Cassell's dictionary of cookery

The three first-class clarets are undoubtedly Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafitte, and Chateau Latour. These wines are generally very expensive — any good years fetching about 84s. a dozen when almost new wines. Indeed, the Chateau Margaux and Lafitte of 1870 is nearly £5 a dozen. Now and then, when the year has been bad, these wines, even genuine, can be obtained very cheap. For instance. Chateau Lafitte for 1872 can be got for about 54s. to 60s..^a dozen, but then it is quite a difierent class of wine to say 1874 or 1870, both of which are famous years. Chateau La Rose and Chateau Leoville are also good wines, though not equal to those we have mentioned. Good Chateau La Rose, however, will vie with an}- wine in respect to bouquet, possessing as it does that delicate scent corresponding to fresh-blown roses, which indeed gives it its name. In selecting claret great attention should be paid to the bouquet of the wine — indeed many judges of wine would be able to select by the smell alone, without tasting. In choosing claret, however, especially the cheaper kinds, purchasers should be on their guard against being deceived by the bouquet. Very often claret is, we Avill not say adulterated, but mixed with a small quantity of Burgundy, the latter being added to give it a bouquet. Thus a very inferior and poor claret is passed off as something superior. Experience alone will enable the taster to decide what is Burgundied claret and what is pure. The Burgundy generally used to mix with claret is Beaune, which is a splendid wine possessing a very marked bouquet. Those familiar with the flavour of Beaune will be better able to distinguish claret that has had Beaune added to it. In choosing claret very much depends, not merely on the particular name or brand, but on the year, and also on the time, and by whom it was bottled. Of course, out of the thousands of hogsheads of claret that are imported it would be folly to expect that all would be perfectly pure vintage wines. Some persons prefer a full-bodied claret, and some a thin light wine — this is, of course, a matter of taste, but in selecting thin clarets it is essential that they should be perfectly free from acidity. An acid claret is never good. It has been stated lately that an injurious colouring matter has been used to improve the appearance of clarets : I am, however, disposed to think that these statements are exaggerations. At any rate, there is never any difficulty in obtaining a pure wholesome claret from any wine merchant. Some few years ago, at the time when the new commercial treaty with France PRINCIPLES OF CLARET.