Hello their China - wan't to buy some snake oil?
In these austere times London’s auction houses must be thanking their lucky tax havens for the new wave of Chinese buyers. The Chateau Latour 1961 was sold at Christies for £135,000.
The latest absurdity to come from the land of the rising Renminbi is a purchase that represents more than five times the average UK wage. Clearly the value paid has nothing to do with the quality in the bottle, so what is behind this new wave of stupidity? Well, Gary Boom of Bordeaux index puts it this way:
“The prices were encouraging but not surprising and shows how important the provenance is and how essential it is to buy from trusted and immaculate sources…Quite simply, when you have perfect provenance and a squeeze on supply then it’s no surprise that prices reach these levels.”
Gary Boom Boom would say that wouldn’t he? But what utter tosh.
The truth is that this latest purchase represents the ugly side of trophy acquisition from new markets. This has nothing to do with wine and everything to do with a rich man’s ego.
What a wonderful world we live in.
