Bordeaux Theme
Live Virtual Auction, 26 March 2023
Bordeaux Fine Wine
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Château Lafite Rothschild is a wine estate in the Pauillac region of the Médoc, producing one of the most sought-after and expensive red wines in the world. Lafite Rothschild is known for its perfume, elegance, finesse and harmony, in contrast to the more powerful Latour and Mouton Rothschild. Nevertheless, great vintages can age for 50 years or more.
The estate began to earn its reputation as a winemaking property in the late 1600s; by the second half of the following century it was known as "The King's Wine" at Versailles, and had a strong following in London. The acclaim did not diminish and in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification Lafite was ranked a first growth. It was bought by Baron James de Rothschild in 1868. Throughout much of the 20th Century, despite many sublime wines, Lafite Rothschild was regarded as an inconsistent producer but since the mid-1990s it has become more reliable – in fact, it regularly makes claims for wine of the vintage.
Provenance
The Coats Family Cellar is arguably the most prestigious fine wine collection ever offered in South Africa. It contains a deep collection of the worlds finest, most sought-after wines, spanning over 150 years. Collected over many decades, the cellar was imported from Ireland to South Africa via reefer. Each bottle within the Coats Family Cellar was authenticated by Michael Egan in August 2022 and given an ID number for tracking.
Michael Egan is a world-expert in fine and rare wines with more than thirty five years of experience. He was the principal expert for the plaintiff in the two major wine counterfeiting trials in Koch v. Eric Greenberg and United States v. Rudy Kurniawan, both of which occurred in 2013.
Along with Michael Egan, the Strauss & Co Fine Wine team have tasted extensively through the cellar and are confident of the wine storage and hence quality. The entire collection is currently stored at Wine Cellar.
Critics Ratings
'There is noticeably more bricking at the rim compared to directly with the succeeding vintage. I also notice a touch of VA on this bottle with scent of molasses, cedar and a dab of the old boot polish I find that the 1989 has more personality than the 1990 Lafite. The palate is supple and rounded in the mouth, a sense of warmth here although not complex and I would prefer more tension on the finish as it delivers allspice, mulberry and sage on the aftertaste.' – Neal Martin, Vinous, 91/100 (May 2018)
'This medium ruby-colored, medium-bodied wine reveals new oak in the nose, and a spicy finish. It is a quintessentially elegant, restrained, understated style of Lafite. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.' - Robert Parker Jr, Wine Advocate, 90/100 (Feb 1997)
'This was much richer and sweeter than the Lafites we had tasted in the chai. There was a slightly charred quality to it (was the fruit a bit raisined? or sunburnt? not according to the booklet). It was already well integrated on the nose but a bit unknit on the spicy palate with some notable acidity and a certain drying quality on the end. Rich and solid and a little atypical for Lafite.' - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (May 2018)
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