PIERRE CHEN: An Odyssey in Taste

A self-professed gourmand with a lifelong passion for cooking, Pierre Chen has, over the years, forged strong relationships with many of the world’s greatest chefs and winemakers. For Mr Chen, great wines are best enjoyed with great food, and the art of matching the two – often in unconventional ways – is something in which he is very well-versed.

While Mr Chen’s playful and precise pairings are often enjoyed by his friends at home, others may now experience them, too. In October 2023, Mr Chen opened his first restaurant, Le Restaurant Blanc in Paris. There, as well as unexpected and delicious pairings, diners will also be able to sample some of the greatest wines in the world. Mr Chen is not only endowing Le Restaurant Blanc with one of the restaurant world’s finest wine cellars, he will also act as chief sommelier, training a team to his own exacting standards.

Curated with care and connoisseurship over some 40 years, Pierre Chen’s revered cellars — much like his celebrated art collection — rank among the greatest in the world. Starting 2023 autumn, a selection of 25,000 bottles of his wine from his vast collection will be offered at Sotheby’s in a landmark event. Representing just a fraction of Mr Chen’s vast collection, the wines – including rare bottles and fabled vintages – will form a series of six dedicated sales, each one devoted to a different type of wine or aspect of the collection, together titled “The Epicurean’s Atlas”.

The first of these, was taken place in Hong Kong at the end of 2023 November, will be an auction event unlike any other. While subsequent sales will focus on specific regions or types of wine, the first offering from Mr Chen’s cellars is designed to give a broader sense of the scope and quality of this truly extraordinary collection.