Acker Merrall Announces Fall 2012 Auction Schedule

Season Highlights Include Unprecedented Champagne Sale and the Finest of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy and California

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acker Merrall & Condit, the world’s premier wine auction house and America’s oldest fine wine merchant, today announced its schedule and auction highlights for Fall 2012.

“The first half of 2012 has marked another strong year for us with Acker again atop the market, posting six-month sales of nearly US$45 million, which is over 30% ahead of the nearest competitor, while setting 537 new world records”

“The first half of 2012 has marked another strong year for us with Acker again atop the market, posting six-month sales of nearly US$45 million, which is over 30% ahead of the nearest competitor, while setting 537 new world records,” said John Kapon, CEO of Acker Merrall & Condit. “Our clients remain our top priority, and we diligently strive to deliver the finest and rarest for the world’s great collectors, and this season will be no different. The Fall season kicks-off in style beginning in NYC on September 8^th followed by Asia’s two day auction in Hong Kong September 21-22^nd. An unprecedented champagne collection headlines the first Hong Kong auction, in tandem with many of the very greatest wines made in Bordeaux and Burgundy during the past decades plus recent legends. Preceding Hong Kong, New York City will showcase the elite of France, the great reds of Piedmont and Tuscany plus offer an almost unprecedented selection of California’s top red wines. We are kicking off the Fall auction season in true Acker style and setting the table for a great October, November and December in both the US and Hong Kong.”

These two Fall auctions in New York (September 8^th at Marea) and Hong Kong (September 21^st and 22^nd at the Grand Hyatt) will represent a cumulative total of over US$10 million of the world’s finest and rarest wines.

New York Auction Highlights:

The New York season begins with a world tour—from Classic and Cult Calis, Burgundy and Bordeaux to Rhones and the elite Italian reds. Featuring greats from a Trinity of Connoisseurs, three collectors with a passion for Bordeaux and beyond, it includes just about anything a collector would want. Name a great vintage or wine from Bordeaux, and it can almost certainly be found. The list of great names from Burgundy is long, the offerings deep from DRC, Leroy, Ramonet, de Vogue, Roumier, Niellon, Mugnier and Ponsot. Super-horizontals of Cali Classics go back as far as the 1960s, and Italy includes such stunning wines as the ’85 Sassicaia (in bottle and magnum). There are even a few utterly alluring 19^th Century Maderia.

Hong Kong Auction Highlights:

The Hong Kong season will kick-off in style with the greatest collection from the greatest collector of champagne in the world, Rob Rosania. Featuring Krug, Roederer Cristal and Salon plus almost all the remaining top champagne houses, the Premier Collection will be split in four sections between Friday and Saturday, and the world’s foremost Champagne expert, Richard Juhlin, will be on hand to toast the offerings. Beyond champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy will shine with three Featured Collections. The array of First Growths and Super Seconds from the greatest vintages, new and more mature alike - all in wonderful condition – is spectacular. DRC will make its presence known throughout the auction with over 350 bottles from the legendary Domaine, including the great 2009s and many vintages before. All the great producers, the usual suspects, of Burgundy will be offered. Plus you’ll also find the very rare ’61 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle, inarguably one of the greatest wines ever made.

In October, Acker is hosting sales in New York (October 20^th at Marea) and Chicago (October 27^th at the Trump International Hotel). Additional live auctions will be held in New York on November 17^th and December 15^th, and in Hong Kong on November 9^th and 10^th and December 7^th and 8^th. Wines will be accepted through end of September for the October auctions in NY and Chicago and the November Hong Kong sale. The September auctions are currently searchable and biddable at www.ackerauctions.com.

About Acker Merrall & Condit

Founded in 1820, Acker Merrall & Condit is America’s oldest fine wine merchant and the world’s largest wine auction house. With affiliates in New York, Chicago and Hong Kong, the companies hold more than fifteen auctions a year, including Internet auctions. They are devoted to helping their customers buy and sell the best wines, and also to sharing with them the experience of enjoying wine. In recent years, the company has greatly expanded its services to education, tastings and the formation of wine clubs. Starting out as a family business, three generations of the Kapon family have been dedicated to bringing the best from the vine to their customers.