A Billionaire's 25,000-Bottle Collection of 'Rare' and 'Mythical' Wines Is About to Be Auctioned — And It's Expected to Fetch a Staggering Sum The Taiwanese billionaire has referred to wine as the "ninth art."
By Madeline Garfinkle Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Taiwanese billionaire Pierre Chen has spent 40 years amassing a remarkable collection of wine.
- The five-part Sotheby's auction, titled "The Epicurean's Atlas," will span from November 2023 to November 2024.
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For some, wine isn't just for leisurely sipping, but for cherished collecting. Taiwanese billionaire, businessman and art collector Pierre Chen has amassed an impressive collection of wine over 40 years — 25,000 bottles of which will be up for auction next month and are valued at around $50 million, CNN reported.
The Sotheby's auction will be divided into five separate events, each dedicated to a different region or type of wine, and span from November 2023 to November 2024. The first auction will be in Hong Kong, then Paris, Beaune in the Burgundy region of France and New York before returning to Hong Kong.
The collection, titled "The Epicurean's Atlas," encompasses "rare" and "mythical vintages." Among the notable bottles are two 1985 methuselahs (six-liter bottles) of red burgundy from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's La Tâche vineyard, which could fetch between $120,000 and $190,000 each, per CNN.
On the Sotheby's website, Chen described wine as the "ninth art."
"It is the only art form one can consume, using senses that other art forms don't typically involve," he said.
Chen, who founded the electronic company Yageo in 1977 and took it public in 1993, boasts a $5.5 billion net worth, according to Forbes.
George Lacey, head of Sotheby's Wine for Asia, described Chen's wine collection as "staggering" in its versatility.
"There is currently more wine in his cellars than any one individual could ever hope to drink in a lifetime, but wine is for drinking," Lacey said in a statement, per CNN.
Although Chen's wine collection is impressive, it's hardly his only venture. As an avid art collector, the billionaire owns notable works by Pablo Picasso, Gerhard Richter and Francis Bacon, according to CNN.
