1870 Bordeaux Vintage

The 1870 growing season produced one of the great Bordeaux harvests of the 19th century. Harvest began on September 10, early by historical standards, with fruit described by contemporary sources as ripe and powerful. The vintage was large in volume as well as high in quality, defying any narrative of stress-driven reduction. Jane Anson's vintage records confirm the combination of good ripeness and significant quantity, a rarity that places 1870 in the same elite tier as 1864 and 1865. The backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War, declared in July 1870, cast a shadow over trade and logistics, but the vines themselves delivered generously.

• Harvest commenced September 10, 1870, one of the earlier start dates of the decade
• Large yields of ripe, powerful fruit recorded across the Médoc, contradicting the idea of a stressed or reduced crop
• Franco-Prussian War (July 1870 to May 1871) disrupted Bordeaux trade but did not prevent production
• Phylloxera had reached Bordeaux's western coastal fringes in 1869 but had not yet caused significant vine losses in the Médoc by vintage time

The original account of 1870 as a vintage defined by phylloxera devastation is historically inaccurate. While phylloxera was first recorded in France in 1863 in the Gard region of Languedoc, and had reached Bordeaux's outer areas by 1869, the Médoc's real crisis came later. Historians and records are clear that 1875 was the true beginning of the phylloxera catastrophe in Bordeaux, and that from 1875 to 1892 almost all Bordeaux vineyards were eventually ruined. The 1870 vintage therefore sits firmly in the pre-phylloxera era for the key Left Bank communes, its vines still on their own ungrafted roots. Grafting onto American rootstock was not officially sanctioned in Bordeaux until 1881.

• Phylloxera first recorded in France in 1863 in Languedoc, reaching Bordeaux's periphery by 1869
• The real phylloxera crisis in Bordeaux began in 1875 and ran through to roughly 1892
• Bordeaux producers did not agree to grafting onto American rootstock until 1881
• 1870 Médoc vines were ungrafted Vitis vinifera, giving the wines their distinctive pre-phylloxera character

The 1855 Classification's First Growths all produced wine in 1870: Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, and Château Haut-Brion. Lafite had only recently passed into Rothschild hands, purchased by Baron James Mayer de Rothschild in August 1868 for 4.4 million francs. Baron James died just three months after the purchase, leaving the estate to his three sons, Alphonse, Gustave, and Edmond. The 1870 vintage was therefore only the second under Rothschild stewardship. Château Mouton Rothschild, owned by the Rothschild family since Nathaniel de Rothschild purchased it in 1853, was classified as a Second Growth in 1870, a status it would not shed until its historic promotion to First Growth in 1973. Records from Château Margaux show it produced 144 tonneaux in 1870, compared with 53 tonneaux at nearby Rauzan Ségla.

• Château Lafite Rothschild 1870: produced just two years into Rothschild ownership, now regarded as one of the finest wines of its era
• Château Mouton Rothschild: a Second Growth in 1870, not elevated to First Growth status until 1973 under Baron Philippe de Rothschild
• Château Margaux: produced 144 tonneaux in 1870; a 6-litre bottle tasted in 2013 was reportedly still alive and complex
• Château Latour and Château Haut-Brion continued production under the 1855 Classification hierarchy

The 1870 vintage has attracted superlatives from every generation of wine critics who have encountered surviving bottles. Michael Broadbent, writing in his Great Vintage Wine Book, described 1870 as vying with 1864 as the greatest pre-phylloxera vintage and possibly of all time, calling it massive, deeply concentrated, and unyielding in youth. He noted it was 'quite the most reliable of all the old vintages.' In 2000, the late Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux reported the wine was still displaying freshness at 130 years old. More recently, a Zachys auction in 2025 featuring the Jacqueline (de Rothschild) Piatigorsky Collection saw a magnum of Lafite Rothschild 1870 sell for $387,500, more than five times its high pre-sale estimate of $75,000. A single 75cl bottle of the same wine realised $187,500.

• Michael Broadbent: rated among the greatest pre-phylloxera vintages of all time, though so tannic in youth it took around 50 years to become fully drinkable
• Paul Pontallier reported Château Margaux 1870 still showed freshness at 130 years old in the year 2000
• Zachys 2025 auction: Lafite 1870 magnum sold for $387,500 and a 75cl bottle for $187,500, both far exceeding estimates
• All surviving bottles came from cellars traceable to original château or Rothschild family holdings, making provenance critical

Bottles of 1870 Bordeaux that still exist represent genuine museum-grade wine artifacts and command extraordinary prices when they appear at auction with documented provenance. The Zachys auction in 2025 of the Piatigorsky Collection, derived from a direct Rothschild descendant's cellar with wines cellared in Pauillac ever since release, demonstrated that the market for these wines remains exceptional when provenance is unimpeachable. All lots in that sale found buyers, and world auction records were set for multiple 19th-century formats. Bottles recorked and topped up at the château carry higher confidence, though buyers should always verify reconditioning records.

• Provenance is paramount: bottles traceable to original château cellars or established Rothschild family holdings command the highest prices and confidence
• Zachys 2025 Piatigorsky Collection totalled over $11 million, with Lafite wines alone realising $6.49 million across 177 lots
• Bottles recorked and topped up at Château Lafite Rothschild with wine from the same vintage represent best-practice reconditioning
• Any bottle opened today is a historical artifact first; drinkability, where it exists, is a remarkable bonus rather than a guarantee

The 1870 vintage occupies a pivotal position in Bordeaux history as one of the last great vintages produced before phylloxera destroyed the Médoc's ungrafted vineyards. Together with 1864, 1865, and 1869, it represents the peak of 19th-century Bordeaux before the plague years from 1875 to 1892. The wines were made on own-rooted Vitis vinifera vines from soils and vine genetics that no longer exist in their original form, adding to their historical fascination. The Franco-Prussian War's disruption of trade meant that some of these wines sat in Bordeaux châteaux and merchant cellars for longer than usual, paradoxically aiding their long-term development. The vintage also coincided with a transitional moment in Bordeaux's ownership history, with the Rothschild family having newly arrived at both Lafite and Mouton.

• One of the last major vintages before phylloxera devastated the Médoc, joining 1864, 1865, and 1869 as the era's benchmarks
• Wines produced on ungrafted own-rooted Vitis vinifera vines representing a style and vine character that no longer exists
• The real phylloxera crisis, from 1875 to 1892, would eventually ruin nearly all Bordeaux vineyards and force replanting on American rootstock
• Both Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild were producing under Rothschild family ownership for the first time in this vintage period