Description
Find this 1942 red wine gift – Chateau Haut-Brion 1942 – for sale at award-winning Arden Fine Wines in London.
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1942 red wine gift – Château Haut-Brion 1942
The 1942 Château Haut-Brion is a historic “war vintage” that winemakers produced during the German occupation of Bordeaux.
While 1942 was generally a difficult year due to cold, wet weather and wartime resource shortages, critics note the wine for its longevity and intriguing, mature character.
This 1942 wine appears to be thin but retains its tangy and bright qualities due to high acidity.
The tannins have almost entirely faded over the decades.
At over 85 years old, this wine has reached full maturity and should be approached as a delicate, historic artefact.
Award-winning Arden Fine Wines in London sells this 1942 red wine gift.
A brief history of Château Haut Brion
In 1855, the highest distinction of Médoc wines, Premier Cru Classé (First Growth), honoured Château Haut Brion.
In due course, Château Haut Brion became the only non-Médoc domain to join the Médoc wine list and the Graves wine classification.
Although it is not the most concentrated, Haut-Brion, on the other hand, stands out as the most noble of wines from Pessac.
Moreover, the industry recognises its longevity as unparalleled.
In addition, wine enthusiasts always find the silky tannins exceptional.
Furthermore, Château Haut-Brion claims the title of the oldest and yet the smallest of Premiers Grands Crus.
Interestingly, historians trace the first mention of vineyards of Haut-Brion back to 1423.
Subsequently, Jean de Pontac founded Haut-Brion as a wine estate in 1525.
Under Pontac’s leadership, the wine, in fact, first bore the name of this noble and respectable family.
As a result, as its reputation grew, the estate’s name eventually replaced that of its owners.
The English diarist Samuel Pepys noted on Friday 10th April 1663 a visit to the “Royall Oak Tavern, in Lumbard Street…
And here drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan…
That hath a good and most particular taste that I never met with.”
