Thursday, February 21, 2008

The Infamous Jefferson Bottles

I would suspect that most people who found this blog are familiar with the infamous "Jefferson" bottles of Lafite and the ongoing legal war between Hardy Rodenstock and William Koch.

If not, here are some articles from Wine Spectator and New Yorker Magazine to bring you up to speed. The quick and dirty is that billionaire wine collector Koch purchased 4 bottles of 1787 Lafite at auction (for $500,000 US or $125k a bottle) that were supplied by Rodenstock. Koch believes that the bottles are fake and is trying to sue Rodenstock and the auction houses. This is fraud at it's worst.

Although this story has had some recent updates, it is a bit of old news. However, a recent article in Fine Wine Magazine pointed me to a YouTube video from the Taste3 conference in which David Molyneux-Berry (a founder of the famed Sotheby's wine department) speaks about his experiences with fraud and one of the famed Jefferson bottles supplied by Rodenstock. Check out the video below. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

P.S. - Listen up for the reference to one of my favorite authors and book: Malcom Gladwell's Blink