Instead of the usual estimate in the catalogue I coined the phrase ‘inestimable’. Starting at around £2000 the bidding went quite speedily up to £7000, then to £10,000 until eventually two bidders were left in the running. I finally brought the hammer down at £105,000, still a world record auction price for a single bottle of wine.

The successful bidder was Christopher Forbes, the underbidder being Marvin Shanken. Flown in the Forbes private jet to New York that evening, it had pride of place on Jefferson’s dining table in the Presidential Memorabilia section of the Forbes Museum.

Not long after, I received an agitated telephone call from the curator. Due to the heat of the spotlights, the cork had fallen in! As it was for display and not for drinking, I merely advised her to insert a stopper.

Regarding tasting, I have two notes, both made under laboratory conditions. The first I opened in Munich in 1991. Both wax seal and cork looked old, the wine was brown— tinged and the nose and taste distinctly old. Yet, after a very long delay, the laboratory reported that the wine contained unspecified amount post 1960. Shock, horror and much publicity.

Subsequently in August 1992 half bottle from the original collection was analysed by the two pre-eminent men in the field, Dr Bonani in Zurich and Professor Edward Hall in Oxford (best known for their work on the ‘Turin shroud’).

Once again I was charged with cork drawing and tasting, witnessed by Dr Bonani, the owner and a lawyer. No question about the bottle, it was correct and, subsequently, after a long and expensive process, the cork and the wine were also found to be absolutely correct.

My tasting note: tawny, no red, a dark brown flaky sediment; nose restrained and though oxidised opened up quite richly with residual fruit traces; a touch of sweetness on the palate and acidic, acetic, finish. Last tasted in Zurich, August 1992” –

The oldest vintage in Dr Mavins Overtons landmark Lafite tasting, ‘maderated’ by Elie de Rothschild and myself, in Fort Worth, May 1979  

Just one note: warm amber, orange-gold highlights; lovely bouquet, firm and fragrant. Probably recorked at the château around 1953. One of the most beautiful of all the old wines at Flatt’s Lafite tasting, New Orleans in CAt 1988 

The oldest vintage in Wilfred Jaegar pre-phylloxera Lafite tasting at the hillside home south of San Franciso, June 2001  

First, a bottle recorked at the château in June 1987 and served at Rodenstock’s annual tasting that autumn: it was very good indeed.

Next, a bottle bought at Christie’s in 1979 and noted at Lloyd Flatt’s Lafite tasting in October 1988: positive, powerful, with a sort of singed grape flavour caused by the heatwave.

Thirdly, in faded but lively; scented; delicate, delicious, yet slightly astringent. I described it as ‘arsenic and old lace’.

Most recently, a superb bottle, recorked in 1980, neither pale nor delicate but deep and rich-looking; a faultless, spicy, almost eucalyptus bouquet; frill-bodied, excellent flavour, lots of grip and still tannic. Last tasted at Wilfred Jaeger’s, June 2001” –  

Seven notes. This was the oldest vintage of Lafite from the cellars of Lord Rosebery, which featured in Christie’s landmark sale of ‘Finest and Rarest Wines’ in May 1967 a single lot of four magnums which sold for 5300 shillings per six.

At the pre-sale tasting it was crisp, fragrant but thinning. Two years later, a very good bottle from the château at Overton’s Lafite tasting. Other bottles variable but all remarkably flavoury, some with a prickle of acidity made up for by the wine’s scent.

In all seven notes, the last recorded: a warm amber colour; a short burst of exquisite, quintessentially Lathe fragrance; lean, clean, delicious. Last noted at Lloyd Flatt’s Lafite tasting, Oct 1988 

Their age was authenticated by Michael Broadbent, who is the only person in the world to have the good fortune to have tasted these wines on several occasions.

The amber/ruby-coloured 1864 Lafite-Rothschild possessed a Mouton-like nose of cedar and cassis, accompanied by surprising intensity and ripeness. In the mouth, the wine revealed remarkable freshness, sweet fruit, surprisingly high alcohol, and wonderful, exotic, Asian spice, tobacco, and Graves-like flavours.

Whether Queen Victoria, a regular sherry and claret drinker, was filly aware of its stellar quality, I do not know, but it was certainly in the royal cellars and being consumed in the mid-1870s.

