LIFE / Wine
Winecollectinghasa fewfundamentaladvantagesover
othertypesofcollecting:one,regulardepletion,whichfrees
upspaceforfurthercollecting;andtwo,theactofdepleting
is ratherenjoyable(anda boontoyourpopularity).The
challengefornascentwinecollectorsis thatcollectingsolo
isn’tmuchfunandcollectorcirclescanbetrickytopenetrate.
Internationally,Asianwinecollectorshavegained
notorietyforthedecadenceandsheerscaleoftheir
collections.Consequently,manywereonlywillingto
answermyquestionsanonymously.Thesceneis quite
varied.ThroughwineassociationssuchastheHongKong
WineSociety—oneofAsia’soldest,foundedin1981—the
OrdredesCoteauxdeChampagne,ConfrériedesChevaliers
duTastevinandKnightsofAlba,I’veencountered
collectorswhocouldliterallyfill castleswithbottles
numberinginthehundredsofthousandsandotherswhose
collectionsareenviablysuccinct.
Greatcollectionsdon’tjusthappen.Collectorsshop
strategically.RetiredengineeringCEOCKTsangreveals
thatwhenfirstcollectinginthe1990sheactuallyacquired
animportlicencetosourcewinesdirectly.Hisfirstpurchase
was 250 casesofChâteauPrieuré-Lichine’95,someof
whichheresoldtofellowcollectors.Eventhosemaking
lesssubstantialpurchasestendtobuycasestogettheir
allocationsandthenswapbottleswithfriends.
Onehighlyrespectedburgundycollectorsaysthat
althoughshebuysforconsumption,notreselling,she
mainlybuysenprimeur(EP)—beforethewineis bottled—
oronreleasetoguaranteeprovenance.Thisisn’ttosay
backvintagesaren’tfortruecollectors—infactmanyolder
winesarepricedbelowtheEPorcurrentreleaseprice—but
maturebottlesarescrutinisedtothenthdegree.
Regardingcollectioncomposition,somefeelstronglythat
depthtrumpsbreadth.“IgoforproducerstylesI likeand
willbuyregardlessofvintagetoensureI getmyallocation
everyyear,”theburgundycollectorcontinues.“Iwillopen
thebottlesandtrythematvariousstagesaccordingtomy
understandingofthecharactersandageingpotentialof
eachvintage.”Depthalsomeansgoingbeyondthecreme
delacreme.“Iwillbuyfromvillagetograndcrufromeach
oftheproducersthatI collect;I believea producer’sability
is besttestedbythevillage-levelwine.”
Anothergroupis moreeclectic,targetingwinesthat
maybeunavailableorunaffordableinfuture.TheWine
SocietymembersI polledexpressedinterestinbackfilling
theirbaroloandbarbarescoselections,stockingupon
champagneandlayingdown“classicalAustralian”bottles
fromthelikesofWendouree,GiacondaandRockford.
Resellingis a fraughttopic,withmanymaturecollectors
anxiouslytallyingtheirremainingbottlesversusprojected
futurebirthdays.Tsangsaysseveralofhisfriends’wives
haveencouragedthemtosellandhehaspersonallysold
a fewcasesatauction.Still,hecontinuestopurchase,
focusingincreasinglyondrinkability(heprefersburgundy
foritsabilitytomatchChinesefood),andonlyslowly
runningdownhisbottlecount.
All,however,agreedononething.PerhapsbecauseAsia,
unlikeEurope,hasfewgenerationalcollections,depleting
thecollectionis animportantpartofthegig.Thoughit
couldbeuncharitablyspunas“showingoff ”,a keyto
fittinginwellis unflagginggenerosity.Thiscantakemany
forms,fromhostingseveraldozenfriendsforanannual
tastingof 60 whiteburgundiesora 20-bottleverticalofa
topPomerolestate,toensuringyouputforwardyourbest
bottlesatBYOevents.AsTsangnotes,“AthomeI drink
quitesimply;yearsagoI learnedfrom[formerPrieuré-
Lichineproprietor]SachaLichinethatthebestwinesare
forsharingwithfriends.”There’splentyof informationout
thereaboutwhichwinesto buy,
whereto buythemandhow
to storethem.Tolearnmore
aboutthefinerpointsof collector
culture,we talkedto some
prominent oenophiles
BYSARAHHELLER,MW
Collective
Memory
IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCKMembers of the Hong Kong
Wine Society, 1986222 singapore tatler. october 2019