From the great 1949 vintage, this half-bottle of Château de Heby was imported (in probably 1950 or 1951) by Averys of Bristol.

It would have been shipped to Bristol in casks and bottled in Averys’ cellars.

There was no (as far as I can tell) wine estate called Château de Heby, so I can only guess that it was a brand name created by Averys for a generic Médoc red wine.

The name appears to have been taken from the Grange de Héby house in Castelnau-de-Médoc, about 15 miles north-west of Bordeaux city.

In the 1990s Grange de Héby was renamed as Domaine de Héby and turned into a retirement home (“maison de retraite”).

In 2014 it was closed.

Where did the 75-year olds go…?