Chateau Lafite and China

I see from the Daily Wine News that three bottles of 1869 Chateau Lafite sold at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction for $232,692 per bottle. I have never regretted drinking a wine that may have appreciated in value since I purchased it, but it did cause a twinge to think of the double magnum (four bottle equivalent) of 1865 Chateau Lafite purchased (and drunk) by a group of fellow wine lovers some years ago. The $72,000 price tag seemed cheap at the time because the wine was so utterly magnificent. However, it might have been difficult to resist a $1 million bid for the bottle – we’ll never know.