Fantastic Wine News - Lafite Rothschild 2008

Personal comments: I'm all excited and nervous about this piece of news in the Edge Singapore which I read 2 weeks ago. Invested in a case of Lafite 2008 with Assetton last year, Sept-Oct thereabouts. Cost price €3,600. Excited from the potential. Bit nervous that it's too good to be true.

Lafite 2008 with auspicious symbol set for price surges

~by Kelvin Tan

Bordeaux’s first-growth estate Château Lafite Rothschild, the favourite label of wealthy Asian buyers, will engrave the Chinese eight figure on its 2008 bottles to commemorate its vineyard venture into China, says Decanter Magazine. The auspicious eight symbol will be featured above the label on each of Lafite 2008’s 750ml and magnum bottles.

In partnership with China’s largest state-owned investment company, CITIC, Lafite will cultivate 25ha in Shandong’s province’s Penglai peninsula, which has been called “China’s Bordeaux” by some wine commentators.

“The shape of the symbol seems to offer a perfect representation of the slopes of the vineyard and commemorates the launch of our Chinese wine project. We wanted to remind all those who will have the pleasure of drinking these wines in a few years of this exciting undertaking,” a spokesperson of Lafite owner Domaines Baron de Rothschild told Decanter Magazine in a recent article.

“Lafite’s decision to feature the Chinese symbol of luck on all bottles of the 2008 vintage has ignited a frenzy of activity on the exchange, as merchants prepare for a sharp increase in demand from the Far East,” observes UK-based online wine exchange and research firm Liv-ex in its blog.

Lafite 2008, which is rated 98 to 100 from renowned US wine critic Robert Parker Jr, “has seen keen trade since the announcement”, according to Liv-ex, which predicts more price upside for 2008 claret. A 12x75cl case of Lafite 2008, which has quadrupled in value since mid-2009, has been bid to a new high of near £10,000 (S$20,665) at end-October from £8,300 in September, according to Liv-ex.

Source:

The Edge Singapore

Week of Nov 8 – Nov 14, 2010