I’ve come to depend on my Facebook friends on the Columbo-TV page for providing me tidbits of information that have relevance to the TV series ‘Columbo’, as well as inspiring some of my theories of relateeveety for various characters from the show.
We run the theories of relateeveety on Thursdays, and the previous weekly entry is usually Wiki Tiki Wednesday. That’s when we’re probably going to bore you with more than you needed to know about some arcane TV topic.
For today’s Wiki Tiki Wednesday, Your Toobmeister tips his top to Yves for getting me started with today’s entry:
'COLUMBO'
"ANY OLD PORT IN A STORM"
From Yves:
A little correction in wine history, related to what Columbo's referring at, in that picture. Carsini is throwing inferior wines (as he knows it is false) to the sea, and Columbo to reply: "You called a Chateau Dassault 1938 inferior"?The problem is, Marcel Dassault bought the vinyard in St-Émilion in 1955 only. Actually his name was Marcel Bloch until he changed it in 1949. So a Chateau Dassault in 1938 did not exist. That was just a fun fact to research....
Thank you for getting the ball rolling on this topic, Yves! (And thanks for getting this screencap!)
Lt. Columbo:
They were all ruined, weren't they?
Adrian Carsini:
Well, these are just some inferior wines I was trying to-#
Columbo:
Chateau d'lssan, 1938? Inferior?
Carsini:
Well, a great label doesn't always denote a great wine.
I got that from the Springfield! Springfield! site for episode scripts.
So, my Columbo-TV friend Yves may have misheard the name. But with loyalty to the FB group, at first I thought perhaps the transcriber was in error – however, there is a Chateau d’Issan and at least with their Margaux there was a 1938 vintage.
Citing Occam’s Razor, I’m going to side with the simple splainin that Columbo actually had said “Chateau d’Issan ‘38”. Much easier than trying to come up with a TV splainin for a bottle of wine that traveled back in Time.
From Wikipedia:
Château d'Issan is a castle and winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The winery is under the proprietorship of Emmanuel Cruse, of the Cruse family. In February 2013, 50% of the estate was purchased by Jacky Lorenzetti, who also owns Château Pédesclaux in Pauillac & Chateau Lilian Ladouys in Saint-Estèphe.
Château d'Issan is a 3rd Grand Cru Classé in the imperial classification of 1855 . The wine comes from the old vineyards of the Château d'Issan enclosure, located in the heart of the Margaux Appellation. The terroir is mainly composed of gravel on the surface and deep clay offering optimal ripeness and freshness of our two grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Expressing the exquisite bouquet typical of the Margaux region, it is distinguished by its flexibility, finesse, elegance and longevity specific to its unique terroir. Château d'Issan is aged in barrels for 16 to 18 months, 50% of which is new wood. Its annual production is around 100,000 bottles.
The vintages listed above are available.
Chateau d'Issan 1938 was last available in June 2017, with an average price of $563 USD
There are records of wine being produced at Château d'Issan since the 12th century: it was served at the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet in 1152. From this event, the château has its motto written in Latin on the label: Regum mensis aris que deorum (For the table of kings and the gods’ altar). In the 16th century, the Chevalier d'Essenault, a member of the Bordeaux parliament, knocked down the old building and built the current château. The château's name, Issan, is a contraction of Essenault. The property was classified as a Margaux third growth in 1855.
The Cruse family became the owners in 1945. The property has been managed by Emmanuel Cruse since 1998. In 2008 he was made the Grand Master of the Commanderie du Bontemps of Médoc, Graves, Sauternes and Barsac. Château d'Issan has a single block of vines, planted on excellent gravelly soil beside the Gironde. Typically for the appellation, the vines consist of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, in biodynamics (without certification).
About the cuvée
These wines can be drunk young in some vintages, but with a few years in the cellar their aromas gain a wonderful complexity and the texture a superb velvetiness as the tannins soften with age. Very elegant and concentrated, Château d'Issan's wines are an excellent representative of the Margaux appellation and deserve a place in any wine enthusiast's cellar.
Sorry, Yves. But like you, I’m always looking for fun facts to research. And I might not have searched this out had it not been for your post.
Just one more thing....
Mr. Carsini may have been right in describing the ’38 vintage as being an inferior wine, however. iDealWine also had this to say:
The best vintages for Château d'Issan:
2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1985, 1983, 1978, 1961, 1959, 1953, 1949
1938 isn’t listed among them....
BCnU!
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