Château Bel-Air Marquis d´Aligre, Grand cru Classé Margaux 1845

"The forbidden Margaux" is extremely rare, mythical Bordeaux and the first - with the exception of a little Latour - to be bottled in the now classic Bordeaux bottle. There are hardly more than a few bottles left (but more empty than full!), so it is sought after by collectors. Was sold without a year, but is probably 1845 or maybe a few years older! The story is unique:
In the early 1800s Bel-Air belonged to Marquis Etienne d'Aligre (1770-1847 - photo), who reserved the entire production for private pleasure. In the years 1825-1847, the entire harvest was bottled in a special bottle engraved "MARGAUX BEL-AIR MARQUIS D'ALIGRE" on the front and the words "Défendu den Laisser" (Forbidden to Leave it) on the back - hence the name "The Forbidden Margaux". The wine was bottled without vintage and without label. After his death, the tradition continued for most of the harvest, only the nephew used his own name: "BEL-AIR MARQUIS de POMMEREAU", the last bottle of "Margaux Defendu" was bottled in 1889.
However, part of the wine did not manage to be drunk. The Marquis' private cellar was sold to 2 neighbors and after the death of one, the wine was sold to 2 restaurateurs in Paris - this is where the expression "The Forbidden Margaux" first appeared.
The wine enjoyed a great reputation - to a certain extent because few were allowed to taste it. The domain's director Boutet came in 1847 to Latour and in 1855 to Margaux. Even so, Bel-Air did not make it among the 60 châteaux in Cru Classé, although contemporary sources rate the wine extremely highly. The reason was that the wine was not sold on the open market. It only happened in 1880, when the wine - now with vintage! - was sold for 1900 ff per tonneau. In the same year, Mouton was sold for 1800.
The bottle was gifted to a Danish wine importer (Cvr.nr. 13967334), by a well-known wine collector (Switzerland), and has written the following about the origin: "This particular bottle was a gift to my father in 1983, and I inherited it from him in 1998. We were told the wine must be from about 1845. The bottle is beautiful and has been stored more than perfectly."

References, i.a.
http://www.academiedesvinsanciens.org/bel-air-marquis-daligre-defendu-den-laisser/
https://www.abcduvin.com/index.php/term/,6c53ad9f5fa7aa706e53adb1aaaa.xhtml
About Marquis d' Aligre: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Jean_Fran%C3%A7ois_d%27Aligre