1945 in Bordeaux was one of the great vintages of the 20th Century, in many critics' mind passing the equally famous 1961.
The association with the end of the war gives added meaning to the wines; indeed a number of people involved with making earlier vintages didn't make it as far as 1945. More than 70 years later the wines are, unsurprisingly, scarce.
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As you will see below, prices for these wines vary wildly. Some shopping around on a global scale can pay dividends, though one would have to have absolute confidence in one's courier. The sort of customer for these wines will, no doubt, have the resources to deal with various tax and duty implications of shipping wine around the world. On the other hand, to have these kind of resources, one might not need to waste too much energy (of one's own or one's broker) sourcing a "bargain".
There may be many factors behind this variation. Apart from the profit margin aspirations of the vendor, the price they themselves paid for the stock, and the ability of a market to bear a certain figure, the buyer also has to be aware that the condition of bottles of this age can vary hugely.
Some apparent bargains turn out to be in a condition only suitable to be placed on a shelf as a collectable curiosity, or even empty bottles. Always check for ullage levels how much wine has been lost to evaporation. The condition of labels can make a huge difference to prices too. As for the authenticity of the bottle …
Only a few of the listings mentioned below are from auction houses, though some will be from broker listings of stock held by collectors or other sources.
Château Haut-Brion (14 global listings) Haut-Brion is the rarest of the five first growths on our database, which is likely to have some connection to its stellar reputation. Tasting notes from top critics such as Jancis Robinson (in 2013) and Antonio Galloni (2014) suggest that there may be several decades of life left in well-kept bottles. Both Robert Parker and Neal Martin rated this as a 100-point wine in The Wine Advocate.
The 14 listings are split fairly evenly across the US, Europe and the Far East, with single bottle prices (excluding sales tax) ranging from $1977 to $25,823 – the latter is something of an outlier, though, with the next most expensive being $8238.
When one is searching for bottles at this exalted level, restaurants may be the place to find a relative bargain. At the time of writing the best price for this wine can be found at a Paris restaurant, around $800 cheaper than the next-best listing. That leaves some budget for a decent steak.
Château Lafite (49 listings) In 2011, the singer Chris de Burgh, a collector of note, sold a dozen of the 1945 at auction through Christies of London (it realized £12,650), because he simply could not bear to break open the wooden case. I am unsure this would create a dilemma in my mind.
Single 75cl bottles of Lafite 1945 sell from $1263 to $11,126 on the retail market.
Château Latour (48 listings) As with other properties in the Médoc the crop size was curtailed by frost. The vineyard after the war had not been fertilized, there had been no replanting, and treatment for diseases had been lacking. The yield at the time was around 1500 to 2000 liters per hectare (around 160 to 210 gallons per acre), which resulted in 54 barrels.
Retail listings for Latour range from $1662 to US$13,328 for a 75cl bottle.
Château Margaux (24 listings) As with its Pauillac neighbours, after an early bud-break, severe frost on May 2 severely restricted the crop size. However from the start of summer until the harvest started on September 12, the growing conditions were close to perfect.
Ten of the 24 listings are from Hong Kong, with three each in France and the UK. Yachties can also find a bottle in Bermuda. Prices across the globe vary from $528 to $21,782 (as with other wines here the highest price is charged in Japan), or $4331 to $8943 for a magnum.
Château Mouton Rothshild (43 listings) Should Mouton be in this list? In 1945 it was only a Second Growth but, early on the wine was widely regarded as the greatest of the vintage, and in subsequent years fetched higher prices at auction (and a 100-point rating from Robert Parker). As such it proved a major weapon in Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s campaign to have his wine elevated to the top rank, which was finally achieved in 1973.
The vintage was certainly a poignant one for Baron Philippe. Called up to the French Air Force he was arrested by the Vichy regime while in Algeria and had his French citizenship revoked. Released by the Vichy in 1941, he joined the Free French forces of de Gualle, based in London. His estranged wife died at Ravensbrück concentration camp in March 1945 (the only Rothschild to die in the Holocaust), though his daughter Philippine had remained safe. The Baron returned to Bordeaux just in time to oversee the 1945 vintage, though damage inflicted by the departing German troops meant production was affected until the early 1950s.
Few of the 74,422 bottles, 1475 magnums and 24 jeroboams of 1945 are likely to remain. Prices for a single bottle range from $5767 to $40,357, though a case of six bottles is being offered for $227,028 in Australia, and a UK merchant is offering a collection of every Mouton from 1945 to 1999 with offers above £48,000 ($63,840) being considered.
