Dibao Wine Explains How to Tell Genuine from Counterfeit Lafite at a Glance

In 1982, critic Robert Parker awarded Château Lafite Rothschild a perfect 100-point score. Lafite's profile and prices subsequently rose, aided by its prominence in film and television, and the name became widely recognised in China. Yet convincing counterfeits remain a risk. Start by comparing the bottles below: which one appears to be genuine Lafite?

The broader Lafite portfolio can be confusing, so this article combines several checks for distinguishing genuine bottles from counterfeits. No single feature should be used alone; provenance and professional inspection remain important.

1. Examine the Label
Strictly speaking, wines made elsewhere in the Lafite group's portfolio are not Château Lafite Rothschild itself. Château Lafite Rothschild and its second wine, Carruades de Lafite, are the two wines of the Lafite estate. Keep the following label wording for reference.

Grand vin, bottled at the château (MIS EN BOUTEILLE AU CHÂTEAU)

Second wine, bottled at the property (MIS EN BOUTEILLE À LA PROPRIÉTÉ)

Grand vin (CHÂTEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD)

Second wine (CARRUADES DE LAFITE) Appellation (PAUILLAC)

Memory can be unreliable, so save a reference image. Multiple spelling errors in these key areas are a strong warning sign and should trigger further verification.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Rothschild family's acquisition of Château Lafite Rothschild, the 2018 label added a hot-air balloon. The initials ‘CL’, the Roman numeral for 150, also appear on the neck of the 2018 bottle, recalling the modernity and spirit of adventure associated with the wine's first vintage under the family.

2. Examine the Capsule
Lafite's capsule is relatively easy to recognise: the château appears at the top, while the centre bears the name Lafite Rothschild. Capsules from the 1980s through 2002 share a broadly similar design, with the main variation being different shades of red.

The grand vin's capsule bears a château motif

On Carruades de Lafite, the outer ring of the capsule reads ‘Domaines Barons de Rothschild’, while the centre carries the Rothschild emblem of five arrows. On close inspection, those arrows differ slightly from the emblem on Mouton: the word ‘Lafite’ appears above the central R to identify the Lafite Rothschild branch.

Carruades de Lafite capsule motif

A Lafite cork normally carries the corresponding vintage on one side. The other side bears a château motif and the words ‘Grand Vin de Château Lafite Rothschild’. The overall design is similar across vintages.

An older Lafite would not normally have a very new-looking cork unless it had been recorked. Counterfeit bottles may use corks that look unusually new or short, with visibly rough workmanship.

4. Examine the Bottle
Before 1996, Lafite bottles generally resembled ordinary Bordeaux bottles and had no motif below the neck. From 1996 onward, the estate adopted distinctive bottle engravings as an anti-counterfeiting measure. The designs vary by vintage.
Bottle motifs by vintage

1985: the bottle was engraved with ‘1985’ and an image of Halley's Comet to commemorate its return.

Before 1996: no motif appeared between the label and neck. From 1996: bottles were engraved with the Rothschild family's five-arrow emblem, with ‘Lafite’ at the centre.

1999: the bottle carried the sun, moon and ‘1999’ to commemorate the total solar eclipse.

2000: the year ‘2000’ appeared in the centre of the five-arrow emblem to mark the millennium.

2005: the bottle was engraved with scales, with rain on one side and sunshine on the other, representing
the balance of rainfall and sunlight in 2005, a year associated with outstanding wine quality.

2008: the bottle carried ‘2008’ and the Chinese character for eight. The motif was intended to attract attention in China; another account links it to the Rothschild family's vineyard partnership in Penglai, Shandong.

An engraving between the label and neck on a pre-1996 grand-vin bottle is a warning sign, apart from the documented 1985 design. Likewise, the absence of the expected motif on a post-1996 bottle warrants further verification. These checks should support, not replace, provenance review and professional authentication.

5. Examine Texture & Printing
First, an authentic Lafite label uses screen printing and should have a tactile, layered surface rather than feeling completely flat.
Second, the main illustration shows vineyard workers tending the estate, with fine lines rendered clearly. Poor counterfeits may show uneven ink, blurred imagery and weak detail.

6. Official Anti-Counterfeiting Technology
Buyers concerned about sophisticated counterfeits can pay particular attention to 2009 and later vintages. Bottles released from the cellar after 2012 use a difficult-to-copy ‘bubble code’ security label on both the grand vin and second wine.

Below the silver bubble code is a two-line security number. Consumers can visit the authentication page on the official site, http://www.lafite.com/, and enter the code. A code that does not verify will produce an alert like the example below.

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