1949 Bordeaux Wine Vintage Report and Buying Guide

1949 Bordeaux Wine Vintage Summary with harvest information, vintage characteristics, buying tips and links. If you are seeking more in-depth information on anything and everything related to the Bordeaux wine region please see the: All About Bordeaux Wine Guide

1949 Bordeaux is another great vintage following the end of World War 2. 1949 Bordeaux wine was produced from driest vintage since 1893. The 1949 Bordeaux wine vintage was shaped by unusual weather patterns. Unusual weather happens more often not. January and February were completely dry months.  Flowering took place under cold, rainy conditions, which reduced the size of the crop.  July brought a blast of heat and the harvest was conducted under warm, sunny skies. July was dry. Temperatures soared to 98 degrees, July 11. Average temperatures for the month reached a warm 73 degrees. Nights were cool at 46 degrees. August was slightly cooler with a high of 94 degrees at the end of the month, August 31. September continued the trend of warm, sunny days, no rain and high temperatures that hit 97 degrees, September 4. The Bordeaux harvest of 1949 officially started September 27.
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1949 Bordeaux wine was the final year in an unequaled quartet of famous post war vintages. That quarter of successful vintages was perhaps unequaled until either the decade of the 2000’s! 1949 Bordeaux wine seems marked by more acidity than the previous 3 years. 1949 Cheval Blanc remains one of the best mature wines I’ve ever experienced from this seldom tasted, Bordeaux vintage. The 1949 Bordeaux wines from Pomerol also performed well. Chateau L’Eglise Clinet, Chateau Lafleur, Petrus, Chateau La Conseillante, are all worth considering. The neighbors of Cheval Blanc also produced good wine, Chateau L’Evangile and Chateau Figeac were very successful. The three wines from the top of the 1949 Bordeaux pyramid, Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau La Mission Haut Brion and Chateau La Tour Haut Brion, along with Chateau Latour and Chateau Mouton Rothschild can still offer pleasure today, if the bottles were well stored.
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To read about other Bordeaux vintages from 1945 to today: Bordeaux Year to Year Detailed Vintage Reports & Guide 1945 to Today