1949 Wine and Port Vintage

Vintage Summary and Recommendations: The 1949 vintage closed out the decade on a high in several classic regions. Weather conditions across much of Europe were generally favourable, with a healthy growing season and good ripening, even if producers were still working with limited post-war equipment and resources. The best wines combine ripe fruit with balance and freshness, and many have proved surprisingly long-lived where they have been well stored.

In Bordeaux, 1949 is widely regarded as one of the finest vintages of the 1940s, often ranked just behind 1945 and 1947. The top châteaux produced wines of depth, perfume and elegance, with enough structure to age gracefully for decades. Some bottles are still capable of real complexity today, though provenance is critical. In the Douro, 1949 was not as universally celebrated as 1945 or 1948, but several houses produced excellent Vintage Ports with sweetness, grip and harmony, many of which have evolved beautifully in bottle.

Across Italy, the picture was mixed but encouraging. Piedmont performed well, with Barolo and Barbaresco showing structure, savoury complexity and longevity, while Tuscany delivered some attractive but more variable wines. Overall, 1949 is a vintage of genuine interest and, at its best, real class. With impeccable storage, a bottle from 1949 carries wonderful historical resonance and can make a thoughtful gift for an 77th birthday or anniversary, offering both rarity and the chance to experience a wine from a truly distinguished year.
 
This Year in History: Fun Fact: Laurence Olivier's film Hamlet (1948) becomes the first British film to win a 'Best Picture' Oscar.
Top Grossing Movie: Samson and Delilah
 
Bordeaux: The finest 1949 wines are still in full blossom, displaying remarkable richness and concentration. This is one of the quartet of remarkable vintages of the late 1940's - '45, '47, '48 and '49. Renowned wine critic Robert Parker states that this is the greatest of the four vintages possessing greater balance, harmony, and fruit than the 1945's and more complexity than the 1948's. In short the wines are magnificent!
 
Italian: 1949 wine exhibits a good vintage for most of the Italian regions. The long-lived Barolos are still drinking well today.
 
Portugal: A poor year for the Oporto ports.

3 products found.

Chateau Haut Brion, 1949

Pessac-Leognan First Growth Classification
Level low shoulder - good but bin soiled label

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Château Haut-Brion’s vineyard is located in the commune of Pessac, just a few miles southwest of Bordeaux’s city center. It belongs to the Pessac-Léognan appellation, to the north of the Graves wine-growing region. Château Haut-Brion is the only wine to be both First Growth from the 1855 classification and Classified Growth of the Graves.
Approximately 2,000 years ago, the virtues of these tiny quartz pebbles known as “gravels” were discovered. The earliest written mention of a wine that was specifically identified as being produced from these soils can be traced back to 1521.
When he purchased Château Haut-Brion in 1935, Clarence Dillon restored it to its former glory and to the elite circle of the most legendary wines in the world. …
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Price: £795.00
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Salento, 1949

Rosso Bianco, Ruffino, Puglia
Sweet White fortified wine

Salento is in the region of Puglia on the heel of Italy. The Ruffino is a fortified wine made predominantly from the primitivo grape. The wine has a liquorice and spice bouquet, a medium body and a long alcoholic finish.
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Price: £349.00
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Chateau Batailley, 1949

Pauillac 5th Growth Classification
Half Bottle

The 1949 Château Batailley hails from a vintage celebrated for producing some of Bordeaux's most enduring and elegant wines. Located in the Pauillac appellation, Château Batailley is a fifth-growth estate renowned for its robust and age-worthy clarets. The 1949 vintage, in particular, has been noted for its exceptional quality, often compared to the legendary 1945 and 1947 vintages.​

Tasting notes from well-preserved bottles of the 1949 Château Batailley reveal a wine of remarkable complexity and depth. A vertical tasting of Château Batailley, which included the 1949 vintage, described it as having "a lovely nose, with notes of tea, earth, and a touch of leather. …
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Price: £289.00
Stock: Out of Stock

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