Château Palmer to auction barrel of 2015 wine

Château Palmer is to auction an entire barrel of its Bordeaux 2015 en primeur wine via a sale at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.

Palmer and Sotheby’s will auction the 225-litre barrel of Château Palmer 2015 wine in Hong Kong on 4 June.

The Margaux based estate has not yet released a price for its Bordeaux 2015 en primeur wine. But, Sotheby’s said the barrel at auction is expected to fetch up to HK$700,000 (US$90,000), which would be equivalent to HK$2,333 per bottle ($300 or £207) – although estimates do not include the buyer’s premium or sales tax.

Whoever buys the barrel can have it divided into the bottle size of their choice, from an 18 litre melchior down to a half-bottle size, 37.5cl. They will also be able to personalise the back label of bottles.

The move suggests Bordeaux estates are attempting to find new ways to attract consumers to Bordeaux 2015, which has been rated relatively strongly Decanter critics but is set to arrive on a market already sceptical about the value of the en primeur sales system.

Palmer was one of the highest scoring 2015 wines rated by Decanter’s Steven Spurrier. He gave it 96 points, describing it as having a ‘superb bouquet of black fruits with dry spice, tobacco and liquorice’.

See how Palmer compared to other Margaux 2015 wines

The barrel sale at Sotheby’s will headline a wider auction of Palmer wines direct from the cellars of the biodynamically farmed estate, as well as a sale of Palmer wines from the cellars of negociant Mähler-Besse, dating back to 1928.

Potential highlights include a number of lots containing three magnums each of Palmer 1961, which are expected to fetch up to HK$240,000 per lot (US$30,000).