1 bottle per lot
Details
LAFITE
Château Lafite-Rothschild is the largest of the celebrated first-growths and of very ancient renown. It occupies the finest crests in Pauillac. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Seigneurs of Lafite were the high administrators of justice in the country. It was through the officers of their choice that they exercised this right until 1789. The great qualities shown by their wines earned them the sobriquet "Princes of Vines." 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. After having been the property of the great Ségur family, it belonged to Mr. de Prichard, President of the Parliament of Guienne, until the end of the 18th century. Unfortunately, he was not spared by the upheaval of the revolution and was guillotined in Paris on June 30, 1794. At this point Lafite became the property of the State, eventually it was acquired by a Dutchman, Vanderberghes and then by the English banker Sir Samuel Scott. 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 as he was 76 years old. By now many are aware of Lafite's legendary pre-phylloxera vintages - 1864, Lord Roseberry's 1865, the Glamis Castle's 1870 and the Woodperry House's 1874. Then of course there are the great Lafite mid-century 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 being possible to distinguish whether the one dominates the other. Lafite is simply a study in balance, poise and restraint.
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1787
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Level: bottom neck; bin soiled label, believed reconditioned in 1983
1 bottle per lot
Château Lafite-Rothschild is the largest of the celebrated first-growths and of very ancient renown. It occupies the finest crests in Pauillac. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Seigneurs of Lafite were the high administrators of justice in the country. It was through the officers of their choice that they exercised this right until 1789. The great qualities shown by their wines earned them the sobriquet "Princes of Vines." 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. After having been the property of the great Ségur family, it belonged to Mr. de Prichard, President of the Parliament of Guienne, until the end of the 18th century. Unfortunately, he was not spared by the upheaval of the revolution and was guillotined in Paris on June 30, 1794. At this point Lafite became the property of the State, eventually it was acquired by a Dutchman, Vanderberghes and then by the English banker Sir Samuel Scott. 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 as he was 76 years old. By now many are aware of Lafite's legendary pre-phylloxera vintages - 1864, Lord Roseberry's 1865, the Glamis Castle's 1870 and the Woodperry House's 1874. Then of course there are the great Lafite mid-century 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 being possible to distinguish whether the one dominates the other. Lafite is simply a study in balance, poise and restraint.
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1787
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Level: bottom neck; bin soiled label, believed reconditioned in 1983
1 bottle per lot
Provenance
Christie's London: sale 6389, lot 69, 23 November 2000; Catalogued at that time as: These bottles are well known to the Château having been formerly part of the magnificent cellar of the Cog Hardy Restaurant in Bougival near Paris. This was bottle recorked by Lafite's mâitre du chai in 1953 and then again in 1983. Copies of the correspondance between Cog Hardy Restaurant and Château accompany the bottle.