Château Lafite 1870 (1 MAG)
Auction Closed
April 17, 07:22 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Château Lafite 1870
Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé
u. ms, heavily bin-soiled bottle, no label, heavily chipped, oxidized, and corroded wax capsule, English-bottled by Coningham, embossed capsule reads "CONI-GHAM & CO, CLARET"
An extraordinary vintage and a stupendous wine. It had the power and the richness to last and it has. Serena Sutcliffe, MW
WA 96
1 mag (cn)
Provenance:
13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Glamis Castle, Scotland circa 1878;
Christie's London, June 24, 1971, The Finest and Rarest Wines from Private Cellars according to sale catalog;
Zachys Christie's, New York, 31 January 1998, Lot 763 as "Property of an International Collector," Finest and Rarest Wines
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This magnum of 1870 Lafite is distinguished not only by its rarity, but by its exceptional provenance from Glamis Castle, one of Scotland’s great historic estates and the ancestral seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The castle’s cellars were maintained with meticulous care over generations, as evidenced by original bin labels and detailed cellar books recording the purchase of 48 magnums of 1870 Lafite in 1878.
Provenance from Glamis carries particular weight in the world of fine wine. The cellar achieved legendary status following the landmark Christie’s 1971 sale, where bottles were discovered still resting in their original bins, untouched for decades. These wines had benefited from remarkably consistent storage conditions, and tastings at the time confirmed their extraordinary preservation—most notably, magnums of 1870 Lafite that were described as nothing short of perfection at over a century of age. Such history firmly establishes Glamis as a source of wines of both impeccable care and proven longevity.
This particular magnum of Lafite 1870 with no label and a red wax capsule embossed with "Coningham Claret" has been preserved in its original condition since discovery at Glamis Castle. This bottle has not been recorked or reconditioned preserving wine inside the bottle as the purest example of Lafite 1870. Many wine experts have documented and proclaimed that this particular bottling of the Lafite 1870 to be the best wine ever made.