1970 Lafite Rothschild

I have both bottles and magnums of 70 Lafite. The corks do have information printed on them. I peeled back the foil on one bottle, but it is not possible to read the information well through the dark glbutt with the cork still in the bottle. I have had this Lafite since way back in the mid 70s. The price stickers still on the bottles read $26.68 plus 1 in US$. It was shipped by Barton and Guestier in Bordeaux and imported by Chateau And Estate Wines Division of Browne Vintners, New York, NY.

Since the 70 Lafite is not the darling of the auctions such as is the 59 with the very high price it brings, it is less likely to be faked than a high ticket item such as the 59. However it is possible.

Older wines sometimes are recorked. If not done at the chateau, this might result in an unbranded cork, but the buyer should be told about the recorking. I have, for example, seen very old bottles of vintage port that were recorked in the UK, but this fact was noted along with the name of the firm that recorked. At least my bottles of 70 Lafite have shown no need for recorking yet.

If the wine is stored in a cellar without humidity so extreme that it produces mold and mildew, there is no reason why the labels will not look fairly new, especially if the wine is stored in an unopened case until just before it is sold. My 70 Lafite labels are quite clean, and I control humidity to the about 60 to 70% range to avoid mold problems, but still be plenty high enough for the bottles of wine. The mold will not hurt the wine, but it makes me sneeze.