Thread: 1970 wine choices

"Ewan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>A few weeks back I solicited opinions/suggestions from the group as to
> what I should seek for my 40th next month; again, thanks to all for
> the expertise and in particular to Dale who was kind enough to offer
> quite detailed assistance via email - thanks, Dale. This is my first
> time venturing into highish-end wines, really, so we shall see whether
> my nerves are warranted. Anyway: Latour and Dom Perignon I could just
> not bring myself to pay the $450-500 (or more for the Dom!), so that
> was off; then we had at Blue Hill last weekend a 2001 Lopez de Heredia
> Tondonia GR that we really enjoyed, so that tipped me over the edge
> in choices. On order, then: 2 bottles of the LdHTGR from Astor wines,
> one Montrose and 6 Taylor Fladgate port (not all for one night!) from
> cellarraiders. I'll report back. Would have very much liked a 1970
> champagne, even if it would be dead, but alas.
>
>
Recently a 1970 Ch. Giscours was excellent, as was a 1970 Lynch Bages
several months ago. If you find a 1970 2nd-5th growth Bourdeaux at a fair
price try it. My 1970s are tasting much better than the wine press states.
Of course, how you cellar & how you control ullage makes a lot of
difference. I find if you decant old Bordeaux into a decanter, and let it
rest for 12-24 hours the wine tastes better. It tastes better on the second
day.

Cheers,

Kent

On Jun 26, 7:04*pm, "Kent" <aka.k...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "Ewan" <ewanmc...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]...>A few weeks back I solicited opinions/suggestions from the group as to
> > what I should seek for my 40th next month; again, thanks to all for
> > the expertise and in particular to Dale who was kind enough to offer
> > quite detailed assistance via email - thanks, Dale. *This is my first
> > time venturing into highish-end wines, really, so we shall see whether
> > my nerves are warranted. *Anyway: Latour and Dom Perignon I could just
> > not bring myself to pay the $450-500 (or more for the Dom!), so that
> > was off; then we had at Blue Hill last weekend a 2001 Lopez de Heredia
> > Tondonia GR that *we really enjoyed, so that tipped me over the edge
> > in choices. *On order, then: 2 bottles of the LdHTGR from Astor wines,
> > one Montrose and 6 Taylor Fladgate port (not all for one night!) from
> > cellarraiders. *I'll report back. *Would have very much liked a 1970
> > champagne, even if it would be dead, but alas.
>
> Recently a 1970 Ch. Giscours was excellent, as was a 1970 Lynch Bages
> several months ago. If you find a 1970 2nd-5th growth Bourdeaux at a fair
> price try it. My 1970s are tasting much better than the wine press states..
> Of course, how you cellar & how you control ullage makes a lot of
> difference. I find if you decant old Bordeaux into a decanter, and let it
> rest for 12-24 hours the wine tastes better. It tastes better on the second
> day.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Kent

I'm also a fan of 1970.
Giscours was very good through the 70s
But I'd err on side of caution. No way I'd decant a '70 Bdx 12-24
hours in advance, but YMMV.
cheers

"DaleW" <[email protected]> skrev i melding
news:[email protected]...
>But I'd err on side of caution. No way I'd decant a '70 Bdx 12-24
>hours in advance, but YMMV.

Agree with you on that. 2 hours will do, I think, and did a couple of years
ago when I opened a Latour -70. The Mouton -82 at the same event needed
rather more air - gave it 3-4 hours but it went on developing 4-5 hours more
till the bottle was empty :-).

