Where were you in 1949? I wasn’t born yet. But a lot of wines in collectors’ cellars were. As a wine connoisseur, it’s always a thrill for an opportunity to savor a wine that’s older than you! I was blessed to be at the home of some new friends for a casual wine dinner in Greewich, Connecticut.
The food was lovely (Thanks to Jack Melnikoff and his wife), the conversation was inspiring, and one of the wines was historic. Thanks to Laird Bieger for bringing the guest of honor — a 1949 Chateau Latour!
Below are Laird’s tasting notes on the wine and the evening:
“Something old, something new , something borrowed… On second thought I will just take something old like the 1949 Latour I had last night with my two friends Jack Melnikoff and Michael Green. We tasted the 1949 with a 1988 Latour as I felt both were good but not great years and so they would make for a fun comparison. We opened the 1988 first in order to decant it. I tasted it multiple times over a couple of hours and even at the end the wine was tight and, in my opinion, really needs another 10-15 years of cellaring to hit its peak. But even looking past that, I thought the wine was solid but with no qualities that made me believe that even in 15 years that this would be a “showstopper”.
On the other hand, the 1949 (in 750ml format) was nothing short of magical. When I first brought up the idea of drinking it, I thought for sure my first sniffs would bring me aromas of barnyard and shoe leather. But quite the contrary, the wine still had a youthful bouquet that was more befitting of a 30 year old wine rather than a 63 year old one (if I had tasted it blind I would have guessed it to be a 1982 or 1961). In addition, while the wine certainly has lost a lot of its fruit over the years, it still had enough to give it a wonderful flavor. Most importantly its mouth-feel was absolutely spectacular with a chewy, unctuous character to it. I am officially putting it in my top all time Bordeaux’s joining the 1989 Lynch Bages, the 1982 Lafite and the 2000 Pavie. If one is thinking about doing a tasting consisting of the best wines of the 1940′s (and if you are I want to be invited!), I think this wine will hold its own even against the blockbusters of the decade like the 1945 Mouton and the 1947 Cheval Blanc.
I also want to thank Michael and Jack as there is nothing better than having two friends experience that magical moment with you!”
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