There were just three bidders left in the room as the gavel came down to signal the $2,400 sale to an absentee buyer. There were no gasps or murmurs. The purchase, of a case of Domaine Ponsot wines at Sotheby's in London, marked the denouement of a daylong sale that racked up an unremarkable $2.3 million for the august auction house. The relatively modest earnings at the Oct. 24 auction, and the sepulchral feel of the event, reflected a departure from the frenzied activity at wine sales in recent years notably in Hong Kong, where the auction houses...
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