This is a magnum: a litre and a half, two bottles' worth under a single cork. The format matters more than most buyers realise. The same amount of air sits above twice the volume of wine, so a magnum ages more slowly and more evenly, and fifty-six-year-old claret in this size is usually in better shape than the identical wine in a standard bottle.
Fonplégade is a Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Émilion on the côtes south-west of the town, named after a medieval spring — fons plena aqua, the fountain of plenty — that still runs on the property. In 1970 it belonged to the Moueix family of Libourne, and the wine was Merlot-led, grown on limestone slopes in a year that gave Bordeaux both quantity and real quality after a run of poor harvests.
A magnum from a good vintage is about as sound a bet as old Bordeaux offers.
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Producer: Château Fonplégade
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Vintage: 1970
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Appellation: Saint-Émilion Grand Cru AOC
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Format: 150cl
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Region: Bordeaux, France
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Style: Red
Where it is likely to be now. 1970 was a proper vintage and the magnum format has slowed the ageing, so this should be mature and intact rather than frail.
Who it suits. A 56th birthday or anniversary, and the format makes it a table gift for a gathering rather than a bottle for two people.
Condition. Good label, and the wine is filled right up into the neck — the best level you will find on anything this old, and a strong sign the cork has never moved.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
