Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1945 (1) I didn't have the opportunity to taste this wine in cask; I was in the army, and by the time I had entered the wine trade in 1952, most merchants had by then sold their top '45s. I have certainly made up for it since. My first note of the 1945 Lafite was made in 1967 towards the end of my first season at Christie's. Nearly 30 notes have been logged since, and in varying sizes of bottles from halves to double magnums. Yet despite the varying occasions and contexts, what is remarkable is the relatively little bottle variation. It is important to realise that even the 1945 Lafite does not have the depth of colour, weight or intensity of Latour and Mouton. It is Lafite, and from the start I recorded its medium depth and already mature appearance, also, more importantly, its refined and delicate bouquet, flavoury richness and extended finish. My most recent notes include a flawless magnum at the Eigensatz tasting in 1993 and an extraordinarily good magnum, despite its mid-shoulder level, at Christan Sveaas' great dinner in Oslo. The cork was sound so the air in the ullage must have been benign. The wine had a beautiful colour; medium deep, with rich 'legs' but not intense, unlike the flanking Margaux and La Mission, the colours of which seemed to press the sides of the glass. Just about every note over the years refers to a glorious fragrance which seems to unravel itself after 15 or 20 minutes in the glass. Also noticed at the Sveaas dinner, and previously, its sweetness to which one adds, unoriginally, rich, soft with masked tannins. A glorious mouthful. Last noted April 1996***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Latour--Vintage 1945 (1) "A great wine. Surely one of the best ever Latours, drinking beautifully now but with many years more life. As with Lafite, not tasted in my early years in the trade. My first note was made in October 1967:'deep'; very rich, 'packed' (bouquet); dry, extremely vigorous and youthful for a 22-year old, with plenty of tannin and acidity. 'A good strapping drink'. And so on for another 28 notes through the next three decades. What I have noticed, as it matured futher, is its increasing sweetness. An amalgam of notes gathered at dinners and tastings: always deep, with an opaque core; spicy bouquet, eucalyptus, cedar, smoky tea (Lapsang), cheesy - not smelly cheese but a sort of sweaty tannin. Full-bodied, rich, complete, silky, tannins, complex, great length. The very best: a double magnum from Lenoir Josey's cellar at a Wine and Food Society dinner in Houston in 1983. Served last it trounced the preceding 'stars', including Lafite and Margaux '53, the exquisite Mouton '49, and others. Last noted dining at a charming lakeside restaurant in Pfaffikon near Zurich, following Manfred Wagner's Ch Margaux tasting, Nov 2000 ***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Margaux--Vintage 1945 (1) "A magnificent wine. Nothing fragile and feminine about this '45, at least not in its early years. From the start, very deep in colour with a beautiful richness and intensity; and in the 1970s with Latour-like massiveness and tannin. Its fragrance, the hallmark of Margaux, being variously described as ripe mulberry, crystallised violets, cedar, cigar box, creamy - and always glorious. On the palate its initial tannins ameliorating, now soft and velvety. The climax of two Bordeaux Club dinners (at Caius, Cambridge, 1996, and at John Jenkins' Jacobean Childerley Hall, Oct 2000). A vivacious and fabulously fragrant bottle at the Sveaas dinner and showing at its magnificent best at both of Wagner's Margaux tastings, in 1997 and 2000. Last tasted in Zurich, Nov 2000 ***** MB, Vintage Wine
Above 3 bottles per lot
THE 1945 VINTAGE IN BORDEAUX ***** "Arguably one of the greatest vintages of the 20th-century, and in my opinion eclipsing the 1961. An early harvest yielded magnificent, long-lasting wines of the highest quality. The very small crop size was the result of severe frosts in May, when the vines were literally nipped in the bud. The wines' exceptional ripeness, concentration and power were due to a summer of drought and excessive heat. The vines and the winemaking also benefited--though it may not have been appreciaed at the time--from some fortuitous circumstances: first, old, or at least fully mature, vine stock as there had been little replanting during the war; second, traditional winemaking methods. New oak barrels were a thing of the future as was the influence of the consulting oenologist. The best, and kept kept, are still superb. I think I was born and entered the wine trade at the right time, for I see I have over 200 notes covering a wide range of châteaux of this great vintage. *****" MB, Vintage Wine THREE FIVE STAR WINES FROM 1945 Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1945 (1) I didn't have the opportunity to taste this wine in cask; I was in the army, and by the time I had entered the wine trade in 1952, most merchants had by then sold their top '45s. I have certainly made up for it since. My first note of the 1945 Lafite was made in 1967 towards the end of my first season at Christie's. Nearly 30 notes have been logged since, and in varying sizes of bottles from halves