First noted in 1976: a superb Cockburn and Campbell magnum. The second, and most memorable, a jeroboam from the cellars of Mrs James de Rothschild which, in an American cellar, had suffered cork failure. A perfect bottle from the château, recorked, at the Overton tasting in 1979; again in 1987, and another, recorked by the maitre de thai in 1986. at Flatt’s Lafite tasting in 1988. All superb. Next, an almost too sweet bottle, labelled ‘Lafite lion (Baron) de Rothschild, R. Cabs’ at a Rodenstock tasting in 1995, and, very recently, perfection, complete, harmonious.Last tasted at Wilfred Jaeger’s June 2001  

Unquestionably the most magnificent were (and still can be), the Coningham-bottled magnums from Glamis Castle. Of the 48 originally binned in 1878,41 magnums had remained undisturbed until I and a friendly wine merchant in Perth packed them up for a great sale at Christie’s in 1971. Naturally. to make sure that the wine was all right, I opened one at a dinner in the boardroom before the sale attended by a dozen or so wine luminaries. The cork was sound, the level high, the color so impressively deep that it could have been mistaken for a 1970; nose flawless, the bouquet blossoming in the glass. Perfect on the palate too. A lovely drink. Thank goodness the i3th Earl of Strathmore, who had originally bought it, didn’t take to it; it must have been swingingly tannic. Like the 1928 Latour, it took 50 years to become drinkable, It was in 1934 that his lunchtime host asked André Simon, the founder of the Wine and Food Society, for his first reactions to the wines. They ‘evoked memories of Berkshire’, the 1870 Lafite ‘of the Majesty of the Royal Oak’. That’s wine writing for you! No toasty new oak; no gobs of glycerin, oodles of sweet black fruits; awesome...

Then there was a bottle I opened in Sir John Thompson’s cellar at Woodperry House to see if the cork was branded. It was: ‘Pfungst 1870’. A fabulous color, still tannic (in rr,6). Later, also Bordeaux-bottled, this time by Cruse, five bottles 6mm the Ten Broeck mansion in Albany (New York), noted at Heublein pre—sale tastings in 5978 and ‘979. Purchased in 1870), the wine was still in original cases, wrapped in tissue paper on which was printed Cnsse et PUs Fthrs. Each bottle had a glass button on the shoulder embossed Chateau Lafite Grand Vin. They varied, the best being superb. Even those with mid-shoulder levels (caused by cork shrinkage) were surprisingly good. Low-shoulder: oxidised of course. Around the same time a perfect magnum from Woodperry served by Lenoir Jose at a great wine dinner in Houston, and an equally delectable bottle despite being mid-shoulder at the Overton Lafite tasting. Not all were good: an oxidised Day & Watson London bottling, another ullaged and poor Cruse bottling, and even two below-standard magnums at Rodenstock’s Raritaten Weinprobe as recently as 1996. Even the Glamis magnum was high-toned and over the top, its twin better, though with a sour/cheesy tannic finish. Most recently, rising to the occasion, a bottle recorked In 1980: still fairly deep with a fine mahogany-mature edge. Just after decanting, it emitted a deliciously Mouton-like spicy scent. After 30 minutes in the glass it reminded me of Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet: pure eucalyptus on the palate; dqc its fine flavour matching the bouquet, wonderful length, still buoyed up by its original tannins. Last noted at Wilfred Jaeger’s in the hills south of San Francisco, June 2001-  

First tasted at Dr Marvin C Overton’s tasting of Lafite, representing every decade from the 1790s to the 1970s. with high fill, its aprearance was warm and attractive, not deep; the bouquet opened up in the glass magnificently. A rich, full flavoured wine, its life-supporting tannins and acidity still in evidence. I gave it a rare 20/20.

In the early 1980, an exciting Réserve du Château, its overripe gibier (gamey) bouquet like an old cedar box – or singed hair. ‘Over the hill’, it cracked up but was fun while it lasted. Skipping over the ullaged and oxidised, including a very disapoiting bottle at Lloyd’s Flatt’s marathon (116 vintages of Lafite, 1784 to 1986), an excellent magnum, recorked at the château in 1991: still very sweet, rich, good flavour and length, delicious. Last tasted in ‘flight’ 5 of Hardy Rodenstock’s wine weekend, Sept 1996.  

Nose:  As we drank this together with the 1961, the comparison was fascinating.  Here the strength, depth and density were more immediate and striking.  Also it stays that way throughout the time it spends in the mouth and going down the throat.  Here we see Cabernet showing its prime characteristics – leather, cigar box etc.  Intensely Pauillac also.

