Sotheby's fine and rare wines auction July 14 was only ever going to have one star turn. The £1,193,228 sale featured several lots of the great Château Lafite 1982, all of which crept higher than their estimates.
Sotheby's Serena Sutcliffe had described the wine as follows:
"Obviously, I have watched this great wine from birth and it is evolving slowly, in that inimitable Lafite way. In 2009, it has kept its intensely aromatic nose of enormous concentration - amazing when one considers the high yield of the vintage.
"Again, surprisingly, given the hot year, the taste is full of youthful acidity. Decant well in advance of drinking as it plumps out with every hour that passes, a sure indication of the very long life ahead of it."
There's no doubt that the 'long life' part will have appealed enormously to collectors who view the wine primarily as an investment.
Three lots estimated at £28,000-32,000 and £22,000-30,000 sold for £39,100 and £36,800. Twelve bottles of Château Le Pin also brought £32,200, beating their top estimate of £28,000.
The real surprise however was four magnums of Château Latour 1961. Listed at just £12,000-18,000 the giant bottles sparked a bidding war, and only left the stage for a startling £34,500.
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