Bottlemanship
CONSUMING INTEREST LESLIE ADRIAN
The chairmanship of the IEC Wine Socie:y recently complained of the residual feeling in Britain that wine is slightly sinful. 'A drop 01 whisky may be necessary to keep out the cold brandy is clearly medicinal, and an occasions' glass of port may do one good,' puritanical compromise is supposed to assure us; yet '3 decanter of claret on the table may be a mile stone on the road to. destruction.' Such distin: tions would have surprised medical luminar from Hippocrates to Pasteur, who report with -consistent favour on wine's therapetu and antiseptic properties. For centuries white wines were prescrib as diuretics, red burgundy for dyspepsia, hoc for nerves, champagne for catarrh, and da for unmentionable internal troubles. One Cardinal Richelieu's great-nephews was order the wine of Lafite as a tonic: when he return to Versailles, he was complimented by Kin Louis on looking twenty-five years younger.. is reputed to have enjoyed bedroom romps unl the age of ninety-two. No doctor has ever prescribed Ch. Lafi for me. The omission is particularly regrettab since this greatest of clarets is becoming incre ingly impossible to afford except on National Health, or other people's exile
accounts. This conclusion is borne out by Cyril Ray who, in an engaging new book (Lafite Peter Davies 50s) has enterprisingly compiled a short list of restaurants where one may still hope to drink what he calls 'adequately aged bottles,' i.e. pre-1953 vintages. Take 1945, for example. This is scarcely historic yet. It has been slow maturing, but oenophiles are sure it is a classic of classics. In Paris restaurants at the beginning of the year one could expect to be charged upwards of 100 francs for it; in New York $42 to $52 dollars; in London (actually the least expensive) 150s. By now, says Mr Ray, 'it would not be unreasonable if prices had gone up by the amount of another year's interest on the capital investment they represent.' Capital investment is right. At Christie's last year the prices paid for 1945 first growths were ranging up to 2000 shillings a dozen.
Most non.American claret lovers will have sadly decided that such hobbies are not for the likes of them. What cheaper alternatives are there? The first, if you can't deny yourself a Medoc premier cru of a great year, is to pay at least 65s a bottle for a more recent vintage, pro- vided you can find some, and lay it down for about a decade. The second is to remember that first-growth vineyards can produce typical quality even in a lesser year, when prices are not so high : Harrods, where I do not normally shop for wines, has the outstanding 1960 Ch. Latour on its list at only 48s 6d. But if this is still above your price ceiling, then (a) lay down a less prestigious classed-growth claret of a very good year, and/or (b) buy some honest unclassified Bordeaux wines to consume now. The excellent wine department of the Army & Navy Stores is offering (a) at 35s 6d a 1964 Ch. Cos d'Estournel which should prove among the finest wines of the vintage, and (b) at 16s 6d a 1962 Ch. Bellegrave already reaching maturity; while for members of the Wine Society (a) its 1961 Ch. Cantemerle at 32s 9d for laying down, and (b) its 1962 Ch. La Pointe at 18s 3d, to drink now, are attractive.
Some might find burgundy an acceptable, or even preferable, alternative to claret. But whilst the best claret is dearer than the best burgundy, don't imagen that decent bur- gundy comes cheap. For a domaine bottled grand cru of a good vintage you can pay in the region of 50s to a fashionable wine mer- chant and double that to a swinging restau- rateur. And though, at the lower end of the price scale, there are rewards for diligent searchers among littler-known communes or reputable wine clubs, 'I should not feel secure that I was buying the right thing [from London
merchants] if I were paying less than 19s retail for a bottle of a good Cite d'Or commune, ready for drinking, or less than 22s for a superior commune of a good year.' So says H. W. Yoxall, editorial consultant to Wine and Food, in a splendidly lively guide just published for the International Wine and Food Society
(The Wines of Burgundy Michael Joseph 30s).
I am still appreciating the 'finish' of Mr Yoxall's story about an otherwise unknown bishop of Lyon accused of using extravagant teies de cuvie for sacramental wine. He replied that when he confronted his Master he could not be seen making a wry face.
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