1947 Château Cheval Blanc;
Vandermeulen bottling. Very top shoulder, deep ruby with brick rim. Ripe fruit, slightly volatile, roses, black- and blueberries, fresh acidity and ripe but gripping tannins. Chocolate, minerals and a touch of green peppers, later on violets, ok length. 85
This does not sound anything like the wine's normal description. Cork was way to young, nothing printed on it, and was not possible to get back in the bottle. Looked like it had been soaked in wine and put in with simple old cork machine. It had a square mark on the top while in the bottle. I do not know if the label would be correct for Vandermeulen.
Maybe the label is no fake, but the bottle is a industriel fromed bottle from the 60th and the kork ist no vandermeulen kork. So, this bottle is a simple fake.
ReplyDeleteBest regards
Uwe Bende
bende(at)weinforum-ruhrgebiet.de
This was our conclusion as well. Interesting that you could see this from the bottle, when the auction house could not. (but they have returned the money for the bottle)
ReplyDeleteHello Christer,
ReplyDeleteBy coincidence i found your very interesting blog page about wines (also old wines).
I saw you decided that the cheval blanc 1947 VDM was fake. Do you have an idea how a cork looks like from a REAL bottle Vandermeulen such as Petrus, Yquem, Cheval Blanc and other ?
Is there a year stamped in the cork. How other can we decide whether or not a Vandermeulen wine is real or fake ?
Thanks for you answer.
DS
High
ReplyDeleteThis bottle has been determined to be a fake by experts by the wrong colour on the foil, it should have been a darker red. A cork of 60+ years should be loosing or not have any elasticity left, more soaked, foil should always be tight, not like this bottle were it was signs of being put on without heat to shrink it, leaving many bulges in the foil.
How the corks would be stamped I'm not sure of, but the cork needs to be old. This cork could not have been in the bottle for even a year, it was as wide as a Champagne cork, impossible to get back in.
Some have noted that the Vandermeulen logo on this label might be a shade to light in color as well.
Christer