Anders

"DaleW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
On Jun 26, 7:04 pm, "Kent" <aka.k...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "Ewan" <ewanmc...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]...>A
> few weeks back I solicited opinions/suggestions from the group as to
> > what I should seek for my 40th next month; again, thanks to all for
> > the expertise and in particular to Dale who was kind enough to offer
> > quite detailed assistance via email - thanks, Dale. This is my first
> > time venturing into highish-end wines, really, so we shall see whether
> > my nerves are warranted. Anyway: Latour and Dom Perignon I could just
> > not bring myself to pay the $450-500 (or more for the Dom!), so that
> > was off; then we had at Blue Hill last weekend a 2001 Lopez de Heredia
> > Tondonia GR that we really enjoyed, so that tipped me over the edge
> > in choices. On order, then: 2 bottles of the LdHTGR from Astor wines,
> > one Montrose and 6 Taylor Fladgate port (not all for one night!) from
> > cellarraiders. I'll report back. Would have very much liked a 1970
> > champagne, even if it would be dead, but alas.
>
> Recently a 1970 Ch. Giscours was excellent, as was a 1970 Lynch Bages
> several months ago. If you find a 1970 2nd-5th growth Bourdeaux at a fair
> price try it. My 1970s are tasting much better than the wine press states.
> Of course, how you cellar & how you control ullage makes a lot of
> difference. I find if you decant old Bordeaux into a decanter, and let it
> rest for 12-24 hours the wine tastes better. It tastes better on the
> second
> day.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Kent

I'm also a fan of 1970.
Giscours was very good through the 70s
But I'd err on side of caution. No way I'd decant a '70 Bdx 12-24
hours in advance, but YMMV.
cheers
>
>
When we drink an old bordeaux we decant slowly into a decanter 2 hours or so
before drinking half of it with dinner. Then my routine is to lightly squirt
nitrogen over the remaining half, and to cover the decanter with cling wrap.
I'm guessing the air/nitrogen ratio is about 50%. That goes into the frig.
until the next dinner. On the second night the wine is almost always more
satisfying. Everything is more together. The nose and flavor are both much
more complex.

Kent

On Jul 5, 7:32*pm, "Kent" <aka.k...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "DaleW" <Dwmi...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
> > I wrote:
> On order, then: 2 bottles of the LdHTGR from Astor wines,
> one Montrose and 6 Taylor Fladgate port (not all for one night!) from
> cellarraiders. I'll report back. Would have very much liked a 1970
> champagne, even if it would be dead, but alas.

So: we started with a fairly random sparkler (1999 Schramsberg BdB)
which was good but nothing special.

All three wines (the two reds and the port) had intact but sodden and
disintegrating corks; high fills (bottom neck) and no apparent issues
as we opened them. It seemed that the corks were longer than would be
normal today - is that in fact the case? Significant debris under the
lead on the Montrose, intact wax on the other two - and a lot of
enjoyment around the table as we opened wines older than any we'd had
before; the whole event was massively enjoyable.

We opened the port first and let it sit for an hour or so, but the
other were drunk right on opening.

Montrose: a good match to the steak, but while it was obviously old it
was not terrifically complex, nor did it become so after up to 2
hours. Robust, very earthy (but not at all harsh; tannins were
obvious by their remnants rather than their presence), elegant but
somewhat faded. Tastes as though it would have been better ten years
ago. Some soil and a little leather and thyme; perfectly pleasant but
not really anything special. Huge amounts of sediment.

LdB: first splash is almost bright orange, close to Lucozade in
colour, but there's no sign of oxidation on nose or tongue. Much more
elegant than the Montrose, subtle and layered, absolutely smooth.
Lots of dark cherry and wood but still very bright, feels much more
ready for the next ten years. An A/A- to the Montrose's B-.

Port: Ah, yes. This makes everyone smile. Glad I have more than one
of these: the upfront alcohol and plum suggest, and the remainder of
the structure confirms, that I can expect this to give pleasure for
many years yet. Has obviously benefitted a lot from age, with harsh
edges again being seen by their shadow and residue rather than
presence; left behind is a ton of complex flavour, more spicy than
sweet, and licorice/agave/raisins. Yum.

I got huge satisfaction from tasting wines as old as I am; but I would
not buy the reds again, I think: just not good enough to justify the
cost (or, quite possibly, my palate is not good enough to justify the
cost!). The port is easily worth the investment, though. Really a
special evening, with some very close friends and much laughter, as
well as the wine experience, and thanks again to all for the help in
setting it up.