Post by Vinous Reverie Wine Merchant

Fun tasting note Lafite 1881 "The year when the phylloxera invasion hit Lafite. 'The battle is on, it must be supported without prejudice or illusion, but also without discouragement... But we cannot hide that the task will be tough', wrote the Comte de Courtivron that year, director of Château Latour. That same year, a new plague was discovered on the leaves in the vineyard: mildew. 'Another new disease whose appearance is reported. It strikes the leaves, which become irritated!' wrote the broker Lawton. Viticulture responded with innovation, inventing sprays and increasingly sophisticated fertilisers. Despite everything, the harvest started on 12 September and produced solid wines which already had the backbone to last! What an awful time for Bordeaux vignerons, with the advent of both phylloxera and downy mildew. Yet this wine, the result of a yield perhaps concentrated but the onslaught of these vine diseases, has really stood the test of time still exuding pungent sweetness and a real core of ripe fruit. There it was in 2018, still deep garnet with an impressively subtly shaded rim. Still vivacious and with Lafite's characteristically dry finish. There was a far-from-disagreeable whiff of cordite and gunmetal about this. Look at my suggested drinking dates! 1910-2040" - JR