Château Croizet-Bages
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend
Pauillac, Médoc, Bordeaux, France
It's 1945 in Pauillac... the First Growth Mouton Rothschild celebrates the victory year with an innovative label, drawn by the artist Philippe Jullian, setting into motion a tradition synonymous with the famous estate. The vintage is considered one of the best on record and this Pauillac wine perhaps the pick of the year. Seventy years later a large format of the 1945 Mouton Rothschild becomes one of the most expensive bottles ever sold. It is stuff of legend, "immortal" no less. Down the road Château Croizet-Bages was doing its thing, making tasty wines without fanfare. A bottle of their 1945 found its way into my hands via Darren Scott of Red Room, Austin's excellent speakeasy/wine bar. The fill was almost into the belly. Not a good sign. I was expecting a dud for sure but that's part of the fun with these wines. You roll the dice, winning is an upside not to be expected. The sommelier approached the bottle with caution. (As an aside, all restaurants should have Durands on hand for older bottles.) My heart was in my mouth as the cork was prized from the bottle with a normal waiter's corkscrew. It came out in one piece, a stained but solid cylinder of promise. I tried it. Certainly a little dusty but with underlying freshness and even a hint of ripe, dark fruit. Tobacco, Earl Gray tea and coffee were present. The finish was long. The wine retained vibrancy even at its grand age. The 1945 Croizet-Bages was a gem, in part because of the low expectations, in part because of its proximity (temporal and geographical) to a legend, but mostly because it was just plain delicious.
It's 1945 in Pauillac... the First Growth Mouton Rothschild celebrates the victory year with an innovative label, drawn by the artist Philippe Jullian, setting into motion a tradition synonymous with the famous estate. The vintage is considered one of the best on record and this Pauillac wine perhaps the pick of the year. Seventy years later a large format of the 1945 Mouton Rothschild becomes one of the most expensive bottles ever sold. It is stuff of legend, "immortal" no less. Down the road Château Croizet-Bages was doing its thing, making tasty wines without fanfare. A bottle of their 1945 found its way into my hands via Darren Scott of Red Room, Austin's excellent speakeasy/wine bar. The fill was almost into the belly. Not a good sign. I was expecting a dud for sure but that's part of the fun with these wines. You roll the dice, winning is an upside not to be expected. The sommelier approached the bottle with caution. (As an aside, all restaurants should have Durands on hand for older bottles.) My heart was in my mouth as the cork was prized from the bottle with a normal waiter's corkscrew. It came out in one piece, a stained but solid cylinder of promise. I tried it. Certainly a little dusty but with underlying freshness and even a hint of ripe, dark fruit. Tobacco, Earl Gray tea and coffee were present. The finish was long. The wine retained vibrancy even at its grand age. The 1945 Croizet-Bages was a gem, in part because of the low expectations, in part because of its proximity (temporal and geographical) to a legend, but mostly because it was just plain delicious.
May 3rd, 2017