I rarely buy older wines but am prepared to make an exception for a 1947 birth-year wine. Wine Searcher has turned up bottles of 1947 Borgogno Barolo Classico Riserva and Cannubi for about $300. The oldest Borgogno Barolo I’ve had was a 1964, and it was outstanding. Assuming I luck out on provenance and get a reasonably well-preserved bottle, are either or both of these likely to be drinkable/good/awesome?
Further, any comments on the merchant Wine Larder in NY, which is offering one of these for sale? The other is Italian Wine Merchant, which appears to have a good reputation with WBers.
Good call if you can find it. I got 6 bottles of the 1951 for my birth year wine. Much better QPR than 1947 Cheval Blanc, and less likely to be counterfeit. I think I paid about $50 a bottle at auction.
The 1947 Bodegas Toro Albala (Sherry) is a pretty killer gift. I did it for a friend and he loved it. Birthday-style packaging in a box. It’s too sweet for me, but was a hit. I bought a 6-pack of 1947 Banyuls a few years back for like $100 per. Cheap like Rivesaltes and fun to drink.
I have seen a great many offers for Rivesaltes of almost any vintage - even back to the 20ies … and I somewhat doubt that ALL Rivesaltes are really (or at least completely) the vintage indicated on the label … most labels are quite new and certainly added to the bottles by the producer only when sold (sure the bottles are stored without any label)
I have tasted a Rivesaltes 1955 2 weeks ago - it definitely was fine, and it definitely was old … it could have been a 1955, but also any vintage between (let´s say) 1945 and 1970 … quite new label, no vintage brand on the cork …
(just fwiw)
1947 is an excellent, even great vintage in many regions … Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone … and bottles from good vineyards in good condition (good fill level, no signs of leaking etc.) almost always were not only drinkable, but really fine …
Sure: wines like Cheval blanc, Petrus, Lafite … Burgundies like Vogüé, DRC. Leroy etc. and some Rhones are often simply fakes (not only by Rudy), but the less well known producers often are not worth faking completely (but take a good look if the main label, the vintage label if seperate and the bottle and capsule all match perfectly, it often is quite easy and simple to exchange the vintage label and make a minor vintage to a more expensive 1947 …
There are also some bottles of 1947 Huet that are hovering around. The winery released library stock maybe 5-6 years ago, so they have enjoyed perfect storage up until that point
I’m not looking for a super-expensive big-name with a significant risk of fakery like Petrus or DRC, just something with a decent shot at being good, and ~$500 or less.
Howard - is reconditioning particularly common with old Borgogno? Is the concern that a really low fill has been topped up, or that the procedure was done poorly allowing oxidation, or something else?
Jay and Gerhard - Rivesaltes sounds good - have had a few old ones and liked them, but wasn’t aware of the tendency to be creative with vintage labeling.
Brian - Great suggestion. I love Huet and sounds like an excellent chance of finding a good and real bottle, but the only one I see currently on WSPro is out of my price range.
i’ll agree with Rivesaltes. It holds up well, and has similar qualities to Colheita Port. Got a case of 1979 de Bombes Singla that’s delicious. A lot of times these type wines (including Colheita and what I’m about to recommend) sit in the barrel for decades before bottling so the labels are naturally more modern looking because they are more modern. The last bottle of Krohn’s Colheita I drank was a 1966 vintage that was bottled in 2006.
If you want something unique, consider Pedro Ximenez. It lasts forever. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a better drink than what’s been mentioned already, but it certainly is an experience.
Dennis - thanks, I saw that. I love PX, it lasts forever and my guess is these are recently bottled. It’s not a drink-with-dinner wine. Great for little sips and even better on pancakes or vanilla ice cream. I might just pop for one of those.
David - not sure of your timing, but the bottles I purchased were done in Crush’s “progressive” sales for a good discount. If your need isn’t immediate worth keeping an eye out
I’ve had the '47 Borgogno on many occasions (still have several in the cellar) - it is a very, very special wine that I cannot recommend highly enough. As previously mentioned, be sure it’s a red capsule on the top for an original release. Also, if you go this route be sure to stand it up well in advance, and pull the cork early in the day - as hard to believe as it may be, this wine improves with some air.
Borgogno with red capsule tops are reportedly in original condition and, in my experience, excellent if properly stored. Borgogno with black capsule tops are apparently decanted for sediment and then topped off, although with what I don’t know. My own experience with such reconditioned Borgogno is that they are usually quite mediocre. Hence, it is worth it to seek out the red capsule-topped bottles.
The advantage of 1947 is that the probability to have a good wine is great.
I would recommand wines of Côtes de Nuits of houses like Bouchard, Drouhin, which will not be very expensive.
Sauternes are not so expensive too : La Tour Blanche, Lafaurie Peyraguey, Guiraud, Rayne Vigneau, Doisy-Védrines are not so hard to find and are great wines.
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