Birthday · 80th
Wine for an 80th birthday: a four-generation lunch, and the 1945 or 1947 rather than the 1946
An eightieth is celebrated at lunchtime, at the table, with forty guests aged 5 to 90. People drink less than you might think, and better than elsewhere. As for the birth year, 1946 is a small year wedged between two legends: forget it for drinking, and look at the year before or the year after, knowing what an eighty-year-old bottle costs and risks.
The wine for the lunch
Set for 40 guests: a one-hour aperitif then a seated lunch, 70% drinkers. The great-grandchildren, the drivers taking the older guests home and those who no longer drink make up the other 30%.
What the lunch gets through
One-hour aperitif
Two glasses per drinker, seated if possible: at 80, you do not make people stand for an hour. Nine to ten bottles for 28 drinkers.
Lunch
Three glasses each: a white with the starter, two reds with the main course and the cheese. Fourteen bottles. The older guests drink a glass or two, but they taste it: a supple red at its peak rather than a young, tannic wine.
The toast
With dessert, for the speech. Serve it early in the afternoon: an 80th birthday lunch ends around 4 pm, and that is just fine.
The raw count is 23 bottles; the calculator shows 36 after the 10% margin and rounding up to the case for each colour: 12 red, 12 white, 6 rosé, 6 sparkling. The gap comes from the cases, not from thirst: without rosé, the case of white covers the aperitif and you come down to 30.
The bottle from the year
1946 is kept for the label; 1945 and 1947 cost money and need checking
Our scale rates 1946 as an average year, a “small year forgotten between two legends”. Average at birth, it does not last eighty years: what is still around is at best a curiosity, at worst a dead wine. To drink, look next door. 1945, the Victory year, is a great year on our scale, legendary and extremely rare. So is 1947, hot and rich, with Right Bank wines that are still mythical. 1948, a good year long underrated, is the most affordable neighbour.
The price: several hundred euros for a 1945 or 1947 bottle from a second-tier estate, thousands for the greatest names. Provenance matters more than the label: these two years are among the most counterfeited. Insist on an original invoice or the cellar's history, a capsule and label consistent with the age, and a visible fill level: in the neck or top shoulder is a good sign; mid-shoulder is a gamble; any lower, do not buy.
The risk, even with all that: one eighty-year-old bottle in a few is past it, and nobody can tell before opening it. Have a back-up bottle ready, a great vintage from the 2000s. And if the budget is not there, the wedding year is often the best idea: married around 1966 or 1970, those are two great years that can still be found. The birth-year vintage page gives the verdict on every year from 1945 to 2010, and the 70th page deals with a weak year.
1946 bottles in stock
The Transvins tariff sorted by year: 1946 bottles first, then neighbouring years when 1946 has few. Tick what you are serving: the list keeps only the wines that go with it. For another year, the birth-year vintage page covers 1945 to 2010.
The years around 1946, in one table
| Year | The year | Wines in stock | Price incl. VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Great year | Château Bastor Lamontagne | €480 |
| 1961 | Great year | Château Beychevelle | €300 |
| 1966 | Great year | Château Haut Brion, Château Yquem | €600 |
| 1970 | Great year | Château Cos d'Estournel, Château Ducru Beaucaillou, Château Montrose, Château Gilette Crème de tête +1 | €120 – €360 |
| 1975 | Good year | Château Gilette Crème de tête | €216 |
| 1990 | Great year | Deutz Cuvee Whiliam Deutz Coffret Bois, Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame | €240 |
| 2008 | Good year | Château Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc Pouilly Fume Dagueneau | €60 – €78 |
| 2009 | Great year | Deutz Amour De Deutz | €300 |
| 2012 | Average year | Château Domaine de Chevalier | €78 |
| 2013 | Weak year | Dom Perignon Coffret, Château Caillou Blanc de Talbot, Château Latour Martillac | €28 – €234 |
How many bottles for an 80th birthday with 40 guests?
Twenty-three as a raw count for an aperitif and a lunch, 36 rounded up to the case: 12 red, 12 white, 6 rosé and 6 sparkling. For about twenty guests, the count drops below 18 bottles, and the calculator tells you that you don't need us: a local wine shop will do.
What wine budget for an 80th birthday?
About €400 for 40 guests in decent Bordeaux, €624 in good Bordeaux, champagne included. The bottle from the year is a separate budget: several hundred euros for a checked 1945 or 1947, much less for the wedding year or a great recent vintage in magnum.
Is a 1946 wine still drinkable?
No, not for pleasure. The year was average, and eighty years have gone by. If there is a 1946 bottle in the family, open it for the gesture, one sip each, with a proper bottle alongside. For the table, 1945 or 1947 with checked provenance, or the wedding year: the wedding anniversary page says which ones are still holding up.
What if the lunch is at a restaurant?
That is often the case at 80, and it is simpler for everyone. The restaurant then supplies the wine for the meal; you bring only the bottle from the year. Ask about the corkage fee before booking: the corkage page works out whether it is better to bring your own wine or order from the list.
How to prepare the lunch
- Three months before: look for the old bottle. A genuine 1945 or 1947 is not found in a week, and its provenance is checked before you pay.
- Two weeks before: delivery, the old bottle standing upright somewhere cool and dark, and not moved afterwards. Whites and sparkling in the fridge the day before.
- On the day: open the old bottle just before serving it, with a two-prong cork puller, no decanting; taste it first, then serve it in small pours at the top table. The back-up bottle waits alongside, open.
A different number of guests, or dinner rather than lunch? The general calculator does the same count with no presets. Do the numbers work? Request a quote, and say whether you are looking for a 1945, a 1947 or the wedding year.