1 bottle per lot
Details
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF DR. CHARLES AND MRS. CAROLYN BEAIRD
Dr. Beaird began his collecting in the 1970's with a quest to acquire all of the 1961 Bordeaux from the 1855 Medoc Classification. With a keen eye towards buying wines through the proper channels, many were purchased from New York City retailers. Though not every '61 bottle was acquired and some were consumed, many of the bottles remain for sale today. Bottles such as the 1961 La Mission, Latour, Trotanoy, Ausone and even less growths like the Lagrange or Boyd Cantenac all provide excellent sources of study and collectability.
In his enthusiasm to study the wine regions, Dr. Beaird was known to host a two week barge trip through Burgundy and also toured the region by helicopter. He also joined the Chevaliers de Tastevin and actively participated in several local wine societies. His thirst for wine knowledge continued years after the wine bug hit him, for he eventually put Robert Parker's tasting notes on his cell phone PDA to track reviews.
A fellow wine enthusiast described Dr. Beaird as one who enjoyed not only the "collecting" but also the serving and enjoyment of the wine. At his famous Millennium New Year's Eve party, he served bottles of all the first growth 1982 Bordeaux plus the heralded '82 Petrus, while he filled the swimming pool with floats containing the1990 Dom Perignon on ice with champagne flutes.
As a wine collector, Dr. Beaird was studious, passionate and even outrageous. He will be remembered not only as a lover of wine, but also as a father, a successful entrepreneur and a kind and generous soul. Proceeds from the sale of the estate will benefit The Beaird Foundation.
Removed from temperature-controlled wine storage by Christie's wine specialists
Dini V. Rao
Vintage 1961 *****
A great vintage often compared to the 1945 for the two have several things in common. First of all, nature did the pruning: frosts severely reducing the potential crop in 1945 and a heavy rain washing away the pollen in 1961. Though there was persistent rain in July, there was a drought in August, followed by a very sunny September, which resulted in a harvest of small, thick-skinned, well-nourished grapes in turn producing deeply coloured, ripe but concentrated and tannic wines.
Michael Broadbent, Vintage Wine
Château Latour--Vintage 1961
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Level: upper/mid shoulder; bin soiled label
"Of the eight recent notes, its depth of colour is the first thing one notices, and its nose, rather like Lafite's is a bit slow to open up, Suprisingly sweet too yet a very tannic finish (at Aschau in 1994). In 1997, a corky, woody bottle at a Saintbury Club dinner. It was helped along by the cheese souffle. At the La Réserve tasting, despite its extraordinary sweet, nose-filling bouquet, a mammoth wine, all the component parts excessively represented. Most recently, a superb bottle at Josh Latner's dinner. Last tasted Jan 2000 ****(**) Another half century of life." MB, Vintage Wine
1 bottle per lot
Dr. Beaird began his collecting in the 1970's with a quest to acquire all of the 1961 Bordeaux from the 1855 Medoc Classification. With a keen eye towards buying wines through the proper channels, many were purchased from New York City retailers. Though not every '61 bottle was acquired and some were consumed, many of the bottles remain for sale today. Bottles such as the 1961 La Mission, Latour, Trotanoy, Ausone and even less growths like the Lagrange or Boyd Cantenac all provide excellent sources of study and collectability.
In his enthusiasm to study the wine regions, Dr. Beaird was known to host a two week barge trip through Burgundy and also toured the region by helicopter. He also joined the Chevaliers de Tastevin and actively participated in several local wine societies. His thirst for wine knowledge continued years after the wine bug hit him, for he eventually put Robert Parker's tasting notes on his cell phone PDA to track reviews.
A fellow wine enthusiast described Dr. Beaird as one who enjoyed not only the "collecting" but also the serving and enjoyment of the wine. At his famous Millennium New Year's Eve party, he served bottles of all the first growth 1982 Bordeaux plus the heralded '82 Petrus, while he filled the swimming pool with floats containing the1990 Dom Perignon on ice with champagne flutes.
As a wine collector, Dr. Beaird was studious, passionate and even outrageous. He will be remembered not only as a lover of wine, but also as a father, a successful entrepreneur and a kind and generous soul. Proceeds from the sale of the estate will benefit The Beaird Foundation.
Removed from temperature-controlled wine storage by Christie's wine specialists
Dini V. Rao
Vintage 1961 *****
A great vintage often compared to the 1945 for the two have several things in common. First of all, nature did the pruning: frosts severely reducing the potential crop in 1945 and a heavy rain washing away the pollen in 1961. Though there was persistent rain in July, there was a drought in August, followed by a very sunny September, which resulted in a harvest of small, thick-skinned, well-nourished grapes in turn producing deeply coloured, ripe but concentrated and tannic wines.
Michael Broadbent, Vintage Wine
Château Latour--Vintage 1961
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Level: upper/mid shoulder; bin soiled label
"Of the eight recent notes, its depth of colour is the first thing one notices, and its nose, rather like Lafite's is a bit slow to open up, Suprisingly sweet too yet a very tannic finish (at Aschau in 1994). In 1997, a corky, woody bottle at a Saintbury Club dinner. It was helped along by the cheese souffle. At the La Réserve tasting, despite its extraordinary sweet, nose-filling bouquet, a mammoth wine, all the component parts excessively represented. Most recently, a superb bottle at Josh Latner's dinner. Last tasted Jan 2000 ****(**) Another half century of life." MB, Vintage Wine
1 bottle per lot