1787…was it even a good year?

Posted on | February 16, 2006

I must confess that I experienced a faint sense of schadenfreude on reading Decanter’s (decanter.com) error over their story of the recent sale of the bottle of the 1787 Château d’Yquem. Here it is:

“Ancient Yquem becomes most expensive bottle ever CORRECTION

On 10 February we ran the following story which we have now corrected: the most expensive wine ever remains the bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite which sold at Christie’s London in December 1985 for £105,00 (US$160,000).

A 200-year-old bottle of Sauternes has just been sold for US$90,000 – making it the second most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.

The most expensive wine ever remains the bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite which sold at Christie’s London in December 1985 for £105,00 (US$160,000). The wine was from the cellar of Thomas Jefferson, and had the initials Th.J etched onto the glass.”

Decanter.com - February 10, 2006

This ‘correction’ was however, a little awry in itself. The most expensive wine ever sold at auction is a title which might need some definition. Does it have to be, for example, authenticated beyond any doubt? If so, then the most expensive wine ever sold at auction (or otherwise) might be neither of these two bottles of this curious vintage 1787. In fact, Decanter’s correction is oddly adamant and makes no mention that the authenticity of 1787 Lafite was hotly contested at the time and there remains a large body of wine savants who believe it was not genuine. Some powerful characters in the world of wine on both sides of the Atlantic ensure that it is a subject which is not much discussed. The article continues by declaring in undisputed fashion that ‘The wine was from the cellar of Thomas Jefferson, and had the initials Th.J etched onto the glass’. Ah, so the wine really was from the cellar of Thomas Jefferson? Surely having these initials carved on the bottle confirms it? Well, who knows? Certainly not the people who work for ‘the world’s greatest wine magazine’, whatever that means…

As for the 1787 Yquem…?

[I apologise but I can't finish this now... I'll get back to it as soon as possible...]
- Fabian

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