A six-magnum case of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Assortment 1990 fetched HK$541,200 ($69,400) at an Acker Merrall & Condit sale in Hong Kong, more than 15 percent up from last year, as demand persisted for top Burgundies.

The price at the two-day auction ending Jan. 26 compared with a range of between $43,000 and $60,000 for similar mixed lots of 1990 DRC sold last year, a sign of interest in a vintage which has become the most expensive of the past three decades, according to data from the London-based Liv-ex wine exchange.

Demand was helped by China’s New Year celebrations this month amid signs of a recovery in fine wine demand since the start of this year. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 Index of leading clarets has risen 3.5 percent since Jan. 1 and is up for four of the past six months. Investor appetite in China that drove Bordeaux prices to record levels in mid-2011 before a price slump has now switched increasingly to rarer Burgundies.

“The gold rush that we saw in 2010 and 2011 has tapered off into more of a developed market,” John Kapon, Chief Executive Officer of New York-based Acker, said in a phone interview. “Things are still quite healthy and active.”

Other Burgundies which featured in the Acker sale included six bottles of Domaine Dujac Echezeaux 1978, which fetched HK$196,800, and four three-liter jeroboams of Domaine Roulot Meursault-Perrieres spanning the years 2007 to 2010, which sold for HK$137,760.

Chateau Petrus

Among top Bordeaux in the Acker sale, a 12-bottle case of Chateau Petrus 1982 sold for HK$492,000 and three bottles of the 1961 vintage fetched $HK$295,200.

Two 12-bottle DRC Assortment cases from 1999 sold for 28,200 pounds ($44,600) each at Sotheby’s (BID) in London Jan. 30, according to the auction house. A similar case traded on Liv-ex in November at 26,400 pounds.

Other lots at Sotheby’s included a case of Chambertin 1999 Armand Rousseau and 12 bottles of more recent Chambertin Clos de Beze 2005 Armand Rousseau, which each sold for 11,163 pounds.

Among Bordeaux wines, three cases of Chateau Haut-Brion from its stand-out 1989 vintage went under the hammer, one for 10,340 pounds and two others for 9,988 pounds. A case of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1982 sold for 23,500 pounds and 12 bottles of Chateau Latour 1982 fetched 11,515 pounds.

Following is a table of major auctions held so far this year.

JANUARY:

Jan. 11/12: Zachys, Hong Kong $4.65 mln

Jan. 25/26: Acker, Merrall & Condit, Hong Kong $6.82 mln

Jan. 30: Sotheby’s, London $2.22 mln