JJ Buckley Fine Wines Blog

A recent tasting of wines from the Pessac-Leognan estate of Chateau Latour-Martillac revealed some unexpected surprises.

The first growths are designated so because they are considered to have the best terroirs in the Haut-Medoc. But what happens in the more difficult years? Do the supposedly superior terroirs actually allow the first growths to produce wines better than their neighbors?

En primeur week is approaching the halfway point today and it is around this time when initial impressions turn into comfortable assumptions. Us wine professionals are always searching for threads and themes that we can weave together into a story that might interest our readers.

Here in Bordeaux, two words inspire more reverence than any others: First Growth. Thanks to the 1855 classification system, there are only five First Growths (Lafite, Latour, Haut Brion, and Margaux, with Mouton added to the group in 1973), and they are widely considered to produce the finest wines from the Left Bank.

A handful of truly mythical numbers for Bordeaux lovers—1945, 1959, 1982, and, possibly most of all, 1961—are widely considered the greatest vintages of all time. These are legendary years that all Bordeaux lovers know but few have actually had the opportunity to experience. I’d certainly never had the chance to taste any of them…until recently.