Waving farewell to Lafite

Nick and I spent Valentine's night in the company of over 100 others, members of the Wine Society's Dining Club. The occasion was a dinner, almost more of a wake, because its theme was Château Lafite. As was pointed out in the circular about this event, thanks to China-fuelled recent price rises for this particular first growth, it is almost certain that the club will never again be able to afford a Lafite event. Club chairman Jim Ryan spelt out what was paid for the wines originally and what they are priced at today – which made the ticket price...