Bordeaux campaign, vintage 1934

June 19th, 2008 | Category: Wine News

At Fortnum & Mason today to taste a few sherries with wine buyer Tim French. Tim produced an old Fortnum’s wine list from 1938, which made brilliant reading.

‘It’s amazing how tight the range was in those days’, he remarked. There’s a big section on Champagne, a page of Port from the wood, a page of Vintage Port, lots of Madeira, more than a page of sherry, thereupon

large sections on Bordeaux, Burgundy, Hock and Mosel.

The rest of France has a small section, and next there’s a fascinating - whether brief - list of ‘Empire wines’ (see below). It was fascinating plus to see the Bordeaux section, including the 1934 campaign that includes both merchant-bottled and Chateau-bottled releases. How the wine world has changed.