So I am home over Christmas at my moms who does not drink and find 3 bottles of 1974 Chateau Margaux.
The thing that caught my attention the most was the Price Tag $10.99 +tax.
The ullage was still in the neck I asked her if I could have them and she said NO I am saving them, she has no idea what it is, I figured they were probably bad but would still like to see if there is any life left in them.
Picture w/ price tag.
I’m wondering if you know ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
…the wine is a Lascombes, from Margaux but is not a Chateau Margaux.
I noticed that when I was looking through the different threads probably as you were typing that up.
Just wondering if it was worth bugging her for the wine.
I never thought Lascombes made that great of wines in the “strong” vintages of the '70s. 1974 is not a particularly strong vintage. Wines that have been well-stored, in cold cellars are generally pleasant, and sometimes even above average. (I think the last '74 I had that I enjoyed was a l’Evangile) OTOH, I would expect the Lascombes to show some green, stalky flavors, perhaps some tart red fruits, or perhaps not much at all. If you have low expectations and the bottles turn out to be nice than your experience will be even better. But, of course, while I have not had the '74 Lascombes, I have had the '70, '75 and '78.
730ml Bottle?
The only notable 1974 that I enjoyed was Cheval Blanc that a friend got for a song in an auction a few years back.
How was the '70?
I don’t have much Bordeaux experience but came across this birth year wine for relatively cheap. Haven’t opened it yet, not sure what to expect…
I don’t remember who owned Lascombes back then (Lichine or Ginestet?) - but they were notorious under achievers - '74 was a marginal vintage at best - it still might be an interesting wine though -
If she has three bottles, might be worth bargaining over one just to see a bit of history -
Should be cracked open now I suspect… and do not get hopes up too high.
The '70 was soft and a little tart, perhaps a little less elegant than expected, but overall a nice wine. On a numeric scale it would have merited an average score.
It is interesting that they used bottle number … I see them on on older Lichine labels but the practice is limited. I wonder why.
I have had the 75 which is a good wine. I suspect the 74 is long since dead being such a weaker vintage.
I am guessing that your mother is believing that ‘older is more valuble’ when it comes to wine, and is someday hoping to score a ton of money selling these. You can disabuse her of these notions, as the wine is mostly worthless, I would think.
The price is actually rather high. I got 1974 Haut Brion for less than that “back in the day.” I had a 1975 Lascombes at a Lascombes verticle about 3 years ago and it was my worst wine of the decade (Blueberry Bliss being classified as only near-wine). It was probably a bad bottle. I have had some good luck with 1974s, and then there are the bad bottles. I would turn it upright, let sit for while, open, let breath, then CAREFULLY decant to avoid sediment and drink immediately after decanting. Have a spit bucket nearby, but you never know.
A bunch of years ago a friend of mine said his father was getting rid of some wine and did I want a case of Margaux 74. I said that was very generous and the case showed up several weeks later. It was a case of 74 Prieure Lichine - a Margaux appellation wine. By the way the wine was pretty good.
Those kind of mistakes seems to happen all of the time with old wine. As for Prieure Lichine, I have never had the '74, but I have had the '75. When I turned twenty-one one of my father’s colleagues from England brought a bottle thinking it was my birth year. It was the summer of 1997 (my birth year was obviously 1976!). The wine was very interesting to my novice palate. I don’t remember any real specifics, and if I tried the memories would probably be flawed. Since, I have had a few more Prieure Lichines and have never one that I wanted to have again. I know they have recently brought on uber-consultant Stephane Derenoncourt, etc. but I can include these wines post-2000 in my “never wanted to have again” statement. Perhaps that '74 was the missing link!