Palate:  This wine is a sort of Adonis.  It has a splendid structure and the flesh on the bones is superbly shapely and elegant.  Many preferred it even to the 1961!  This wine has harmony, balance, length, fruit, charm, power – everything!  Surely this says it all.  A very great wine which was magnificent drinking tonight but which will give consummate pleasure for many year to come.  At the same time it is a model Lafite of which they can be intensely proud

Nose:  This is a wine which starts slowly on both the nose and palate.  On the nose it then gradually opens up and reveals more and more and becomes more and more generous.  Finally it is remarkably intense, with fruit, freshness and spice.

Nose:  Above all this wine shows elegance rather than power.  It is intensely Lafite.  There is a delicious purity of fruit and clean lines.  The spice, like everything else in this wine, is gentle and controlled.  Lovely!

Palate:  To me the is a perfect expression of Lafite.  Elegance, controlled strength, balance, purity and length.  It is also classical Bordeaux and a perfect example of the best of the 1982 vintage.  Harmony.  No more needs to be said.  Great Wine and no hurry at all to drink it!

Nose:  Surprisingly mature.  It was not a typical vintage in Bordeaux, the wines being riper and richer than usual.  This shows clearly.  1989 was also unusually ripe, but turned out to be more concentrated and is developing more slowly along more classical lines. It is excellent but perhaps not great.

Palate.  Maturing fast.  It will not make the old bones that the 1989 will and I am not sure that it is not at its best now.  Begin to drink it and enjoy over the next few years.  Fruit, deep fruit, is its greatest asset.  The tannins are still very firm but do not get in the way.  Big wine, which avoids the faults of most 190s by excellent wine making.  Rich and full.

This massive wine may be the biggest, largest-scaled Lafite I have ever tasted. It will require many years to come around, so I suspect all of us past the age of fifty might want to give serious consideration as to whether we should be laying away multiple cases of this wine.

It is also the first Lafite-Rothschild to be put into a new engraved bottle (designed to prevent fraudulent imitations). The wine exhibits a thick-looking, ruby/purple color, and a knock-out nose of lead pencil, minerals, flowers, and black currant scents. Extremely powerful and full-bodied, with remarkable complexity for such a young wine, this huge Lafite is oozing with extract and richness, yet has managed to preserve its quintessentially elegant personality.

This wine is even richer than it was prior to bottling. It should unquestionably last for 40-50 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050. The wine of the vintage?  

Nose:  This is huge and assails one at once.  Generous, open and ripe, but perfectly contained and restrained.  Wonderful freshness in the acidity, but none the less great intensity of deep, ripe fruit.

Palate:  Great Wine!  Sturdy and strongly structured.  Deliciously spicy.  It can be almost stern at moments, but its generous nature takes over.  It is a little like an Adonis.  Superbly elegantly constructed and the flesh on the bones is elegance personified. It is still very young indeed and a lot of its great qualities need refining, but it has a truly splendid future.  Start to look at it again in 5 years time!

The 2000 Lafite Rothschild, a blend of 93.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.7% Merlot (only 36% of the crop made the grade) has an opaque ruby/purple color, followed by an extraordinary aromatic expression of liquid minerals/stones interwoven with the tell-tale graphite notes, mulberry, black currants, caramel, and tobacco.

In the mouth, it is remarkably light on its feet, but somehow seems to pack intense flavors into layer upon layer of fruit and richness that cascade over the palate. A compelling wine, with extraordinary precision, great intensity, and a seamlessness in spite of what are obviously elevated levels of tannin, this wine was provocatively open and beautiful when tasted in January and February, but I am sure it will soon close down. The finish lasted a whopping 72 seconds! This is utterly fascinating stuff. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2050.  

Nose:  Hugely perfumed and exotic.  No question that this comes from a hot year.  The oak is perfectly integrated and the wine has good freshness, which was difficult to achieve with such heat.  Quite spicy and with perfumed red/black fruits.

Palate:  Intense, concentrated and rich.  Particularly so for Lafite who is classically the epitome of restraint and refinement.  There is lovely purity of very ripe fruit, which has remained vibrant.  None the les it will mature quite quickly because of the great ripeness.  An opulent wine and a delicious one but in no way a classical Bordeaux, Pauillac or Lafite.

Dense purple-colored, with classic notes of graphite intertwined with melted licorice, creme de cassis, smoke, and flowers, it reveals extraordinary richness, opulence, power, purity, intensity, and viscosity. Whether this wine will close down or not is questionable as it is somewhat atypical given its sweetness and softness. Analytically, there are extremely high tannins, which I suspect will assert themselves in the future. Production in 2003 was less than half of normal. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050.