1945 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura Rouge

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  1/20/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (ROUGE Bourdy Cotes de Jura) 1945 Dear Friends, I was going to wait until March to offer this rare pair of wines but somehow their incredible promise seemed appropriate today (we've offered a lot of Bourdy lately but...) These are two of the most historic bottles of original cellar material that remain in Europe - bottled to remember the armistice of WWII and the liberation of France by the United States. The Bourdy family had the foresight to put every ounce of effort they had into the 1945 (a great vintage throughout most of France) as they knew one day the hope and glory of the American ideal would once again liberate those fortunate enough to open a bottle. In the ecstasy of the time, the bottles were crafted like Jura time machines with each liquid message in a bottle sealed to someday unleash new dreams to be realized (vinous or not). Today seems to be the right day to extend the welcome hand of this parcel of remaining bottles to those of you that wish to place them in your cellar. Each bottle personified the hope of the Bourdy family at a time as uncertain as our own. Both 1945 examples have received exemplary praise from experts, collectors, auction houses and other - they are simply as profound (on a provenance level) as exists in the world of wine - never moved from the cellar with original labels intact. This set is from the exact same stock as the wine tasted at the dinner last month. Here is an original quote penned during the 1945 vintage from Jean-Francois Bourdy's grandfather, scribbled in a vineyard ledger: "February 13, I am about to start pruning in the parcel called Chaumelles, when I startled two beautiful partridges...later, the victory arrives at the same time as a drought which will be long remembered. My two partridges have been busy this summer and it is now an entire family of them which is eating in the vineyards. Early harvest, superb, it is the wine of the Victory!" 1945 Caves Bourdy Cotes de Jura Rouge Some would put this right up there with the finest red wines produced in Burgundy or the Jura in the decade of the 1940s. Unlike the 1955, this vintage has a preponderance of Pinot Noir so the magic of the varietal is in full force. From vines nearly 50 years of age when this was bottled, sommelier friends of mine in Paris would rank this as one of the top five Pinot Noir based wines of the French era from 1900-1950 - incredible praise indeed considering I consumed an ethereal magnum of 1945 Comte de Vogue Musigny with three of them last year. This original cellar stock is a blend of Pinot Noir, Poulsard and Trousseau - only a few dozen bottles remain of this special 1945 slice of history. Considering the tarrif is less than a bottle of current release 2005 Dujac "Gruenchers" puts into perspective how underpriced this is relative to its rarity. EXTREMELY LIMITED 1945 Caves Bourdy "Chateau-Chalon" (traditional clavelin) This 100% Savagnin is such an anomaly that its appearance has become somewhat mythical in collector wine circles - the only remaining bottles (with known provenance) are in the possession of the Bourdy family and one of them is in the museum. Beware counterfeit bottles of the WWII bottle with the wrong label (a 1950's label instead of the correct 1945). If I owned a bottle (I do not) I'd almost be afraid to unleash its magic now as it will certainly last for another 50 years and, while some give jewelry to their heirs, I would give this: a symbol of wine, history and celebration that cannot be replicated. EXTREMELY LIMITED. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA SOFR9390 SOFR9380