Wine vintage chart 1940
1940 With such an old vintage, each bottle must be considered individually. The weather conditions in 1940 were significantly better than the year before. There was a little too much rain. The grapes took a long time to ripen. The vintage conditions are visible afterwards at the time of the harvest (at Château Haut Brion late 26.09.-05.10.1940)
But the famous 1er Grand Cru winery in particular shows how a wine can age: truffles and mushrooms for an elegant bouquet, tannins still present, which makes the wine short.
Weather in the year 1940
Good filling levels, good wine quality
Of course, the good condition of a wine from an old vintage depends on excellent storage. Above all, the wine must not have frequently changed cellars. Ideally, the wine will have rested in one and the same wine cellar.
But also the cork that sits in each individual bottle is very important. A perfect cork has few pores and keeps the wine stable. If an inferior cork happens to have been used in a bottle, the porous surface will begin to soak up wine and allow micro-quantities of the liquid to evaporate over the decades. Poor fill levels are the result.
A poor fill level therefore also indicates a high risk that the wine bottle could soon begin to leak.
The fill levels explained:
In the bottle neck (high fill to base neck) about 2 cm is perfect for wines.
Top and upper shoulder, ([very] top shoulder), approx. 3 cm is very good for very old wines.
Medium shoulder (mid shoulder), about 4 cm is only acceptable for rare top wines and in individual cases.
Everything below the red line should not be offered any more.