1 dozen bottles per lot
Details
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1985
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
In original wooden case
"Well, what is the '85 Lafite like? At Llyod Flatt's monumental Lafite tasting in 1988 I gave it one of my highest marks (19/20). At the age of three it had a very deep, lovely purple colour; sweet, rich, very fragrant nose and, on the palate, good fruit, with all the component parts in place. Not too massive, not too dry, not too anything; just with excellent potential. It has progressed steadily, with scarcely a note out of place. It is, however, like so many good vintages of Lafite, if not actually withdrawn, certainly not an extravert. It is a wine that does a sort of slow striptease, revealing more each time one sniffs and sips. It is still fairly deep in colour, with a dark velvety core; still a fairly youthful 15-year old, with the inimitable bricky, oyster shell nose which unravels in the glass. Perfect weight, balance, texture and control. Still fairly tannic and though it makes a delicious drink, still needing more time. My penultimate note: a delicious magnum at a dinner party at home, but still with time in hand. Most recently, a surprise - to say the least - bottle brought by my friend Christian Sauska from his cellar in New York via his apartment in Budapest, and drunk with his winemaker, Zanos Arvay in a roadside restaurant between Tokay and Saraspatak. It had travelled well. Last noted (in Hungary) August 2000 ****(*) Delicious now but another effortless 20 years. MB, Vintage Wine
1 dozen bottles per lot
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
In original wooden case
"Well, what is the '85 Lafite like? At Llyod Flatt's monumental Lafite tasting in 1988 I gave it one of my highest marks (19/20). At the age of three it had a very deep, lovely purple colour; sweet, rich, very fragrant nose and, on the palate, good fruit, with all the component parts in place. Not too massive, not too dry, not too anything; just with excellent potential. It has progressed steadily, with scarcely a note out of place. It is, however, like so many good vintages of Lafite, if not actually withdrawn, certainly not an extravert. It is a wine that does a sort of slow striptease, revealing more each time one sniffs and sips. It is still fairly deep in colour, with a dark velvety core; still a fairly youthful 15-year old, with the inimitable bricky, oyster shell nose which unravels in the glass. Perfect weight, balance, texture and control. Still fairly tannic and though it makes a delicious drink, still needing more time. My penultimate note: a delicious magnum at a dinner party at home, but still with time in hand. Most recently, a surprise - to say the least - bottle brought by my friend Christian Sauska from his cellar in New York via his apartment in Budapest, and drunk with his winemaker, Zanos Arvay in a roadside restaurant between Tokay and Saraspatak. It had travelled well. Last noted (in Hungary) August 2000 ****(*) Delicious now but another effortless 20 years. MB, Vintage Wine
1 dozen bottles per lot