The recent purchase of eight bottles of fine wine for around $107,000 US at Le Clos operator MMI, which is located in the Dubai Airport, has reportedly broken the world record for a single purchase of fine wines. In fact, this recent splurge is believed to nearly double the previous world record for a single international duty-free retail wine purchase while traveling.

The wines that were selected for this monumental purchase included a 1959 magnum and bottles of Chateau Petrus 1947 and 1962 – only two of the many rare varieties that can be found inside the shop. In general, Le Clos has reported a significant increase in spending on luxury gift items recently, as well as an increase in purchases that are intended for personal use or for investment purposes. The Le Clos brand also owns a retail location that is situated in the airport’s Emirates First Class Lounge, and has demonstrated a knack for tapping into the Russian and Chinese markets.

Among the other interesting services offered by Le Clos, the company allows passengers to purchase wines via the Internet before flying and have them delivered upon landing. The shop which now claims to hold the world record for a single purchase of wines also boasts a variety of high-end Spanish and Italian varieties and rare, collectible-classed 1982, 1996 and 2000 red Bordeaux. In fact, it houses more than 400 wines in total, with the US, France and Italy representing the majority of stock.

Though the global financial crisis has affected this boomtown too, it is still one of the must visit places on the agenda of most tourists.

Dubai is famous for its shopping malls and souks. The vast variety of goods available would gladden the heart of the most inveterate shopaholic.

Dubai Airport, one of the busiest in the region, is home to Dubai Duty Free, a world famous shoppers’ paradise of over 5400 square metres within the Concourse. Here you can select from a wide variety of premium merchandise at very reasonable rates. You can purchase jewellery, electronics, luxury goods etc.

The newest attraction is what is touted as the world’s most exclusive travel retail wine and spirits store, the Le Clos.

Le Clos has opened in Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 selling some of the rarest wines in the world, duty free. Retail outlets of Le Clos are located in the First Class Lounge and on the shopping concourse.

The shop lists over 400 wines, mostly from France, Italy and the US, but also from South Africa, Spain, Australia, Chile and New Zealand.

Some of the world’s most sought after fine wines that are stocked here include Château Petrus 1947 (£7,625/bottle), Château Cheval Blanc 1961 in magnum (£9,607) and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2005 (£16,945).
For those who cannot afford such prices, the store also stocks a number of New World wines at more reasonable prices, including vintages from Napa icons, Opus One, Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle.
The store is run by Maritime and Mercantile International (MMI), a subsidiary of The Emirates Group.

Wine advisors with expertise on specific regions and varietals are around to help with selecting the best fine wines. Buying options are varied: You can place your order through the online store and collect your purchase from the store before you fly out of Dubai. Should you be returning to Dubai, you can choose your wines ahead of time and pick them up after your flight.

The wines on offer all came from the leading vineyards and vintages of Bordeaux and was carried out by the Beijing Poly International Auction Co – who used the services of well known French fine wine authority Claude Maratier for the selection of wines.

There were 131 lots in total, highlights among which were two single bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild from the fabled 1982 vintage, which achieved a sale price of nearly £6,750, quadrupling their estimate.

Also available were a presentation case consisting of two bottles each of Chateau Pétrus, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Haut-Brion, all from the classic 2000 vintage. Incredibly this had been estimated to fetch approximately £1,650 but actually sold for £18,500 approx.

Xinhua, the Chinese state-sponsored news agency, reported that M. Maratier was ‘very satisfied’ with the outcome and would be happy to work with Poly on further fine wine auctions.

According to Ma Zhefei, who oversaw the auction on behalf of Poly, almost all the buyers at auction have stated they wish to drink the purchased wines and were not buying for investment.

The view here at Provenance is that this would appear to be true by the very nature of the fact that most of the wines on offer seemed to be presentation cases or odd bottles of choice wines; certainly not a large presence “standard lot sizes” i.e. 12 bottle, unbvroken original wooden cases.

If Chinese interest is mainly driven by drinkers, this may have a significant impact on the demand put upon the world’s leading investment-calibre wines, but it is too early just yet to tell exactly the scale of such impact on fine wine pricing.

The abolition of high import taxes in Hong Kong has led the increasing number of domestic Chinese fine wine enthusiasts to leave the mainland to extend their collections.

Poly intend to organise further auctions in their Spring/Summer auction seasons because quite simply, once more according to Ma Zhefei, “The demand is there.”