Andrew Lloyd Webber to auction wine collection in Hong Kong

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the British composer known for smash-hit musicals including The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, will sell part of his wine collection at auction in Hong Kong next month.

Sotheby’s said the “magnificent” collection could fetch as much as US$4.1 million at the sale on January 22, as the auction giant moves to quench a growing thirst among Asian collectors for fine wine.

In all, 747 lots from Lloyd Webber will go under the hammer, including 21 cases of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2005 and four cases of Chateau Haut Brion 1989.

Hong Kong has become the world’s largest auction hub after New York and London, thanks in large part to China’s growing economic prowess.

Mainland Chinese are regular buyers of the top lots at sales of art, jewellery and wine.

“I’m very happy that Sotheby’s is bringing part of my precious wine collection to Hong Kong, particularly given that many wine connoisseurs are now in Asia,” Lloyd Webber said in a statement.

Part of the collection has been stored in cellars at the composer’s 16th-century home, Sotheby’s said.