La Mission Haut-Brion 1949 75cl

Among all the wines in the Rodenstock tasting, the 1949 La Mission-Haut-Brion proved to be the most controversial. It had been recorked with what appeared to be an authentic cork, and the label was a faithful representation. However, the wine tasted similar to a cheap Chilean Merlot. Darkly-colored, soft and fruity, but one-dimensional and monolithic, despite the authenticity of the bottle and the cork, this could not have been the 1949 La Mission-Haut-Brion. I have had the 1949 La Mission numerous times, consistently rating it between the mid-nineties to 100. This magnum tasted suspicious, to put it diplomatically. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series II - Flight C of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.