US$250,000 for a bottle of baijiu? A 1959 bottle of Mao-tai could fetch that much at Christie’s auction
- The bottle is both exceptionally rare and has been kept in remarkable condition over the past decades
- The auction features dozens of lots of Mao-tai that are expected to fetch over US$10,000 per lot
It certainly would be a tough sell for most people to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a bottle of liquor, but that is the value of a 1959 bottle of baijiu currently on auction at Christie’s.
The bottle, which is part of an online auction with 100 lots closing on January 13, is valued as being worth between US$125,000 and US$250,000.
“1959 bottles are exceptionally rare. A Mao-tai of this age is very hard to come by, and there are many counterfeits out there. In addition to being authentic, this particular bottle is in pristine condition and weighs 887g, meaning over the years it has only lost less than 10 per cent of the spirits to angel’s share, thus meaning the bottle was kept in superb condition,” said Fiona Hui, an Asia Pacific specialist in Christie’s wine department.
This batch of bottles was owned by one person, who is a prominent Chinese collector.
Besides the 1959 bottle, there are dozens of other items for sale that are fetching bids worth tens of thousands of dollars. Hui said the reason Mao-tai is worth so much money is because it is “rich in historical, cultural and economical value”.
