Above 4 bottles per lot
细节
THE 1949 VINTAGE IN BORDEAUX *****
"The third of the great trio of post-war vintages. Stylistically quite different from the concentrated '45s and the ripe and more opulent '47s. At their best, and there were many wines of great style, avoiding some of the constraints and excesses of the two other vintages just mentioned. What on earth were the growing conditions to produce wines like these? Certainly not predictable, perhaps not even understandable. The year started with the driest January and February all round. The always crucial flowering period took place in cold, rainy weather which caused the worst coulure ever remembered and, consequently, a much reduced crop. Hot weather followed, increasing to an almost unprecedented heat wave, 43C recorded in the Médoc on 11 July. Then storms and, finally, a late harvest in fine weather. It was a very popular vintage with merchants and their customers, prices being very reasonable: Lafite 'for laying down' (in 1954) a mere 24 shillings a bottle, unsurprisingly sold out by the following year. The best are still superb but living precariously; storage and provenance are vital. *****" MB, Vintage Wine
Château Haut Brion--Vintage 1949(1)
"A curious wine. It often is: in 1954 I wrote 'difficult to place, looks like a '47, lighter (on the palate) than it looks'. Dry. 'A trifle green'. Its greeness had disappeared by the late 1950s: 'soft' noted, and, in the mid-1960s, nice flavour, balance, refreshing and 'good to drink'. Haut-Brion, though customarily elegant, has a very distinctive taste, more earthy than its peers in the Médoc, with a touch of coffee, tobacco leaves on the nose. I thought it was at its best in the mid-1980s. Only one recent note: still very deep and fairly intense; relatively (compared, say, to Mouton) low-keyed nose, touch of honey; a wine of great power and length with an end taste of singed heather (and I should know. I was brought up in the Yorkshire moors!). Last noted dining at the Château with the family and Jean Delmas, Sept 1998 **** MB, Vintage Wine
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1949(1)
"I think I would describe this as capricious, certainly inconsistent, judging by over 20 notes spanning over 45 years, from a most disappointing first tasting in March 1955 to a spicy, exciting and excitable bottle in September 2000. But I am jumping. Astringency, fading but with a piquant flavour in the early 1970s. 'Nothing like the charm of Mouton or the balance of Latour' noted at a Saintsbury Club dinner in 1979, and a fully mature impériale at Marvin Overton's 50th Birthday dinner in Fort Worth. Completely mature in the early 1980s, more than a trace of overripeness later in the decade. This is not so say that it was not attractive to drink. I noted variously delicacy, smooth texture, a touch of leanness, citrus-like (acidity), skinny, gibier - some better, some worse. Never boring. Most recently: high-toned, tea-like,spciy; sweet entry; dry slightly raw finish, but very flavoury. Last noted at Len Evans' 'Single-bottle Club' birthday dinner, Sept 2000. At best ***** MB, Vintage WIne Château Margaux--Vintage 1949(1)
"An archetypal elegant Margaux, exceedingly fragrant. I shall never forget the first time I had this wine: it was in 1958 at an after-wedding dinner party for the younger guests in the Lake District. Asked to choose the wine and not wishing to land ourselves with something too expensive, I ordered four bottles of 'Margaux' at 15 shillings a bottle. When the waiter brought it and showed me the label, I noticed that it was not the generic Margaux I ordered, but Ch Margaux 1949, château bottled. After I queried this, the waiter returned to say that the manager confirmed that this is was what we had ordered. Ignorance is bliss. I noted it as 'very fine, full, soft and rounded'. As a corollary, the food and service were so bad that, after complaining, we only had to pay for the wine!
