Lafite 1870 magnums smash estimates in 'immortal' Bordeaux auction

Two Lafite 1870 magnums fetch $306,250 combined

As critics headed to Bordeaux to taste en primeur samples of the 2025 vintage, collectors vied for magnums of Lafite 1870 and other legendary wines at a Sotheby's single-owner auction in New York.

All lots found buyers as total sales soared to $2.1m (£1.55m), around $800,000 above the pre-sale high estimate, and Sotheby's claimed 10 world records.

While existential debate has surrounded the en primeur system in a still-choppy market, this white-glove sale of 'immortal vintages' served as a timely reminder of the allure and longevity of Bordeaux's finest wines.

A bidding war lasting nearly four minutes saw one magnum of Lafite 1870 sell for $200,000, including buyer’s premium – four times its pre-sale high estimate.

Just before that, a first magnum fetched $106,250. Both were originally part of a fabled cache of particularly well-preserved fine wines discovered at Glamis Castle in Scotland more than 50 years ago, said Sotheby's.

Meanwhile, a single bottle of revered wine Lafite 1865 sold for $40,000, double its pre-sale high estimate.

Five more highlights from 'once-in-a-generation' cellar

Large-format bottles of legendary 20th century Bordeaux wines also starred.

‘This was a once-in-a-generation collection,’ said Richard Young, Sotheby’s Wine head of auction sales, Americas. ‘From pre-phylloxera legends to modern icons, every bottle told a story, and collectors responded with remarkable enthusiasm.’

Highlights included:

• A six-litre ‘Imperial’ of Château Lafite Rothschild 1959 | Sold for $81,250 (high e: $50,000)
• Two magnums of Château Trotanoy 1921 | $68,750 (high e: $15,000)
• A 4.5-litre Jeroboam of Château Haut-Brion 1959 | $60,000 (high e: $30,000)
• A double magnum of Château Palmer 1961 | $62,500 (high e: $24,000)
• Two magnums of Château Latour 1961 | $43,750 (high e: $18,000)

Lafite 1870 from Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle is the ancestral seat of the earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. It has been home to royals and said to have inspired Shakespeare's Macbeth, but cellar logs also show that 48 magnums of Lafite 1870 were purchased in 1878.

After laying undisturbed for nearly a century, Christie's auctioned the cellar in 1971 and the wines were considered to be in especially well-preserved condition.

Sotheby’s said the Lafite 1870 magnum that fetched $200,000 bears no label, other than a red wax capsule embossed with 'Coningham Claret'.

It added the wine hasn’t been reconditioned or recorked, making it one of the ‘purest’ examples of Lafite 1870 available today.

Bordeaux under the hammer

Lord Rothschild and Andrew Lloyd Webber to sell rarities

In a busy spring auction season for top Bordeaux, UK auction house Dreweatts is planning to offer Lafite vintages from 1956 to 1997 from Lord Rothschild’s cellar at Stowell Park on 28 April.

Meanwhile, Christie’s will auction ‘final treasures’ from celebrated composer Andrew Lloyd Weber’s cellar from 22 April to 6 May. Lots include Cheval Blanc 1947, Petrus 1990 and d’Yquem 1949.

An improving wine market?

Falling prices and cautious buyers have been key themes on the fine wine market in recent years, albeit auction houses have always said collectors were willing to dive in for the right opportunities – as shown by other high-profile sales.

Since late 2025, there have been growing reports of improving sentiment for the very top-tier wines, with some prices stabilising.

Yet, significant challenges remain, from macroeconomic uncertainty to high stock levels of younger vintages.

At Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, the Fine Wine 50 index that tracks recent vintages of Bordeaux first growths rose 0.6% in value in the first quarter of 2026 but was still down 17.7% over five years.

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