I recently had the bottle of 2002 Château Lafite-Rothschild, one of the five First Growths, the highest classification of wines in the Bordeaux region of France. I've been holding onto this for fifteen years, and the story of how I came into its possession is one of those rare, right-place-right-time stories.
Back in 2010, I was searching for a 30th birthday present for my daughter, and thought one of the First Growths would be appropriate. I searched and searched but could not find a bottle at any reasonable price. Two days before her birthday, I decided I needed a "plan B", but as a last desperate try, I visited one of our local Arrow Wine stores. I inquired if they had any First Growths, and was not surprised when they said they hadn't carried them for years, as the demand for such a pricy wine was nil. He asked me if I wanted him to call the other Arrow Wine store to see if they had some. I almost said "Don't bother", but a little something told me to have them check. He called the other store and asked. They said they did. He asked how much. His eyes widened. When he hung up, he told me they had two bottles of Château Lafite-Rothschild for $180 each. I was shocked and made the drive in record time. I looked around the store for glass cases, sure they would be locked up. No so. I found them on a shelf out in the open, and as I stared at them, I thought to myself, "You have to buy both of them." One made the birthday gift I had hoped to give, and the one below waited for the right occasion to open, which was this last Christmas family dinner, shared with Elaine's youngest son and his wife. It's the most amazing glass of wine I've ever tasted.
