Lynch Bages in the 1950s

[M Albert Bouffard]

I was recently talking to a friend of mine and he told me that when he was in medical school in the early 50s, he was a big fan of Bordeaux. At the time, plonk Medoc cost $1-2 dollars and you really had to splash out to buy a bottle of the good stuff. His favorite, Lynch Bages, ran him a hefty $5!

[Jeff Leve]

Lynch Bages made good wine in the 1950's up until 1961, when like many producers, they fell into a bad patch. I am not sure, but believe ir not, I think $5 was a lot of money for Lynch Bages in those days. I think 1961 First Growths were $10 or less. On average, my guess is, in the 50's, Lynch Bages should have been closer to $3!

About the only real benefit to growing older these days is, having a cellar with wines that by today's standards were bought at very low prices.

[M Albert Bouffard]

Incredible. $3. I always wondered what the release prices for the '45s must have been like, especially with the markets so bad in Germany and England. I'll be curious to see what happens now that the Chinese palate is expanding and seems to be shifting somewhat away from Bordeaux (at least per auction metrics). Alas, no pre-1995 prices I'm sure!!

[Jeff Leve]

Marc... Over time, you can expect prices for Bordeaux wine to rise. Burgundy is a small niche wine as far as collectible wine goes. Not much is made. Not many people want the wine. Bordeaux remains the standard for wine collectors all over the world. They make less wine in Bordeaux today than at any time in history, and more people want to buy the wine. Sooner or later, and I hope it is later, prices will go for the best wines.

[nicolemyner]

Lynch Bages is the wine that got us interested in Bordeaux. We visited there once and Jean-Michel Cazes came out to say hello.