Ch Margaux, sometimes, like Ch Cheval Blanc, shipped its wine in hogshead for bottline by English wine merchants. Generally this was done well but I noted a sharp and austere Chalié Richards bottling in the early 1970s and, in 1986, a very good one bottled by the very upper crust merchants, Block Grey and Block from the cellars of the Earl of Dundee. Château-bottled, it seemed to me to be at its best in the late 1980s. Three notes in the last decade: lost a great deal of colour; on the nose it was faded but charming and, momre importantly, evolved most fragrantly in the glass; on the palate almost caramelly sweet, on the light side but with a fraction too much acidity (in a 'flight' of '49s, tasted blind, I thought it was the Cheval Blanc). The last two at Manfred Wagner's Margaux Verticals, the best in 1997, level upper-mid-shoulder, a lovely autumnal colour; touch of fungi bottle stink due to its ullage but which cleared, exuding rich fruit. On the palate, pleasant sweetness, lovely texture, but showing its age and not as great as expected. There were two bottles at the second event, the one with similar level to the bottle just described which was very sweet and flavoury, good but with noticeable acidity. The other was red brown, oxidised. I didn't bother to taste it." Last tasted Nov 2000. At best ***** but watch out MB, Vintage Wine
Château Mouton Rothschild--Vintage 1949(1)
"Unquestionably the finest '49. A wine that, at its best, has an inimitable fragrance and deftness of touch. It was Baron Philippe's favourite. I have been fortunate enough to taste this wine on 18 occasions, starting in March 1963 when I noted its fabulous, unbelievably rich, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon bouquet and flavour: 'very rich, soft, fabulous' again on the palate though I only gave it 4 stars. the fifth appeared in the mid-1970s: a perfect bottle with flavoury Cabernet nose and, though very rich, displaying its '49 hallmark, delicacy. A lovely wine. Nine notes in the 1980s, all 5 star, two wines even awarded 6 (and one corked), redolent of Mouton's cassis fragrance, charm and delicacy. This was when the wine was at its best. When last noted it looked fully mature but lively, its bouquet gushing exotically; exciting but, I thought, drying out." Last noted at Farr Vintners' Ch Latour and Mouton dinner tasting, Sept 1993. At best ****** (6 stars) MB, Vintage Wine
Above 4 bottles per lot
"The third of the great trio of post-war vintages. Stylistically quite different from the concentrated '45s and the ripe and more opulent '47s. At their best, and there were many wines of great style, avoiding some of the constraints and excesses of the two other vintages just mentioned. What on earth were the growing conditions to produce wines like these? Certainly not predictable, perhaps not even understandable. The year started with the driest January and February all round. The always crucial flowering period took place in cold, rainy weather which caused the worst coulure ever remembered and, consequently, a much reduced crop. Hot weather followed, increasing to an almost unprecedented heat wave, 43C recorded in the Médoc on 11 July. Then storms and, finally, a late harvest in fine weather. It was a very popular vintage with merchants and their customers, prices being very reasonable: Lafite 'for laying down' (in 1954) a mere 24 shillings a bottle, unsurprisingly sold out by the following year. The best are still superb but living precariously; storage and provenance are vital. *****" MB, Vintage Wine
Château Haut Brion--Vintage 1949(1)
"A curious wine. It often is: in 1954 I wrote 'difficult to place, looks like a '47, lighter (on the palate) than it looks'. Dry. 'A trifle green'. Its greeness had disappeared by the late 1950s: 'soft' noted, and, in the mid-1960s, nice flavour, balance, refreshing and 'good to drink'. Haut-Brion, though customarily elegant, has a very distinctive taste, more earthy than its peers in the Médoc, with a touch of coffee, tobacco leaves on the nose. I thought it was at its best in the mid-1980s. Only one recent note: still very deep and fairly intense; relatively (compared, say, to Mouton) low-keyed nose, touch of honey; a wine of great power and length with an end taste of singed heather (and I should know. I was brought up in the Yorkshire moors!). Last noted dining at the Château with the family and Jean Delmas, Sept 1998 **** MB, Vintage Wine
