1941

What we would buy, and why

This is the year to give up on the idea of a birth-year claret altogether; there is no honest way to sell you a good 1941 Bordeaux because very little of one was made. Spend the money in Gascony or Roussillon instead, where the year was distilled or fortified rather than fermented and left to fend for itself. Around 250-500 euro buys a bottle that will genuinely taste of something in 2026, and the balance is better spent on provenance than on a famous label with nothing behind it.

1941 in the world

Citizen Kane opened in New York in May, directed by a man who was still twenty-five, and Glenn Miller recorded Chattanooga Choo Choo in the same month. Neither had anything to do with Bordeaux, which is rather the point of 1941.

Best bets for 1941

• Bas-Armagnac 1941 from Laberdolive, Château de Ravignan or Delord — 280-500 euro
• Rivesaltes 1941 from Domaine de Rancy or Cazes — 150-300 euro, still tasting of walnut and orange peel
• A 1940s Tokaji Aszú from the old Hungarian state cellars — 200-400 euro, sweet enough to have outlasted the century
• A 1940s Madeira as the nearest honest match if no true 1941 turns up in good condition

How we grade a bottle

Fill level, label, capsule and cork, then provenance. Every bottle is checked by hand by people who have handled thousands of old bottles, and we write down the flaws as well as the good news. What the fill levels mean · How to choose a birth-year wine