We have just had this bottle of Petrus 1970 delivered to our office. It came from Leah Gilliat who has asked us to sell it for her to raise money to fund the secondary education of James Ngeiyamu, a Tanzanian child whose mother recently died, leaving James and his three younger sisters.
Leah taught James in Mwanza, Tanzania for two years. He is a very promising student who is determined to provide for his family in the future. The money raised from this single bottle of Petrus 1970 will have a hugely beneficial effect on the lives of James and his family.
Forgetting for once the old adage “in matters of commerce the fault of the Dutch is giving too little and taking too much!” Goedhuis and Co won’t be taking any commission on the sale. We have put a reserve on this bottle of £1,100 but it would wonderful if any of you were happy to pay a little bit extra.
The provenance of the wine is impeccable. It has been stored perfectly. I have been lucky enough to drink some great wines from this cellar including Ch La Mission Haut Brion 1975, one the few outstanding 75s I have ever tasted.
I have only ever owned one bottle of this nectar. In the 1970’s I delivered five cases of 1975 1st Growths to Bill Govett, a director of Corney and Barrow who had a wonderful cellar. We started discussing Petrus and, rather tragically, I said that I had never tasted any. When I got back to my car there was a bottle of Petrus 1970 sitting on the passenger seat. Without question the best tip I have ever had.