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1949(1)
"I think I would describe this as capricious, certainly inconsistent, judging by over 20 notes spanning over 45 years, from a most disappointing first tasting in March 1955 to a spicy, exciting and excitable bottle in September 2000. But I am jumping. Astringency, fading but with a piquant flavour in the early 1970s. 'Nothing like the charm of Mouton or the balance of Latour' noted at a Saintsbury Club dinner in 1979, and a fully mature impériale at Marvin Overton's 50th Birthday dinner in Fort Worth. Completely mature in the early 1980s, more than a trace of overripeness later in the decade. This is not so say that it was not attractive to drink. I noted variously delicacy, smooth texture, a touch of leanness, citrus-like (acidity), skinny, gibier - some better, some worse. Never boring. Most recently: high-toned, tea-like,spciy; sweet entry; dry slightly raw finish, but very flavoury. Last noted at Len Evans' 'Single-bottle Club' birthday dinner, Sept 2000. At best ***** MB, Vintage WIne Château Margaux--Vintage 1949(1)
"An archetypal elegant Margaux, exceedingly fragrant. I shall never forget the first time I had this wine: it was in 1958 at an after-wedding dinner party for the younger guests in the Lake District. Asked to choose the wine and not wishing to land ourselves with something too expensive, I ordered four bottles of 'Margaux' at 15 shillings a bottle. When the waiter brought it and showed me the label, I noticed that it was not the generic Margaux I ordered, but Ch Margaux 1949, château bottled. After I queried this, the waiter returned to say that the manager confirmed that this is was what we had ordered. Ignorance is bliss. I noted it as 'very fine, full, soft and rounded'. As a corollary, the food and service were so bad that, after complaining, we only had to pay for the wine!
Ch Margaux, sometimes, like Ch Cheval Blanc, shipped its wine in hogshead for bottline by English wine merchants. Generally this was done well but I noted a sharp and austere Chalié Richards bottling in the early 1970s and, in 1986, a very good one bottled by the very upper crust merchants, Block Grey and Block from the cellars of the Earl of Dundee. Château-bottled, it seemed to me to be at its best in the late 1980s. Three notes in the last decade: lost a great deal of colour; on the nose it was faded but charming and, momre importantly, evolved most fragrantly in the glass; on the palate almost caramelly sweet, on the light side but with a fraction too much acidity (in a 'flight' of '49s, tasted blind, I thought it was the Cheval Blanc). The last two at Manfred Wagner's Margaux Verticals, the best in 1997, level upper-mid-shoulder, a lovely autumnal colour; touch of fungi bottle stink due to its ullage but which cleared, exuding rich fruit. On the palate, pleasant sweetness, lovely texture, but showing its age and not as great as expected. There were two bottles at the second event, the one with similar level to the bottle just described which was very sweet and flavoury, good but with noticeable acidity. The other was red brown, oxidised. I didn't bother to taste it." Last tasted Nov 2000. At best ***** but watch out MB, Vintage Wine
Château Mouton Rothschild--Vintage 1949(1)
"Unquestionably the finest '49. A wine that, at its best, has an inimitable fragrance and deftness of touch. It was Baron Philippe's favourite. I have been fortunate enough to taste this wine on 18 occasions, starting in March 1963 when I noted its fabulous, unbelievably rich, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon bouquet and flavour: 'very rich, soft, fabulous' again on the palate though I only gave it 4 stars. the fifth appeared in the mid-1970s: a perfect bottle with flavoury Cabernet nose and, though very rich, displaying its '49 hallmark, delicacy. A lovely wine. Nine notes in the 1980s, all 5 star, two wines even awarded 6 (and one corked), redolent of Mouton's cassis fragrance, charm and delicacy. This was when the wine was at its best. When last noted it looked fully mature but lively, its bouquet gushing exotically; exciting but, I thought, drying out." Last noted at Farr Vintners' Ch Latour and Mouton dinner tasting, Sept 1993. At best ****** (6 stars) MB, Vintage Wine
Above 4 bottles per lot