Chapter 94

“My God,” Joel said, “these are Chateaux Lafite Rothschild 1949. That was a legendary year, arguably one of the two or three best vintages of the twentieth century. No wonder it’s so good. However did you come by it?”

“My grandfather maintained a wine cellar in the basement of this house, as did his father before him. As I understand it, both of them bought a case of each of the first-growth Bordeaux wines every year, among other things. My grandfather died when I was very young, and my father wasn’t particularly interested in wine, so by the time he died, the cellar had just sat there for a long time. I became interested in fine wine when I was in college and spent a couple of summers inventorying the contents of the cellar. When I started practicing law, I continued the tradition of buying a case of each of the best Bordeaux wines every year, along with a few of my favorite Burgundies. Would you like to see it?”