Tang wine auction clouded by doubts over authenticity

Doubts have been cast on the authenticity of at least three lots of wine put up for auction by former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen, with Christie's withdrawing one ahead of last weekend's sale.

A detailed counterfeit wine allegation by Los Angeles-based lawyer Don Cornwell has been circulating on Wine Berserkers, an online forum with more than a million registered wine buffs, and other forums since Saturday.

But Tang said he "has no reason to doubt their authenticity".

The three lots of wine in question are a Methuselah of 1971 DRC La Tache (lot 189), a 12-bottle case of 1978 DRC Montrachet (lot 256) and a three-bottle lot of 1959 Romanee-Conti (lot 165). Christie's confirmed that lot 189 was withdrawn as "a precautionary measure" and was no longer available in the sale catalogue.

Lot 256 sold for HK$847,000 - far more than the HK$400,000 to HK$600,000 estimate - and was the second most expensive item of all 809 lots. Lot 165 sold for HK$242,000. The wine collection fetched a total of HK$48 million.

In an e-mail Cornwell said he sent to David Elswood, global head of wine at Christie's, he noted that Tang's 1971 La Tache bears two signature labels, indicating it is a later version than the initial release, which bears a single signature label.