A landmark Bicentennial celebration of La Romanée as a single family-owned Monopole drove record-breaking demand at a Hong Kong wine auction last week.
A landmark Bicentennial celebration of La Romanée as a single family-owned Monopole drove record-breaking demand at a Hong Kong wine auction last week, as collectors pushed Acker’s spring sale to HK$47 million and set 86 world records in a single afternoon.
The June 6 sale centered on Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, whose La Romanée vineyard has been held continuously by the same family since 1826. Spanning just 0.85 hectares and bordered by Richebourg, Romanée-Conti, and La Grande Rue – three of Burgundy’s most hallowed names – the vineyard is among the most coveted plots in the Côte de Nuits, producing just around 4,000 bottles a year.
The top lot of the evening, a full barrel of 2023 Vosne-Romanée offered at auction for the first time, sold for HK$1,900,000 (approximately US$242,656), exceeding its high estimate.
A second anchor consignment, The Chairman’s cellar featuring more than 500 lots from a private collection spanning benchmark Bordeaux vintages including 1945, 1961, and 1982 reinforced what the trade has observed across recent cycles: that aged Bordeaux from well-documented cellars commands strong and growing demand.
Hong Kong: Where Comte Louis-Michel Found His First Global Champion
For Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, the 200th anniversary of La Romanée as a single family-owned Monopole called for a celebration worthy of the occasion, and Hong Kong was chosen as its first global stop. The city as the vigneron recalled is more than a key market, it is where his career first gained meaningful recognition.
Speaking to Vino Joy News, he said that he was probably acknowledged as a serious winemaker in Hong Kong before he was truly seen that way in France.
He recalled a tasting in London in 2002, where a Hong Kong-based wine lover pulled him aside and told him directly: this young man would be one of the important winemakers of the future. At that moment, the French market had yet to pay him much attention.
The encounter pointed to something he believes is fundamental to Hong Kong’s character. “Hong Kong is always one step ahead in wine, and in many other things,” he said. “People here were much more aware, much more curious, always looking for something new. The wine scene, like the food scene, is probably more dynamic here than in most places in the world. There is always something new happening.”
That spirit of curiosity and openness is part of why he sent his son Vicomte Henry to work in Hong Kong for several months last year, not just for business exposure, but for a broader education. “I wanted him to be in Hong Kong to see things he would never have seen working in Paris,” Louis-Michel said. For the Liger-Belair family, the city represents a certain way of engaging with the world: alert, forward-looking, and unafraid of the new.
A 2023 Vosne-Romanée Barrel: Scarcity Drives the Room
The top lot of the sale was a barrel of 2023 Vosne-Romanée offered for the first time, which hammered at HK$1,900,000 (approximately US$242,656).
For a domaine producing just 25,000 to 30,000 bottles annually across 19 different cuvées, offering a full barrel is not a straightforward decision. Louis-Michel noted that many cuvées are produced in quantities of just one or two barrels per year, meaning that releasing a barrel at auction could leave some long-standing allocation clients empty-handed entirely.
Yet demand exists from collectors who want a barrel to mark a significant moment: a child’s birth, a wedding, a milestone. Balancing those requests against existing relationships is a real tension for the domaine.
Ultimately, the domaine and Acker decided to offer a Vosne-Romanée barrel for the first time in 2026, with La Romanée’s bicentennial providing the right occasion. The market’s response – the highest price of the night – validated the decision.
Acker: The Partner Who Made Comte Louis-Michel Listen
Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair is, by his own repeated insistence, a vigneron first. He does not consider himself a businessman, and has never particularly wanted to be one.
He recalled working the estate alone for three years after taking over – vineyard manager, winemaker, cellar hand, all of it – and still spends every day at the domaine for the 40 to 45 days of harvest and vinification.
His philosophy was shaped early by a mentor who told him to make the wine he himself liked because if he couldn’t sell it, at least he could drink it. He took the advice seriously. “I’m very selfish when I’m making wine,” he said.
After 26 years of rebuilding this estate, he says, his professional life belongs to the land.
The auction world was not something he sought out. The relationship with Acker began through friendship, not commerce. “It started through one of my best friends, Sébastien Abric,” he said, the longtime European director of Acker. “Unfortunately, he passed away three years ago.” The two met around 15 years ago and bonded over a shared love of history and reading.
Comte Louis-Michel had no particular interest in the auction market at first. But Sébastien found the right argument. “He made me understand that making good wine is one thing, making great wine is another – but you also have to let people know you are making great wine. That was not naturally my job. It wasn’t where my dedication was.” The logic landed, and the partnership with Acker followed.
Today, Acker is the domaine’s only ongoing annual auction partner, with dedicated sales each June and July. Comte Louis-Michel credits Sébastien as the architect of that relationship, and current chairman John Kapon and the Acker team as the ones who have helped build La Romanée’s international standing since.
Domaine Sets World Records on Two-Thirds of Eligible Lots
Beyond the barrel, the La Romanée vertical (2002–2023) also ranked among the top lots of the sale, finishing third overall at HK$1,000,000 (approximately US$127,714). The domaine’s 16 world records spanned a range of formats and appellations, representing two-thirds of all eligible lots.
Large-format highlights included a 2016 La Romanée Jeroboam at HK$275,000 (approximately US$35,120) and a 2006 Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées Jeroboam at HK$130,000 (approximately US$16,600). Among standard and magnum formats, the 2016 Echezeaux in six bottles brought HK$150,000; the 2010 Echezeaux in three bottles reached HK$100,000; and the 2023 Grands Echezeaux in three bottles sold for HK$90,000. Magnums of the 2016 and 2019 Aux Brûlées and the 2009 Les Petits Monts each achieved HK$70,000, while the 2023 Aux Malconsorts fetched HK$65,000 and the 2023 Aux Réas HK$60,000.
Acker chairman John Kapon called it one of the most amazing months he had witnessed in over three decades in the business. “To have four auctions in four of the world’s greatest cities in less than a month was an extraordinary effort, but the extraordinary results have made every bit of it worthwhile,” he enthused.
“Welcoming Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair and his son Vicomte Henry to Hong Kong to celebrate 200 years of La Romanée as a single family-owned Monopole was something very special, especially given Acker’s own 200+ year history. There aren’t too many that can fit in that peer group,” he added.
On the broader picture, Kapon added that The Chairman’s collection had once again demonstrated the enduring appeal of well-sourced aged Bordeaux. With cumulative 2026 auction sales reaching US$90 million year-to-date, Acker’s season shows no signs of slowing down. The next stop is a U.S. auction on June 26th featuring two exceptional restaurant collections
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