Hi there,

Michael Broadbent gives the following tasting note for the 1961
Haut-Batailley (which is what your wine sounds like):
'Almost exaggerated Pauillac blackcurrant fragrance, crisp, silky, delicious
(4 stars of 5)
Similar wines are graded as dirnking well now (eg Lynch Bages)

Lucky you - 1961 is a fabled vintage. Enjoy soon with good freinds and
excellent food!
Johnners

ps the reference to Grants of St James is the bottlers - whilst nowadays
wine comes bottled from the chateau, in those days it would come in cask and
be bottled by the merchant, in this case, Grants, a well known English
merchant. This can lead to substantial bottle variation in these wines,
which is less in evidence now that they are chateau bottled. So I recommend
decanting the wine and serving it without too much ceremony in case you have
a duff bottle, and only let on what it is if the assembled crowd give good
report! And have a spare to hand!

"Lenmeister" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hi,
> I'm hoping to get some info on a vintage bottle that a recently
deceased
> relative has been keeping. it's got the following written on the label:
>
> grants of St.James ltd
> Grand cru classe
> 1961
> chateau haut-batailley pauillac
> appellation pauillac controlee
> mis en boutaille au chateau
> Francis Borie propretaire
>
> Sorry to be so vague, but I have no idea about these things, I just
> figure that as it's been kept this long there must be some reason to have
> done so....
>
> Thanks in advance,
> L.
>
>