Beschreibung:

Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 2008
6 magnums per lot
We are delighted to offer you during our sale season a second installment of wines from the same collector who made possible the hugely popular Property of a Gentleman last November. This is one of the truly great collections, and we are confident that you will delight in this marvelous selection of wines. This sale showcases the very best of Bordeaux. As one would expect, the first growths and the top wines of the Right Bank are represented here in force. In addition, the second wines and in some cases the third wines of these illustrious châteaux are also being offered, as well as other well-chosen wines from the region. These wines will provide great drinking pleasure as well as extraordinary value just the thing for times such as ours. The collection is rounded out by a few cases of Burgundy and an interesting collection of Condrieu, the fragrant, rare white wine from the Rhône valley. As monumental as this collection is, what is even more impressive is the provenance. Our collector was able to source the vast majority of these wines directly from the chateaux that produced them. They were delivered to his residences directly, stored under optimal conditions and cared for by his personal sommelier prior to removal by Christis specialists. These are some of the most pristine cases of wine to come to market in recent years, as the photos of the collection will make apparent. We hope that you take this opportunity to enrich your cellars with these marvelous wines. Charels Curtis MW CHÂTEAU LAFITE ROTHCHILD The name Lafite comes from the Gascon language term la hite, which means hillock. The estate is situated at the northern end of Pauillac, close to Cos dEstournel which is just over the border in St.-Estephe. The vineyard consists of three major areas: the hillsides around the Château, the adjacent Carruades plateau to the west, and 4.5 hectares in neighboring Saint Estephe (which is entitled to the Pauillac appellation). The well-drained soils are deep fine gravel up to 4 metres deep mixed with Aeolian sands on a bedrock of tertiary limestone. The 107 hectares of vines are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (70, Merlot (25, Cabernet Franc (3 and Petit Verdot (2. The average age of the vines 35 years, although vines younger than 10 years old are not used in the Grand Vin. 18 hectares of vines are more than 50 years old and the oldest plot, called La Gravière, is over 120 years old, having been planted in 1886. Normally the final blend of the Grand Vin is assembled from Cabernet Sauvignon (representing between 80 to 95, Merlot (between 5 to 20, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (between 0 to 5, however this depends on the vintage, for example the 1961 was produced from 100 Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate is run by a team overseen by Technical Director Charles Chevallier Only minimal interventions of fertilizers are used. Yields are kept low and harvesting is done by hand in approximately 12 days by up to 350 pickers. Grapes are sorted in the vineyard before being brought in to the two reception bays where different plots are vinifed separately. Fermentation takes place half in traditional oak vats which are equipped with computerized temperature control with maceration on the skins for between 18 and 25 days. Malolactic fermentation also takes place in vats before the wine is transferred into 100 new oak barriques (the estate produces its own barrels in their cooperage) where it remains for between 18 to 20 months until bottling after regular rackings and fining with egg whites. Lafite is renowned for its finesse and subtlety and is often considered as more accessible young than a Château Latour or Mouton Rothschild, as Stephen Brook in his book, The Complete Bordeaux summarized; for elegance choose Lafite. Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 2008 Pauillac, 1er cru classé. Château-bottled "The 2008 Lafite shows a great ripeness of currant and black cherry fruit on the nose. On the palate there is both silk and velvet V ver