Two Magnums of Château Lafite Rothschild 1870, which lay undisturbed in the cellars of Glamis Castle for nearly 100 years, achieved $306,250 at a “landmark” white glove sale at Sotheby’s New York last week – breaking two records in quick succession.
The first bottle sold for US$106,250, more than double the high pre-sale estimate of US$30,000–50,000. The second nearly doubled that figure several minutes later, after fierce bidding, to achieve US$200,000 (est. $30,000–50,000) – four times its high pre-sale estimate.
Undisturbed for a century
Both bottles originally came from the historic cellars of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, where they had been stored in immaculate conditions for nearly 100 years. The Glamis’ Castle’s ‘Cellar Book 1885–1894 noted the purchase and storage of 48 magnums of 1870 Lafite in 1878 and the collection only came to auction in 1971. As Sotheby’s pointed out, the second bottle had never been recorked or reconditioned, and was therefore “in one of the purest known states of Lafite 1870”.
Another highlight of the sale was a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild 1865 – one of the most revered pre-phylloxera vintages and one of the oldest bottles ever offered at Sotheby’s – which raised US$40,000. This bottle originally came from the cellar of Sir George Meyrick, where it had lain undisturbed for nearly a century until the collection was sold in 1970.
The Lafite’s were the stars of the ‘Immortal Vintages, 200 Years of Bordeaux’ sale held in New York on 17 April, a single-owner sale which read like “a roll call of Bordeaux’s most revered châteaux and vintages”. Achieving US$2.1 million overall, the white glove sale saw 100% of the lots sold, with 92% exceeding their high estimate.
Overall it achieved more than double the pre-sale estimate, making it among one of the highest-performing single-owner wine collections sold at Sotheby’s, the auction house said. Bidders registered from more than 20 countries across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Sale highlights
The sale set ten new world records: La Tâche 1966 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; Château Lafite 1865; Château Lafite 1870 (Magnum); Château Lafite 1870 (Magnum); Château Latour 1975 (Magnum); Château Haut Brion 1959 (Jeroboam); Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1971 (Double Magnum); Château Pichon Longueville, Lalande 1982 (Double Magnum); Château Palmer 1961 (Double Magnum); Château Trotanoy 1961 (2x Magnums).
Other results of note included a range of larger formats. This included an Imperial of 1959 Lafite which achieved US$81,250, against a US$30,000-50,000 estimate; two magnums of Château Trotanoy 1961 sold for $68,750, more than six times the US$10,000 low estimate; a double Magnum (3L) of Château Lafite 1959 and a double magnum of 1961 Palmer both sold for US$62,500 each; two Magnums of Château Latour 1961 sold for US$43,750 (est. $12,000 – 18,000). Four magnums of Château Lafite 1959 drawing applause after a “spirited” bidding battle saw it more than quadruple its high estimate to achieve US$77,500.
“The strong result reflects the enduring reputation of 1961 as one of the greatest Bordeaux vintages of the 20th century,” Sotheby’s said.
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