The most popular figure in the collection industry Chen Taiming (Pierre Chen), with a net worth of US$5.1 billion, ranked 550th in the 2021 Forbes Global Rich Ranking. The Guoju Foundation, founded by this Taiwanese entrepreneur, has established a huge art collection. The Chang Yu's painting "Five Naked Women" that set an auction record for HK$303 million is also an old collection of the foundation.
The autumn auction held by Sotheby's Hong Kong next month will bring a single collector special show led by Chen Taiming. However, the auction is not modern and contemporary art , but his collection of foreign wines. More than 360 items focus on top wines produced in Bordeaux, Bugen and other regions, with a total estimated price of more than HK$88 million, making it the second highest-valuation single collector's collection auction in Asia.
In addition to the top famous shops such as Romani Conte (DRC), Baicui Castle (Petrush), Henri Jayer, Chen Taiming bought Faiveley Musigny's 1.5-liter large bottle of wine in Bugendi Vineyard will appear at auction for the first time. There are a large number of large bottles of wines from different top wineries, with a total of 235 bottles in 1.5 liters and a total of 30 bottles in total, both of which are of outstanding quality and quantity.
College of the collection Chen Taiming
Musigny, Faiveley 2015 (1.5 liter 1 bottle)
Evaluation: HK$100,000 - 180,000 (3 lots in total)
Chen Taiming is equally passionate about art and wine. The rare wines auctioned this time were collected by this veteran collector for more than 30 years, showing the change in collection taste over the years and also demonstrating his hobby of matching food and wine.
is this enthusiasm for top wines, which has enabled Chen Taiming to invest in Faiveley, a family winery of Burgundy, to buy a part of the Grand Cru Musigny from the Dufouleur family. Chen Taiming bears the cost of purchasing vineyards, while the Faiveley family is responsible for managing the vineyards and producing wine.
After completing the transaction in 2015, Faiveley has nearly one-third of the Musigny vineyard, covering an area of 25 acres, and the output has increased from 150 bottles per year to 500 bottles. Chen Taiming can get 25-30 boxes of wine from the winery every year in return.
's enthusiasm for wine prompted Chen Taiming to go to Burgundy to buy vineyards
Regarding wine and art, Chen Taiming described it as follows: "(Wine) is a kind of artwork that can be drunk, so it can be easily integrated into life and become a part of daily life. When tasting wine, we will use the senses different from the appreciation of traditional art, such as smell and taste. For the audience, appreciating other artworks is relatively passive, but wine requires the taster to actively use his own creativity and take a little thought to lead to the essence of a good wine."
Like artwork, this rare wine series tells Chen Taiming's life story. Whether it was his first trip to his Musigny vineyard and setting foot in the soil of Bugen, or holding a tea and wine feast at his home in Taipei, each bottle tells the moment he cherished.
Chen Taiming believes that every bottle of wine has its own unique magic, "….. Take a sip and awaken the pleasant memories of the past through the taste buds", "Collection of wine has its fun, but opening a bottle to taste is the real pleasure."
Chen Taiming personally cooked
In the promotional video, Jay Chou and Chen Taiming ate and drank while enjoying art
If readers still have an impression, a special auction was planned by Sotheby's and Jay Chou in a promotional video. In one of the promotional videos, Jay Chou and Chen Taiming ate and drank while enjoying art.
Chen Taiming said that both he and Jay Chou like food and often eat together to discuss art, describing Jay Chou's high enthusiasm and sensitivity to art. He said bluntly: "(Jay Chou) Especially for modern and contemporary art collections, I think no Asian singer can surpass him.”On the other hand, Jay Chou deeply agrees with Chen Taiming’s concept of “looking at art from the perspective of life rather than collection.”
In fact, this auction is also in line with Chen Taiming's attitude of integrating art into life. He said, "I sincerely hope that this cooperation with the auction house Sotheby's will arouse more people's interest in wine. Sharing is the most important part of drinking fine wine. Taking this opportunity, I want to share with you the treasures in the cellar that are of special significance to me, and inspire you to integrate art into life and reflect the art of life. This time, let's start by selecting wine by yourself."
Jamie Ritchie, global director of Sotheby's foreign wine department, said: "House's collection of foreign wines is excellent in both scale and depth. The cellar has a lot of storage, spanning more than 30 years, and it includes famous shops from all over the world, including Romani Conte, Bocuiburg and Henri Jayer et al. Today, it is almost impossible to buy wines of prominent sources on such a large scale, which proves Mr. Chen’s love for wine, and he is willing to share it with the public. This auction inherits our tradition and presents the most precious wine collections around the world to customers. "
Partial focus lot
DRC La Tâche 1971 3 liters (1 bottle)
Estimated: HK$900,000 - 1,500,000 (2 lots)
Palmer 1961 3 liters (1 bottle)
Estimated: HK$200,000 - 300,000
Hermitage, La Chapelle, Paul Jaboulet Aine 1961 (1.5 liters in 1 bottle)
Evaluation: HK$280,000 - 500,000
Chevalier Montrachet, Domaine d’Auvenay 2009 (3 bottles)
Estimated: HK$240,000 - 400,000 (3 lots in total)
