The Great Antique Lafite Collection

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Apr 25th 2007 at 12:04PM

The Antique Wine Company, the company that offered a lot of every vintage of every vintage of Chateau d'Yquem since 1860 is at it again. This time they are offering a 48-bottle vertical collection of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Decanter reports that the collection, which is being offered for sale, is being rigorously tested for authenticity. The collection spans four centuries of Chateau Lafite and includes a bottle of 1787, the same vintage as the infamous Jefferson wines which are currently being challenged for their authenticity.

The wine is being examined using a combination of nuclear isotope analysis and gamma radiation and proton beam tests to confirm the age of each glass bottle, The wine itself is being extracted via a hypodermic needle through the cork and will also undergo molecular and chemical analysis. The bottles were gathered over the course of two years from restaurants, hotels and private cellars including some from the cellar of a member of the Rothschild family. The collection is expected to bring between $1 and $3 million.

Tags: french wine, great antique wine company, GreatAntiqueWineCompany, lafite rothschild, vintage wine, wine