Fred wrote:
> I recently purchased 6 bottles of 70 Lafite Rothschild. I opened one
> tonight. I have not tasted it yet. I have some real questions about the
> authenticity of these bottles. The labels were pristine. They did not look
> almost 35 years old. Upon removing the cork it looked the appropriate age.
> There was next to nothing printed on it. What was there was next to
> illegible. I do not have anything to compare the cork to. I am used to the
> vintage and the seal of the vinyard printed on the cork. Has anyone here
> had a Lafite Rothschild to compare it to? The bouquet of the wine was very
> good. I will report the taste after dinner.

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 glass
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
$26.69 in US$. 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.