to double magnums. Yet despite the varying occasions and contexts, what is remarkable is the relatively little bottle variation. It is important to realise that even the 1945 Lafite does not have the depth of colour, weight or intensity of Latour and Mouton. It is Lafite, and from the start I recorded its medium depth and already mature appearance, also, more importantly, its refined and delicate bouquet, flavoury richness and extended finish. My most recent notes include a flawless magnum at the Eigensatz tasting in 1993 and an extraordinarily good magnum, despite its mid-shoulder level, at Christan Sveaas' great dinner in Oslo. The cork was sound so the air in the ullage must have been benign. The wine had a beautiful colour; medium deep, with rich 'legs' but not intense, unlike the flanking Margaux and La Mission, the colours of which seemed to press the sides of the glass. Just about every note over the years refers to a glorious fragrance which seems to unravel itself after 15 or 20 minutes in the glass. Also noticed at the Sveaas dinner, and previously, its sweetness to which one adds, unoriginally, rich, soft with masked tannins. A glorious mouthful. Last noted April 1996***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Latour--Vintage 1945 (1) "A great wine. Surely one of the best ever Latours, drinking beautifully now but with many years more life. As with Lafite, not tasted in my early years in the trade. My first note was made in October 1967:'deep'; very rich, 'packed' (bouquet); dry, extremely vigorous and youthful for a 22-year old, with plenty of tannin and acidity. 'A good strapping drink'. And so on for another 28 notes through the next three decades. What I have noticed, as it matured futher, is its increasing sweetness. An amalgam of notes gathered at dinners and tastings: always deep, with an opaque core; spicy bouquet, eucalyptus, cedar, smoky tea (Lapsang), cheesy - not smelly cheese but a sort of sweaty tannin. Full-bodied, rich, complete, silky, tannins, complex, great length. The very best: a double magnum from Lenoir Josey's cellar at a Wine and Food Society dinner in Houston in 1983. Served last it trounced the preceding 'stars', including Lafite and Margaux '53, the exquisite Mouton '49, and others. Last noted dining at a charming lakeside restaurant in Pfaffikon near Zurich, following Manfred Wagner's Ch Margaux tasting, Nov 2000 ***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Margaux--Vintage 1945 (1) "A magnificent wine. Nothing fragile and feminine a
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1945 (1) I didn't have the opportunity to taste this wine in cask; I was in the army, and by the time I had entered the wine trade in 1952, most merchants had by then sold their top '45s. I have certainly made up for it since. My first note of the 1945 Lafite was made in 1967 towards the end of my first season at Christie's. Nearly 30 notes have been logged since, and in varying sizes of bottles from halves to double magnums. Yet despite the varying occasions and contexts, what is remarkable is the relatively little bottle variation. It is important to realise that even the 1945 Lafite does not have the depth of colour, weight or intensity of Latour and Mouton. It is Lafite, and from the start I recorded its medium depth and already mature appearance, also, more importantly, its refined and delicate bouquet, flavoury richness and extended finish. My most recent notes include a flawless magnum at the Eigensatz tasting in 1993 and an extraordinarily good magnum, despite its mid-shoulder level, at Christan Sveaas' great dinner in Oslo. The cork was sound so the air in the ullage must have been benign. The wine had a beautiful colour; medium deep, with rich 'legs' but not intense, unlike the flanking Margaux and La Mission, the colours of which seemed to press the sides of the glass. Just about every note over the years refers to a glorious fragrance which seems to unravel itself after 15 or 20 minutes in the glass. Also noticed at the Sveaas dinner, and previously, its sweetness to which one adds, unoriginally, rich, soft with masked tannins. A glorious mouthful. Last noted April 1996***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Latour--Vintage 1945 (1) "A great wine. Surely one of the best ever Latours, drinking beautifully now but with many years more life. As with Lafite, not tasted in my early years in the trade. My first note was made in October 1967:'deep'; very rich, 'packed' (bouquet); dry, extremely vigorous and youthful for a 22-year old, with plenty of tannin and acidity. 