Nine bottles of Romanee Conti 1990 have sold with excellent results in Sotheby's Finest and Rarest Wines auction, held on October 6 in Hong Kong.

Romanee Conti brings an "indefinable something extra"

The lot sold for $221,211, or $24,580 per bottle, with the price achieved representing a 7.1% increase on the $206,500 high estimate. The current record for a full case of the 1990 vintage was set in 2011, when 12 bottles sold for $297,400 ($24,783 each), also in Hong Kong.

While all of the wines from Burgundy's Domaine de la Romanee-Conti are superb, the Romanee Conti itself is considered the pinnacle of the domaine's offerings. According to Sotheby's, the refinement in the taste of the wine points to an "indefinable something extra" in the 1.80 ha plot.

The 1990 vintage is considered one of the finest to have come from the Romanee Conti vineyard, with Robert Parker scoring it a remarkable 98 out of 100 in his bi-monthly newsletter, The Wine Advocate. Its exceptional quality can be attributed to the implementation of organic techniques in the vineyard during this year.

Following the extraordinary Burgundy were three lots from the Bordeaux favourite Chateau Petrus. Continuing a brilliant run of success in 2012 for Petrus, the highest selling of the trio was a case of the 2000 vintage, which sold 13.7% above its $50,000 high estimate at $56,883.

A further two cases of the 1989 vintage were offered, each holding a $37,500-60,000 estimate. The first of these sold for $50,563 and the second followed closely behind, bringing $47,402.

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