Château Lafite Rothschild brings to auction largest public offering of direct from château wines
Auction will include a rare bottle from 1868, the first vintage under the Rothschild ownership; and vintages from every decade to celebrate the 150 years of ownership by the family
NEW YORK, March 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the purchase of Château Lafite Rothschild by Baron James de Rothschild, an unprecedented auction has been organized in collaboration with Zachys, a US and Hong Kong-based leading wine auction house.
The auction, to be held on March 30th in New York City, will be comprised of bottles solely from the château's own cellars with vintages representing every decade of their ownership dating back to 1868. "Each vintage tells a different story: written by the hands of the people that made them, through wars, frost attacks and recessions," says Saskia de Rothschild, the new chairwoman of Château Lafite Rothschild. "Together with my father, we chose vintages for which we wanted to find new homes, straight from the Lafite cellars to yours."
With 3384 bottles, this represents the largest collection of single-owner Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) wines ever to be auctioned. The auction will also include wines from Château L'Evangile, Château Duhart-Milon, Château Rieussec and Carruades de Lafite.
Among the rare, direct from château lots are:
- Large-format Imperials signed by Saskia de Rothschild (Chairwoman of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)) and her father, Baron Eric de Rothschild.
- A single bottle of 1868 in wood case: this is one of a handful of bottles left at the château. Baron James purchased the estate that year on the advice of his three sons but sadly died soon after the purchase and never had the opportunity to taste this first vintage. The winning bidder of this lot will also be invited to visit and have lunch at Château Lafite Rothschild.
- A single bottle of 1870 in wood case and with a wax capsule, is said to be one of Lafite's most mythical vintages which took 50 years to reach maturity and realize its full potential.
- Wines from iconic vintages including the 1945, 1947, 1949, 1959, 1961, and modern wines from 1982 through current vintages can all be found in 750ml and large-format bottles.
All of the wines in this auction were stored without labels. The labels are specific to this auction with all vintages printed on modern, security paper and affixed with a proof-tag to guarantee authenticity.
The auction will take place in New York City on March 30, 2019 at Le Bernardin Privé, 153 W 51st New York, NY 10019.
Online bidding is now live at https://auction.zachys.com/auctions/Default.aspx?AuctionId=308.
About Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)
Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) have based their development in the crafts of the vine and of wine. Around Château Lafite Rothschild, the Group has grown with the successive acquisition of Château Duhart-Milon (Grand Cru Classé in Pauillac), Château Rieussec (Premier Grand Cru Classé in Sauternes) and Château L'Évangile (Pomerol).
In parallel, it has expanded outside the Bordeaux region: Viña Los Vascos (Chile, 1988), Domaine d'Aussières (Languedoc, 1999), Bodegas CARO (Argentina, 1999) and China since 2008 with the development of a vineyard in the region of Penglai. The Group has also produced Légende and Saga, a range of Bordeaux wines.
With 1,200 hectares of their own vineyards, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) work with a worldwide network of more than 80 distributors. For more information: www.lafite.com
About Zachys Wine Auctions
Founded over 70 years ago, Zachys is one of the largest independent wine auction houses and retailers in America with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and dedicated wine specialists in mainland China, Tokyo, London, and Europe. CEO Don Zacharia played a major role in creating the fine wine auction marketplace in America. Today, Zachys has established itself as the nation's largest and most powerful retailer and auctioneer of fine Bordeaux, Burgundy and beyond. For more information visit www.zachys.com/auctions.
SOURCE Zachys
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