1948

What we would buy, and why

1948 is the value year of the decade, ignored simply because of the two vintages either side of it. A classed growth with clean provenance runs 400-800 euro and will frequently outshow a tired 1947 at three times the money, which makes it the thinking buyer's choice for a 78th birthday. If the budget allows a showpiece, Taylor's 1948 is the bottle: expensive, extremely long-lived and nowhere near finished.

1948 in the world

Columbia put the first long-playing record on sale in June, so a whole side of music could run without anyone getting up to change it. A month later London held the austerity Olympics, with athletes bringing their own rations.

Best bets for 1948

• Taylor's 1948 Vintage Port — 1,200-2,500 euro, and worth it
• A 1948 classed growth from Saint-Julien or Saint-Estèphe — 400-800 euro
• 1948 Sauternes — 500-900 euro
• Bas-Armagnac 1948 — 300-550 euro

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