It was cold across Europe in February 1956.
On Hampstead Heath in north London, two inches of snow fell on 19th February – a bit chilly for skinny-dipping in the Mens’ or Ladies’ Ponds.
On 21st February, temperatures dropped to -20°C in Bordeaux. The Garonne river didn’t freeze solid as it did in 1871 but icebergs floated beneath the Pont de pierre.
Mild weather before February caused the sap to rise in the vines. The sap was then frozen solid by the frost and many vines split open and died.
However, the Gironde estuary – where the Dordogne and Garonne rivers meet 15 miles downstream from central Bordeaux – didn’t freeze.
Latour’s 1956 was a good wine for this nightmarishly nippy vintage, with some flavour but lacking the intensity of less difficult years.
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Château Latour 1956£2,400.00