On March 30, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Lafite Rothschild's purchase of Chateau Rothschild, zachys, a world-renowned wine auction house, held a seven-hour auction at Le Bernardin, the world's top seafood restaurant in Manhattan, New York, for nearly $7.9 million ($50,334,000), including a bottle of 1,868 The vintage's Lafite sold for a whopping $123,500 ($828,833), making it one of the top lots.
Rafi in 1868
1868 was the year the Rothschilds purchased Lafite, a 750 ml bottle packed in an original wooden box with a pre-sale estimate of $20,000 ($134,224). The auction house said the wine was still very vibrant, and the weather in Bordeaux in 1868 was contradictory, hot from May to July, rainy in August, followed by sudden heat and continued throughout the harvest.
That year, The Rafi Castle looked like this
Woodcut of the Château de Lafite in 1868
About Sze Wine Auction House
Founded more than 70 years ago, Schleck is the third generation of fine wine companies. It is one of the largest independent wine auction houses and retailers in the United States, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and dedicated wine experts in Chinese mainland, Tokyo, London and Paris. Its CEO, Don Zacharia, has been instrumental in creating an auction market for fine U.S. wines. Today, Schmidt is the largest and strongest retailer and auctioneer of regional fine wines in the United States, such as Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Auction details
The auction will be held over a 10-year period and will present 3,384 bottles of Lafite Rothschild Group's representative wines from 1868 to the present, including Lafite Castle, Carruades de Lafite, Chateau Duhart-Milon, Chateau Rieussec and Chateau l'Evangile. This was the largest auction ever held by the Lafite Group. Bidders pushed the price of the 691 lots to double the pre-bid price, totaling nearly $7.9 million (50,334,000 yuan).
The auction was held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Purchase of Chateau Rothschild by the Rafi Rothschild Group. According to Jane Anson, a journalist for the well-known wine magazine Decanter, Baron James de Rothschild acquired a contract in the hands of Nicolas Pierre de Prichard in August 1868 and became the official owner of Rafi.
Auctions include rare vintages 1868, 1869 and 1970, as well as reputable vintages 1945, 1959, 1961 and 1982. Five of the world records set at auction include:
1959 Lafite 6 liters: $160,500 ($1,077,147).
1868 Vintage Rafi (including dinner at Lafite Castle): $123,500 ($828,833)
1869 Lafite 1.5 litres: $123,500 ($828,833)
1959 Lafite 3 litres: $92,625 ($621,625)
1898 Lafite: $86,450 ($580,183)
The highest bid was the 1959 Lafite 6-liter installation, almost twice the original highest estimate. It was followed by the 1868 and 1869 years, which were originally estimated to be as high as $20,000 ($134,224) and $50,000 ($335,560), respectively. The winner of the 1868 vintage also received a celebratory meal for 4 people in the winery.
Other high bidders include the 1925 vintage (1.5 litres) for $86,450 ($580,183); the 1945 vintage's two bottles for a total of $123,500 ($828,833); and the 1982 box for $80,275 ($538,926) and $74,100 ($497,470), which each had a maximum valuation of only $48,000 ($322,248). The 1870 vintage is described in the auction catalogue as one of the strongest years before the outbreak of the phylloxera, with a price of $80,275 (538,742 yuan), more than three times the original estimate. Of the 11 bottles of 19th-century wine, 10 have successful auction records.
The auction was won by more than 100 bidders from 14 different countries, of which 56% were auctioned by US buyers, 15% sold to European buyers, and 13% to Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. Jeff Zacharia, Chairman of the Wine Auction at Schmidt& Wines, said: "The collaboration with Rafi over the past few months has been a highlight of my career, setting 213 world records in a few hours" and "I am very pleased with the results of the auction". He also called the auction a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get these rare wines, which have been through world wars.