1971 La Louviere

The 1971 La Louvière is one of those old Clarets that has no airs or graces. A modest château from a modest vintage that just wants to give pleasure. So it does. Still clear in color with commensurate bricking on the rim, it has a delightful, earthy, tobacco-scented bouquet that might be just a little diffuse, yet does not shortchange in terms of vigour. The palate is straight-forward but balanced, the tannin soft after forty-whatever years with vestiges of red berry fruit mingling with tobacco and sage. It tapers a little towards the finish but who cares when such an unprepossessing wine gives so much drinking pleasure. Tasted at a private dinner in Roppongi, Tokyo.