3-034-685 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Vintage in Médoc: the vineyards of Chateau Lafitte, 1871. 'The French wines exported from Bordeaux, which are called in England "claret," a name that has lately been extended, by those who know not the difference, to the wines of Burgundy and other districts, are justly esteemed among the wholesomest and pleasantest varieties..Their rare odour and rich colour, as well as their fine taste, the softness and coolness of their impression on the palate, their sedate easiness in the stomach,...and their friendliness to the brain, make them of all alcoholic drinks the most agreeable to temperate men...The best kinds are produced in Médoc...The vineyards [here] are situated along a narrow strip of raised ground which runs along the bank of the river...The gravelly soil of this vine-growing bank is composed of the detritus of the Pyrenean rocks, brought down in former ages by the streams which flow from those mountains into the Garonne river...The spaces between the vine-rows are ploughed with an ox-plough four times in the season, care being taken not to tread on the plants. A vine will..continue productive for a hundred years...The vineyards whose produce is most highly esteemed are those of Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafitte, and Chateau Latour'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.