1 Million Yuan for a Bottle of Cognac: That’s $156,740

A record breaking 1 million Yuan (US$156,740) was spent at a Shanghai auction in China last Saturday for an 1858 bottle of pre-phylloxera cognac.

The bottle of Cognac Croizet was purchased by one Maggie Vong, from Hong Kong, at the auction that took place in the Shook Restaurant at the famous Swatch Art Peace Hotel.  The cognac was a Cuvée Léonie, so named after the daughter of Cognac Croizet’s founder –  Léon Croizet – and was part of her wedding dowry in 1892.

Cognac Croizet

The 1 million Yuan spent has broken the previous world record of €25,000 for a single bottle, which was set in 2009 in France.

Whilst auctions for other tipples, such as fine wine, rare tea and bai jiu (Southern China’s notorious sorghum-based spirit) are common in China, this was the first ever auction devoted solely to cognac.  16 bottles were auctioned off altogether, including the Cuvée Léonie. All of the bottles had a reserve price.

The auction saw a tremendous amount of interest, and all proceeds have been donated to a Shanghai charity. Jason Gillott, Head of Marketing for Cognac Croizet in the Hongkong office was pleased with the attendance and results.

According to her press release, Ms Vong, the lucky new owner of the bottle of Cuvée Léonie said that she learned about cognac from her father.  She said this bottle would be kept for a ‘special occasion.’  She was also extremely excited to have created a new world record.

Sources: blog.lefigaro.fr, Wall Street Journal
Pic: blogs.wsj.com