1 dozen bottles per lot
Details
CHATEAU LAFITE-ROTHSCHILD
Vineyards*
Surface Area: 247.1 acres
Grape Varietals: 70 Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 Merlot, 3 Cabernet Franc, and 2 Petit Verdot
Average Age of the Vines: 30 years
Density of Plantation: 8,500 vines per hectare
Average yields: 50 hectoliters per hectare
The celebrated growth of Lafite is of remote origin and very ancient renown. It occupies the finest crests in Pauillac, a region the Latin poet Ausonius spoke of as early as 325 B.C.
Lafite was very fashionable at the king's table in the time of Louis XV. It had a place of honor at the banquets held by Marshal de Richelieu, and Madame de Pompadour always poured some at her little suppers.
In 1868, it was purchased by Baron James de Rothschild and still belongs to his heirs. The Baron's purchase of Lafite came late in his life, he was 76 years old and had outlived not only his four famous brothers, but as many French régimes -- those of Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis-Philippe. By the late 1860s the Baron was not only the richest man in France but the most powerful.
But what of the wine? By now many of you know of Lafite's legendary pre-phylloxera vintages, 1864, Lord Rosebery's 1865, the Glamis Castle's 1870, the Woodperry House's 1874. Then of course there are the great mid-century Lafite vintages of our time: 1945, 1947, 1949, 1959 and 1966. It is said that the bouquet of Lafite is very suave and of incomparable delicacy; its savour brings together at the same time the taste of almonds and the scent of violets without it being possible to distinguish whether the one dominates the other. Perhaps, as with great art, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if so there can be no doubt as to how this came to be for Lafite is a wine that has always been produced with zealous care. No matter our opinion, Lafite retains a reputation untarnished since the days of Ausonius.
* Statistical data from THE WORLD'S GREATEST WINE ESTATES by Robert M. Parker, Jr. Copyright 2005 by Robert M. Parker, Jr. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1997
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
All lots in original wooden cases
Parcel: lots 163-166
"Most recently; 'drinking surprisingly well' at lunch with the family (a magnum) on Christmas Day. Last noted Dec 2001 *** Now-2010. MB, Vintage Wine
1 dozen bottles per lot
Vineyards
Surface Area: 247.1 acres
Grape Varietals: 70 Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 Merlot, 3 Cabernet Franc, and 2 Petit Verdot
Average Age of the Vines: 30 years
Density of Plantation: 8,500 vines per hectare
Average yields: 50 hectoliters per hectare
The celebrated growth of Lafite is of remote origin and very ancient renown. It occupies the finest crests in Pauillac, a region the Latin poet Ausonius spoke of as early as 325 B.C.
Lafite was very fashionable at the king's table in the time of Louis XV. It had a place of honor at the banquets held by Marshal de Richelieu, and Madame de Pompadour always poured some at her little suppers.
In 1868, it was purchased by Baron James de Rothschild and still belongs to his heirs. The Baron's purchase of Lafite came late in his life, he was 76 years old and had outlived not only his four famous brothers, but as many French régimes -- those of Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis-Philippe. By the late 1860s the Baron was not only the richest man in France but the most powerful.
But what of the wine? By now many of you know of Lafite's legendary pre-phylloxera vintages, 1864, Lord Rosebery's 1865, the Glamis Castle's 1870, the Woodperry House's 1874. Then of course there are the great mid-century Lafite vintages of our time: 1945, 1947, 1949, 1959 and 1966. It is said that the bouquet of Lafite is very suave and of incomparable delicacy; its savour brings together at the same time the taste of almonds and the scent of violets without it being possible to distinguish whether the one dominates the other. Perhaps, as with great art, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if so there can be no doubt as to how this came to be for Lafite is a wine that has always been produced with zealous care. No matter our opinion, Lafite retains a reputation untarnished since the days of Ausonius.
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1997
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
All lots in original wooden cases
Parcel: lots 163-166
"Most recently; 'drinking surprisingly well' at lunch with the family (a magnum) on Christmas Day. Last noted Dec 2001 *** Now-2010. MB, Vintage Wine
1 dozen bottles per lot