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Records tumble at ex-cellar Lafite sale

A sale of ex-cellar Château Lafite in New York featuring vintages dating back to 1868 realised over US$7 million and set numerous records last weekend.

Photo credit: Matthew Peyton

Hosted by Zachys, the auction featured 691 lots (3,384 bottles) of wines consigned directly from the cellars of Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s cellars: Lafite, Evangile, Duhart-Milon and Rieussec – to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Rothschild’s acquisition of Lafite.

Zachys said that 213 auction records were set overall and the sale was 100% sold. The final tally for the sale was US$7,866,456.

The sale’s top lot was an imperial of 1959 Lafite which sold for $160,550 (twice its pre-sale high estimate).

A magnum of 1869 Lafite was sold for $123,500, another double magnum of the 1959 went for $92,625 and a single bottle of 1898 Lafite made $86,450.

Bidders were present from all over the world, roughly 56% of the lots offered were sold to American bidders, a further 15% to European buyers and 13% to Asian collectors.

Jeff Zacharia, president of Zachys, said: “I couldn’t be happier with the results of our Lafite auction! From the hundreds of world records, to the truly international bidding, no one can disagree that the Bordeaux market is exceptional, strong and growing. Working with Lafite these past few months has been a highlight of my career, and being able to take the rostrum and set 213 world records in just over five hours is something I’ll never forget.”

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