Pioneering the first open-heart surgery in both Singapore and Malaysia in the 1960s, the late Singaporean doctor N.K. Yong (1927-2021) had a plethora of accolades to his credit.
In the 1980s, he served as president of the Singapore Medical Association and the Medical Association of South-East Asian Nations, among many other titles. Yet upon retiring in 2004, he received a rather unusual honor: the French National Order Of Merit, and it was for his achievements in promoting French wines.
In fact, N.K. Yong and his wife Melinda are no strangers to the gourmet and wine world, famed amongst collectors and vignerons across the globe for their deep knowledge, passion, and, perhaps most impressively, their star-studded wine dinners.
To celebrate Christie's inaugural luxury auctions at The Henderson, their new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, this season the auction house brought to collectors the iconic collection of the couple.
On offer at the single-owner collection sale on 26 October were exceptional wines from renowned regions in France, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhône, Loire, and Alsace. In the end, the sale total came to HK$17.5 million (US$2.2 million), with the highest-selling lot being Georges & Henri Jayer, Echézeaux 1990, selling for HK$325,000 with fees.
N.K. Yong and his wife Melinda
Regularly held at their home right in the heart of Singapore, the couple's dinner parties were where some of the world's biggest names in food and wine gathered, from decorated Michelin-starred chefs such as Joël Robuchon to winemakers from Lafite and Chateaux Latour, to auction houses' heads of department and top policymakers.
As Yong was respected as an international authority in wine, so was Melinda regarded for her reputation as an extraordinary home cook: Yong would share rare drops from his cellar, while Melinda would cook various dishes to harmonize with the wines.
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As a home cook, Melinda was so good in the kitchen that she not only served as guest chef at one of France's one-Michelin-star restaurants, but was also invited by renowned wine producer Bruno Prats to demonstrate at press luncheons to how his wines would pair with Asian food.
N.K. Yong cared for the bottles in his cellar
The couple's wine-collecting journey started in 1982 after Yong had attended a wine-tasting event. Having a relatively late start, Yong swiftly went on to actively network within the wine world and expand his knowledge of wine, diving deep into the winemakers and land behind each bottle. Together with Melinda, they would travel to visit vineyards and wineries in major wine regions of Europe at least twice a year, first as wine collectors and later as friends of some of the most prestigious winemakers.
They began sourcing the great wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy, at a time when they were not as popular as they are today. Over time, their interests gradually expanded to the great wines of Alsace, Germany, and ventured further to Spain, Italy, and the New World.
After his retirement in 2004, N.K. Yong dedicated himself entirely to wine collecting, amassing a diverse assortment of fine vintages, with each bottle meticulously chosen for its distinct flavor profile and the story it encapsulates or the special moments it commemorates. The year 1982, for instance, stood out to Yong more than a great vintage – it marked the year his father passed away and he started collecting.
The inside of N.K. Yong's "pool cellar"
The fruit of over four decades of distinguished connoisseurship and refined taste, Yong's cellar has expanded from a wine cabinet gifted by a friend to a standard 6-meter container in the backyard, eventually growing to such a scale that the Olympic-sized swimming pool in his home had to be converted into a cellar.
Reaching two meters deep, the "pool cellar" is a temperature-controlled room that stocks more than 12,000 bottles – and Yong knew exactly where to find each bottle. Much like a warehouse keeper, Yong tended to the wines with meticulous care, often climbing and stooping here and there to oversee the collection.
Still, that pool was not large enough for their extensive collection – there were more being stored in commercial wine storage facilities.
In 2021, Yong passed away at the age of 93, presenting an opportunity for this extensive collection to enter the market. Through Christie's, these wines now discovered new homes with individuals who shared the same fervor and ardor for fine wines.
Among the 734-lot single-owner collection auction was a lineup of some of the greatest and most sought-after vintages from Bordeaux and Burgundy – from Lafite, Latour, Margaux, and Mouton, to Domaine Romanée-Conti, Echézeaux, Domaine Dujac, and Domaine Armand Rousseau.
Fetching the highest price was a set of eight bottles of Georges & Henri Jayer, Echézeaux 1990, which sold for HK$325,000 (around US$41,820) with fees, an average of HK$40,625 per bottle.
Echézeaux Grand Cru is the jewel of the Henri Jayer estate, known for the Pinot Noirs with body, richness, and structure. Following the legendary winemaker's death in 2006, his beguiling wines have grown ever rarer, creating a cult following among connoisseurs and collectors the world over.
Lot 5381 | Georges & Henri Jayer, Echézeaux 1990 (8 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$240,000 - 350,000
Sold: HK$325,000
Another highlight of the sale was Petrus, the wine that served Queen Elizabeth II's wedding and President John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Beloved worldwide for their purity of flavor, velvety texture, and truffle aromas, Petrus produces red wine made from 100% Merlot, with every single grape throughout the vineyard being picked individually.
With a limited production of around 30,000 bottles each year, Petrus has become one of the most sought-after wines at auction. At the N.K. Yong sale, all bottles, spanning 1964 to 2012, were sold, and the most expensive among them was a set of 12 Petrus 2005, selling for HK$300,000, an average of HK$25,000 per bottle.
Lot 5201 | Petrus 2005 (12 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$260,000 - 400,000
Sold: HK$300,000
Lot 5198 | Petrus 1998 (12 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$240,000 - 350,000
Sold: HK$275,000
Lot 5193 | Petrus 1989 (6 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$140,000 - 220,000
Sold: HK$187,500
Lot 5202 | Petrus 2009 (6 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$140,000 - 200,000
Sold: HK$187,500
Other Highlight Lots:
Lot 5523 | Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Montrachet 2002 (1 Jeroboam per lot)
Estimate: HK$190,000 - 280,000
Sold: HK$250,000
Lot 5213 | Château Lafleur 1982 (3 Magnums per lot)
Estimate: HK$220,000 - 350,000
Sold: HK$237,500
Lot 5385 | Georges & Henri Jayer, Echézeaux 1998 (7 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$180,000 - 260,000
Sold: HK$237,500
Lot 5352 | Emmanuel Rouget, Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux 2005 (10 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$180,000 - 260,000
Sold: HK$200,000
Lot 5696 | Paul Jaboulet Aine, Hermitage, La Chapelle Rouge 1961 (2 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$65,000 - 95,000
Sold: HK$175,000
Lot 5522 | Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Montrachet 2001 (3 Bottles per lot)
Estimate: HK$100,000 - 150,000
Sold: HK$150,000
Lot 5336 | Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Romanée-Conti 2015 (1 Bottle per lot)
Estimate: HK$120,000 - 180,000
Sold: HK$137,500
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie's Hong Kong
Sale: A Life Well Lived: The Remarkable Cellar of Melinda and Dr N.K. Yong
Date: 26 October 2024
Number of Lots: 734
Sale Total: HK$17,541,375