'A good strapping drink'. And so on for another 28 notes through the next three decades. What I have noticed, as it matured futher, is its increasing sweetness. An amalgam of notes gathered at dinners and tastings: always deep, with an opaque core; spicy bouquet, eucalyptus, cedar, smoky tea (Lapsang), cheesy - not smelly cheese but a sort of sweaty tannin. Full-bodied, rich, complete, silky, tannins, complex, great length. The very best: a double magnum from Lenoir Josey's cellar at a Wine and Food Society dinner in Houston in 1983. Served last it trounced the preceding 'stars', including Lafite and Margaux '53, the exquisite Mouton '49, and others. Last noted dining at a charming lakeside restaurant in Pfaffikon near Zurich, following Manfred Wagner's Ch Margaux tasting, Nov 2000 ***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Margaux--Vintage 1945 (1) "A magnificent wine. Nothing fragile and feminine about this '45, at least not in its early years. From the start, very deep in colour with a beautiful richness and intensity; and in the 1970s with Latour-like massiveness and tannin. Its fragrance, the hallmark of Margaux, being variously described as ripe mulberry, crystallised violets, cedar, cigar box, creamy - and always glorious. On the palate its initial tannins ameliorating, now soft and velvety. The climax of two Bordeaux Club dinners (at Caius, Cambridge, 1996, and at John Jenkins' Jacobean Childerley Hall, Oct 2000). A vivacious and fabulously fragrant bottle at the Sveaas dinner and showing at its magnificent best at both of Wagner's Margaux tastings, in 1997 and 2000. Last tasted in Zurich, Nov 2000 ***** MB, Vintage Wine
Above 3 bottles per lot
THE 1945 VINTAGE IN BORDEAUX ***** "Arguably one of the greatest vintages of the 20th-century, and in my opinion eclipsing the 1961. An early harvest yielded magnificent, long-lasting wines of the highest quality. The very small crop size was the result of severe frosts in May, when the vines were literally nipped in the bud. The wines' exceptional ripeness, concentration and power were due to a summer of drought and excessive heat. The vines and the winemaking also benefited--though it may not have been appreciaed at the time--from some fortuitous circumstances: first, old, or at least fully mature, vine stock as there had been little replanting during the war; second, traditional winemaking methods. New oak barrels were a thing of the future as was the influence of the consulting oenologist. The best, and kept kept, are still superb. I think I was born and entered the wine trade at the right time, for I see I have over 200 notes covering a wide range of châteaux of this great vintage. *****" MB, Vintage Wine THREE FIVE STAR WINES FROM 1945 Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1945 (1) I didn't have the opportunity to taste this wine in cask; I was in the army, and by the time I had entered the wine trade in 1952, most merchants had by then sold their top '45s. I have certainly made up for it since. My first note of the 1945 Lafite was made in 1967 towards the end of my first season at Christie's. Nearly 30 notes have been logged since, and in varying sizes of bottles from halves to double magnums. Yet despite the varying occasions and contexts, what is remarkable is the relatively little bottle variation. It is important to realise that even the 1945 Lafite does not have the depth of colour, weight or intensity of Latour and Mouton. It is Lafite, and from the start I recorded its medium depth and already mature appearance, also, more importantly, its refined and delicate bouquet, flavoury richness and extended finish. My most recent notes include a flawless magnum at the Eigensatz tasting in 1993 and an extraordinarily good magnum, despite its mid-shoulder level, at Christan Sveaas' great dinner in Oslo. The cork was sound so the air in the ullage must have been benign. The wine had a beautiful colour; medium deep, with rich 'legs' but not intense, unlike the flanking Margaux and La Mission, the colours of which seemed to press the sides of the glass. Just about every note over the years refers to a glorious fragrance which seems to unravel itself after 15 or 20 minutes in the glass. Also noticed at the Sveaas dinner, and previously, its sweetness to which one adds, unoriginally, rich, soft with masked tannins. A glorious mouthful. Last noted April 1996***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Latour--Vintage 1945 (1) "A great wine. Surely one of the best ever Latours, drinking beautifully now but with many years more life. As with Lafite, not tasted in my early years in the trade. My first note was made in October 1967:'deep'; very rich, 'packed' (bouquet); dry, extremely vigorous and youthful for a 22-year old, with plenty of tannin and acidity. 'A good strapping drink'. And so on for another 28 notes through the next three decades. What I have noticed, as it matured futher, is its increasing sweetness. An amalgam of notes gathered at dinners and tastings: always deep, with an opaque core; spicy bouquet, eucalyptus, cedar, smoky tea (Lapsang), cheesy - not smelly cheese but a sort of sweaty tannin. Full-bodied, rich, complete, silky, tannins, complex, great length. The very best: a double magnum from Lenoir Josey's cellar at a Wine and Food Society dinner in Houston in 1983. Served last it trounced the preceding 'stars', including Lafite and Margaux '53, the exquisite Mouton '49, and others. Last noted dining at a charming lakeside restaurant in Pfaffikon near Zurich, following Manfred Wagner's Ch Margaux tasting, Nov 2000 ***** MB, Vintage Wine Château Margaux--Vintage 1945 (1) "A magnificent wine. Nothing fragile and feminine a
Testen Sie LotSearch und seine Premium-Features 7 Tage - ohne Kosten!
Lassen Sie sich automatisch über neue Objekte in kommenden Auktionen benachrichtigen.
Suchauftrag anlegen
.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
