Exploring World-Class Wines
With a world-class wine collection of his own, Marcus Hiles has experienced the joy and the success of wine auctions around the world. The Texas-based businessman, investor, and real estate developer has been collecting fine wines throughout his adult life, and appreciates the variety and the splendor of rare vintages.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong has emerged as one of the leading international wine auctioneers. Asian wine collectors have flocked to the Sotheby’s wine sales in Hong Kong. Marcus contributed over 6500 bottles from his collection for an auction held in 2010. At the end of the sale, 1366 lots were sold with a total take of $13.8 million, including fees. Bordeaux labels like Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanee-Conti were the most popular vintages on offer. The sale eclipsed previous records and positioned the Sotheby’s Hong Kong unit as the world leader in wine auctions. Sotheby’s has now sold every lot at its past nine wine auctions held in Asia, surpassing the auctioneer’s New York sales unit.
From Marcus’ collection of wines, which represented about 20% of his total collection, the 10 most expensive lots were all bought by fervent Asian collectors. Mr. Hiles is known for his impeccable taste in wines as well as for his so-called “Magnificent Cellar”. At his Dallas estate, Marcus has a specially-designed cellar that uses the power of an underground river to both cool and humidify the collection, keeping it at the proper temperature for long-term storage.
As a real estate developer, Marcus has achieved incredible success. He has been in the business of developing real estate properties for over 30 years and serves as the CEO for two prominent development firms in the state of Texas. His first company, Western Rim Property Services, specializes in the luxury rental market, developing apartment buildings, town home communities, and condominiums throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area as well as in other major Texas cities like Austin and San Antonio. The units brought to life by Western Rim now number in the tens of thousands, with many more in the final phases of development.
Eager to make a foothold in the residential market, Marcus also founded Mansions Custom Homes. This company has developed breathtaking residential properties throughout the Dallas area. It specializes in providing grand estates to the most discerning business leaders in the state, giving them modern masterpieces filled with all of the creature comforts they have come to expect. Properties developed by Mansions are known for energy-efficiency and grandeur. With a small empire worth billions of dollars, Marcus is able to continue collecting fine wines from the most sought-after French and Italian vintners.
