château Palmer was ranked among the most prestigious classified growths of the 1855 Bordeaux classification, which stands as the most important and famous classification of any wine region in the world. In 1938, a consortium of four leading families in the Bordeaux wine trade acquired the estate, and it is still owned by the descendants of these two families.