Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-09-01
French Vines and Winez

DIES Wins de France" The author ia MI
| Bertall, and the book is well described in
sub title as "a physiological, anecdotal
historical, humorous, and somewhat scien.
tific study" The volume is an indispen.
sable one for a connoiseur in wines. and
is full of Interesting information concern
brands of wine about which little be
yond their names Is known in this coun
try.
French wines may be divided into three
| classes-white wines, blue wines aud red
wines. The white wines may be called
the wines of luxury, the red wines the na-
tional wines of the country, and the blue
wines those of the poor. Some of the de-
tails about the more expensive wines are
not the less interesting from the fact that
| these wines rarely get to this country,
but are represented by more or less clever
counterfeits. The finest of the Bordeaux
wine is that from the Chateau Laftte es.
tate, property bought by the Rotschilds
| in 1868 st the Death Of the Count Ou-
chatel. In ten years the profits on the
wines il produced returned the entire pur.
chase money to the R)thschilds. The
wines vary considerably in excellence and
value from year to year. After the sale in
1858 there was an auction in the cellars
of all the accumulated stock. The stock
Of Comet" wine, 50 called because it
was produced in 1S11-th year of the
great comet-was sold at $24 q bottle.
The variations in value are shown by the
sale of the stock of 1868 at 81 20 bottle,
and that of 1864 at $3.50 bottle. The
quantities were small no one was allowed
10 taste the wine before buying. All the
celebrated restaurants of France and the
great connoisseurs of wine were present.
r1t,,
smallest number of bottles left from any
one year being nine for 1907, which sold
for So 40 bottle, and the largest mum Der
2S3 Of the year 1859, each bottle selling
also for So 40 Thirty FIVE bottles of the
year 1916 orough Sc q bottle; thirty-three
bottles of 1923 brought just double-$12 a
bottle; 1913 bottles of 1S4S brought $l3
apiece, and the wine of 1884 sold for $14
bottle.
The Chateau Lst1tte is not en- imposing
pile; ii dates from the sixteenth century,
with many additions more or less orna-
mental. AT the beginning of the French
revolution the chateau belonged to one
Pichard, whose head was cut off and
whose property was cOnfscated and sold
to Dutch company, who in turn sold it
to certain Vaulerberghe. In 1869 it was
announced that the heirs of Vaulerberghe
would sell the property at auction. Roths-
child, who had long been anxious to own
some renowned vineyard, determined to
buy it. The Bordeaux people were jeal-
GUS of foreigners owning their most pre-
cious jewel, and syndicate was formed
to bid for Chateau Lafitte. But the old
Baron James de Ro;hschild himself, he
who possessed an income amounting to
nearly $100,000,000 a year, outbid the
nd fol toto nd ~
for al out $1,000,000 1t was an excellent
investment. 1t has earned in the last ten
years from 100000 to $250,000 year
The sale Of the wine OF 1875 brought
more than 100000. The expense attach.
ed to working the property does not ex-
coed $4,000 year. So far, the phylloxera
has not been seen at Laf1tte.
To gather the grapes at Lafitte three
b lndred men and women go from the
neighboring country and from Bordeaux
every year and remain on the estate for
| ten days. They GO to "pass q week with
Rothschild," as they say. Women and
children carry on their backs the baskets
into which they throw the grapes Men
with deep hand carts receive these bas-
kets when they are full, and the grapes
reach the press room half an hour after
they are picked Men and women get In
enormous vats and dance upon the pile of
| of grapes with their naked feet This has
| been the custom from time immemorial.
| Machinery has been tried as cheaper and
| cleaner, but it was found that the ma
chlnery crushed the grape seeds, which
gave sharp taste to the wine. AS soon
as fermented the wine is bottled and put
into the fine cellars belonging to the cha
teau. First, the Rothschilds take what
| thou want and then wh ar ram 10 oo16
to one merchant of Bordeaux, whose Gus.
toners are French and English noblemen.
| All the Chateau l. .ftte wine, so called, to
| be found in restaurants, and for sale by
wine merchants, is spurious, although a
| good deal Ce 1t probably comes from the
same neighborhood. As al illustration OF
| the extent to which C unterfeit Lafitte
| goes about the world, it is said that one
| day the Baron Haussmann, who prided
himself upon his judgment of wine, in.
vited Rothschild to dinner and treated
him to some wine which many supposed
to be Chateau LATTE. Rothschild tasted
it and said, pouring it into larger glass
and mixing it with water. "Putsque tn
mas tronspe je Uaas tie tr0mper a mon tour.''
The words ''deceivr" and "drench" are
nearly the same in French and are identi.
Cal in pronunciation. A liberal transla
ton reads: "I'll drench you for deceiving
me-" but, of course, the play upon the
words is lost in the translation.
The most celebrated of the Burgundy
wines is the Clos-Vougeot, from the estate
of the same name near Dion, town Gel.
ebrated for its mustard About the year
100, Hughes LIE Blanc made present OF
the ground on which now stands the
chateau to the monks Of Citeaux. III
1164, the Pope Alexander Ill was exceed
ingly tickled by the wine from Clos
Vougeot and took the property, and par
ticularly the cellars, under his protection
In 1867, the monks built their present
chateau and made the most of their pre-
cious wine. The abbate sent thirty casks
of Clos-Vougeot to Pope Gregory XL and
got cardinals hat for them The mopks
kept the property until the revolution
when it was confscated and sold in 1871
to M. Focard, Paris capitalist, fol
1924. 900. About three hundred casks OF
wine is all that the vineyards produce
L IL Al.