Victoria Bull from our Buying team has the pleasure of sourcing bottles from private collections – many of them astonishingly old. Uncorking them is a special moment, a delicate operation accompanied by bated breath and crossed fingers. But in the case of this 1945 vintage from Château Rauzan-Ségla, it was well worth the effort.
How many people does it take to open a bottle of wine? Well, when the bottle in question is a Berry Bros. & Rudd bottling of a 1945 Château Rauzan-Ségla, from Margaux, there needed to be no fewer than four of us to oversee the operation. One colleague to dutifully provide his Durand – a sleek and efficient bottle-opening device that combines the prongs of the butler’s thief, and the helix of a traditional corkscrew – another colleague to employ said device, and two more of us to look on with bated breath and sweaty palms. The Durand worked its magic, and all at one with the Rauzan-Ségla, we breathed a sigh of relief. With the bottle unlocked, we could assess the liquid within.
It is a rare occasion when one needs to summon the Durand. It suggests that an especially mature bottle of wine is about to be opened; and a ritual, undertaken with reverence, ensues. Similar to unwrapping a present or placing a small bet on an outside horse; actions of unknown promise, where there is opportunity for disappointment, or great reward.
The 1945 Rauzan-Ségla was a particularly significant bottle. Now
This Article was originally published on Barry's Wine Blog
