1953

1953 saw the growth of the buy now pay later mentality with car makers leading the way by allowing longer and longer periods to pay for your new car. Queen Elizabeth II crowned queen of England. The unions gained strength with more and more workers belonging to unions, with wage and price controls ended and unemployment at 2.9% the increases in standard of living continued to grow and appear to have no boundaries. A teachers average salary was...

The 1953 became the first top vintage of the 1950s. The year turned out to be excellent, even if the heavy rains in September threatened to destroy a good year. The hot, dry summer was capped by a perfect August. The mercury exceeded 30°C for more than half of the days in August. Fortunately, rains in mid-September gave way to ideal harvest conditions in early October. The best wines of this vintage are united by their elegance, delicacy and temperance. They should ideally be decanted for two hours before drinking. The vintage received praise particularly in the Médoc, which produced the best wines of the entire vintage. One of the most famous of them is Château Lafite-Rothschild. Many consider him to be the best Lafite-Rothschild of the entire 20th century. Although Graves and Sauternes also produced high-level wines, Pomerol and Saint-Émilion today offer just as many exceptional creatures, with the crème de la crème being Cheval Blanc and Lafleur.

By Tb

Bordeaux Vintage Report by Château Margaux: 1953 is one of the greatest vintages of Château Margaux; It expresses, in any case, in a particularly perfect way, the genius of its terroir. The wine displays both an incomparable level of finesse and subtlety and a richness that allows it to remain incredibly fresh today. The bouquet of this wine is close to perfection. The nose of undergrowth blends with aromas of flowers, red fruits and leather, in an overall impression of extraordinary and moving delicacy. In the mouth, we feel a measured and restrained power, which has developed over the years, to give a supreme form of sweetness and tenderness. The finish begins to dry slightly. Maybe we should think about drinking this magnificent wine... (May 2010)

Weather report
The fantastic month of August, really very hot and dry, decided the privileged destiny of this vintage. September was normal, and it rained a little during the harvest, but it was too late to affect the quality of the grapes, which were already ripe and concentrated. (Pick-up started on September 26)

Rhône Vintage Report by Jaboulet: The total harvest of the Côtes du Rhône wines is 362,691 Hl.
In the northern most part, the grape harvests began on the 21st. September and finished on the 8th. October.
It is a very good vintage, produced from a rather small crop.
 

The rare bottles of HERMITAGE “La Chapelle” that can still be found, give a wine which is ready to drink and of great class, with notes of humus and truffle; a real delight to accompany a woodcock.