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Spectrum Wine Auctions Kicks Off Fall Season by Taking in Over $3.3 Million on September 24

Spectrum Wine Auctions Kicks Off Fall Season by Taking in Over $3.3 Million on September 24 in Beverly Hills, California, & September 25 in Hong Kong

(September 29, 2010; IRVINE, CA)—Spectrum Wine Auctions, California’s leading auction house of fine and rare wine, brought in $3,388,490 at its fourth live auction on Friday, September 24 at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Saturday, September 25 at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. The Autumn 2010 Auction exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $3.2 million and 99.8% of the 755 lots on offer were sold by lot.

Highlights (inclusive of 19.5% buyer’s premium):
• Lots 107-153: collections of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon at a combined total of $214,920 (pre-sale estimate: $206,600)

• Lots 154-160: Chateau Montelena verticals from 1977 to 2008 in various sizes at a combined total of $45,410 (pre-sale estimate: $38,500)

• Lots 164-222: collections of Château Lafite Rothschild at a combined total of $619,368.50 (pre-sale estimate: $482,880)

• Lots 202-204: 12 bottles of 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild in OWC at $49,293, $50,190, and $53,775 (pre-sale estimate $40,000 per lot)

• Lot 298: 12 bottles of 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild in OWC at $19,120 (pre-sale estimate $13,000)

• Lots 351, 352: 12 bottle lots of 1989 Château Haut-Brion in OWC at $16,730 each (pre-sale estimate $13,000 per lot)

• Lot 387: 12 bottles of 1989 Château Pétrus at $35,850 (pre-sale estimate $31,000)

• Lot 675: 12 bottles of Romanée-Conti, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in OWC at $119,500 (pre-sale estimate $120,000)

• Lot 719: 1 magnum of 1978 Henri Jayer Richebourg at  $19,120 (pre-sale estimate $15,000)

• Lot 742: 1 bottle of Madeira circa 1790-1800 from a shipwreck off the U.S. coast of Georgia at $4,182.50 (pre-sale estimate: $1,200)

Total aggregate: $3,388,490
Percent sold by lot: 99.8%

"Château Lafite Rothschild continued to garner the highest prices, with 59 lots fetching 28% above the pre-sale estimate," comments Spectrum Wine's president Jason Boland.  “We also saw growing Asian demand for California wines, particularly those from Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle, and the verticals from Chateau Montelena,” he adds.
 
The auction was Spectrum Wine’s first to take place in Beverly Hills, Calif., marking a move from its previous three Southern California sales in Costa Mesa, Calif. The auction rooms at the Peninsula Hotels in both Beverly Hills, Calif. and in Hong Kong were filled to standing-room only with enthusiastic bidders. Attendees at both locations were treated to complimentary pours of Chateau Montelena dating back to the 1972 vintage.

Among the auction’s highlights were verticals in large formats—1.5L, 3L and 5L—of Chateau Montelena spanning 30 years, including one of the few known bottles of the Judgment of Paris-winning 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. Many of the Chateau Montelena wines, which came direct from the winery’s cellars, were purchased by bidders in attendance at the Hong Kong sale. Another sale highlight was the historic, one-of-a-kind bottle of drinkable, 1800s-era Madeira salvaged in the late 1970s from a shipwreck off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. Estimated at $1,200 pre-sale, the rare bottle sold for over three times that price at $4,182.50.

Spectrum Group International, a Fortune 500 Company, launched its wine auction division in July, 2009. Spectrum Wine Auctions held its first live wine auction last November and held subsequent live auctions in April and June.

Upcoming Live Auction Calendar
December 3 CA/December 4 HK 2010

About Spectrum Wine Auctions
Launched in 2009, Spectrum Wine Auctions is the world’s newest live and online auction house of fine collectible wine.

Following in the grand tradition of its sister auction companies, Spectrum Wine Auctions is a subsidiary of Spectrum Group International, Inc. (SPGZ:PK), a consolidated global collectibles network. The company is a leading auctioneer of stamps, coins, arms, armor and militaria, and other memorabilia, targeting both collectors and dealers. Building a strong financial foundation, Spectrum Group International is also a merchant/dealer of certain collectibles and trader of precious metals. The company's collectibles offerings range from the modest to ultra high-end in value and span the globe. Spectrum Wine Auctions is the newest member of the elite Spectrum Group International family. Spectrum Wine Auctions also conducts bi-weekly online auctions through www.spectrumwine.com. The company offers competitive incentives for consignors, including 30-day payouts in full for all lots sold regardless as to whether the firm has collected from each buyer, and the ability to consign both highly-collectible and commonly found wines.

Backed by many decades of auction expertise and driven by a team of dedicated wine specialists and enthusiasts, Spectrum Wine Auctions is committed to offering buyers and sellers alike the most accessible and expansive auction opportunities of what is simply the world’s greatest consumable and collectible product—wine.

For more information on Spectrum Wine Auctions, please call at 949.748.4845 or visit www.spectrumwine.com.