'Magic' La Tache 1978 will star at Sotheby's fine wine sale

Wine lovers are in for a real treat this week, as an extraordinary auction is set to take place in London.

Comprising a full 538 lots of the best red wines in the world, Sotheby's is offering a number of instantly recognisable vintages: Château Mouton-Rothschild 2000, Château Petrus 1994 and 2000, and Château Lafleur 1982.

It certainly isn't one to miss for fans of Château Lafite, with an impressive collection on offer from 1986, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and most excitingly 1982, a wine noted for its expected long life and lingering development.

Two 12-botle lots of the latter carry a guide price of £22,000-34,000 each, and are obvious candidates for investment.

Heading the sale, however, are two lots of La Tache 1978 Domaine de la Romanee Conti from the collection of a great DRC enthusiast. One lot is 12 bottles and the other 11, the latter shortened as one of the bottles was shared with Sotheby's Serena Sutcliffe MW:

"We chose the bottle with the lowest level, which is usual wine trade practice. All of us were virtually speechless on contact with the sheer magic of the wine. Our expectations were, obviously, high but they were exceeded by a very long way.

"We served the wine cool, which is what Burgundy really likes, and we poured it straight from the bottle into large glasses. Immediately, there was the most incredible gamey, scented bouquet of huge, heathery purity. All pervasive, enveloping us all.

"On the palate, an almost honied, cherryish, damp earth taste, with immense persistence and length - it lingered for minutes. Alarmingly beautiful in that unique DRC way. There were notes of charcoal and bright, red fruit but, in the end, it was just La Tache at its most seductive and alluring."

The case of 12 will be offered at £30,000-40,000 whilst the set of 11 will carry an estimate of £28,000-38,000 in the auction which takes place on Wednesday.

 

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