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THE OLD WINES AND THE NEW 147
and the neighbourhood. The vineyards are on
the site of the old ones, facing south, and the
vines were planted twenty years ago, and are
very hardy. There is no reason why they should
not be propagated to almost any extent, and
there is abundant scope^for the extension of the
vineyards and a proportionate increase in the
yield of wine.
The vintages of 1885, 1890, and 1891 are
marked in Messrs. Hatch, Mansfield and Co.'s
list as " All sold," and although the vintage of
'98, owing to the long spell of dry weather, does
not promise particularly well, the Marquis is no
more unfortunate in this respect than most other
vine-growers.
Vintages.
As my readers may not all be connoisseurs in
the matter of wines, a few words on the subject
of vintages may be appropriate, at the close of
this chapter.
With regard to champagnes, the good years
are '65, '68, '74 (especially good), '78, '80, '84,
'85, '87 (somewhat light in body), '89, '92, and
'93. All the other vintages since '65 have
turned out more or less badly; and there have
been no good vintages since '93.
One of the largest and best vintages of claret
on record is that of '75, which ranks with the
older ones of '48, '58, and '64, '77 is fair, and
between that year and '88 there was no vintage
of particular merit. '93 wine is good, and this
year furnished the largest yield since '75. '94
wine is exceptionally bad. During the five years