1961 Averys Les Amoureuses Question

I’m cracking these two bottles open tonight for a special dinner and wanted to know the history of the Averys bottle. Who grew the grapes for them and produced the wine and bottled? Any of you guys ever have a chance to try this wine? TIA

my guess is Vogue. They sold a lot of barrels to negociants in the day.

Wow that looks like a fun evening in store…

Almost certainly Vogue. The 1983 definitely came from them, and Ronald Avery was known to taste barrels and reserve his favorites.

Thanks for the info guys. The wine and the dinner were spectacular to say the least. The Amoureuses was so pleasurable we didn’t bother opening the other bottle. Here’s the note from cellar tracker:

1961 Averys Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses

Decanted off the sediment carefully. Color is still an intense ox blood/garnet red turning a very slight orangey brown at the rim. The nose and palate were intensely complex and ever evolving over the course of the night demanding their full attention. Upfront soft and soothing red berries both sweet and tart, orange peel, and passionfruit are cradled by damp, cool alpine forest floor, lightly herbal menthol, summer fields of lilac, jasmine, violets and lavender and a dashingly handsome streak of mineralité reminiscent of crushed and powdered granite. As the wine unfolds tertiary notes of decay arise showing cigar box, heavily worn leather, button mushrooms and a spice box like walking through the finest middle eastern bazaar. The midpalate is lush, lithe, ethereal and laser focused all at once. The tannins are completely resolved like those of day-old tea and are incredibly refined. The acidity is gentle, appetite whetting and gives grace to this through focusing the fruits while balancing them with the herbal and earth notes. The finish may yet be the best part of this wine as it goes on for what seems like several minutes and evolved from crisp cranberries to tart cherries which then faded into cinnamon, allspice, clove, nutmeg, star anise and then into an immensely satisfying mineralité. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this bottle upon opening but it quickly turned into my top two wine experiences of my life. Bravo!

Glad the '61 showed so well. I’ve not had this vintage but have had the 1964 Amoureuses and various Chambolle Crus through the 1960/70s.

The guys are correct, that this would have come from Vogue. Very probably elevaged by Remoissenet. John Avery first travelled to the US in the 1960s and, in addition to being one of the first to ship the likes of Beaulieu, Heitz, Mondavi, Mount Eden, etc into the UK, he built quite a successful business selling European wines to American clients. We still hold reserves for a few of those original customers.

(I’ve worked for Averys since 2002 (although I finish next week) and worked closely with John for about a decade up until his death.)

Elliot, thank you for posting on this bottle. I have one and was wondering what it is going to taste like. Your note has raised my excitement level even higher.

Sounds wonderful Elliot.

I hope your experience is similar to mine. I still have one bottle left and am hopeful that it will show just as well as the fill level on that bottle is even higher. I checked out your instagram and saw the quote “wine is music in the form of water” and it reminded me what the person who drank it with me said after his first taste. He likened it to Itzhak Perlman playing a Stradivarius in his mouth.

Thank you. The fill level on my bottle is good and the bottle came from a UK cellar, so I am hopeful. Your musical comment speaks volumes.