Just bought some old Nalys Blanc 1978; arriving in a couple of weeks. No clue what it will taste like, and what I should serve with it. The photo of the bottle shows a beautiful color, and the fill is good, and it does come from a great cellar, so quite hopeful.
I think I’ve posted on this before but, thanks to my friend, Cole Kendall, around 2010-2012, I had the same bottle of 1929 red CdP from some unknown bottler. It was fabulous and tasted younger than many famous bottles of CdP from the 90s that we had at the same time on one of those occasions. I would not generalize from that, though.
I had an older Beaucastel Blanc (76 or 77, can’t find notes) 10 years ago that I really liked, and I don’t generally like white Rhone that much.
And there was an '83 Solitude you brought to my house, pretty sure neither of us liked it. 
I forgot about the Solitude. You are right, it was dead.
I had several white CdP from 1969, 71,72,73,76,78,79 etc.
depending on bottle condition most were outstanding, vg, good or at least enjoyable. So they keep …
1994 Beaucastel Blanc early this year. DOA and thereafter. I’m sure I’ve had older but they don’t tend to stick in my mind because they weren’t from my cellar and I still haven’t found one I actually liked.
I’ve had mid 90’s CdP’s and domestic Marsannes and Roussannes that have held up well. One of the great things about varieties like Marsanne and Roussanne are that they are all about texture - and as these age and slightly oxidize, the textures are accentuated in a beautiful way. If the wines are completely oxidized, that’s another story . . .
Cheers!
Can’t really compete here but opened Beaucastel Roussanne Vielle Vignes 2006 back in July and it was excellent, borderline outstanding. Still life ahead of it but in a very happy place with a veal dish.
Great bottle. Had the '99 sometime early on last year and it drank wonderful. That year had some oxidation issues if I recall and I was fortunate to avoid. Aged quite well and had interesting nuances.
I’ve gone through a case of that wine and should have bought a lot more. The 2006 never shut down and was always stellar.
Rayas used to make a sweet white wine labelled ‘Vin Liquoreux’. 1959 was the last vintage I think. I drank a bottle of the 1955 four years ago at La Beaugraviere and it was sensational. Expecting it to be sweet, we drank it with foie gras however the flavour profile was quite dry and it went far better with the famous black truffle pasta. The closest comparison was with an old grand cru white burgundy with notes of honey, nuts, truffles, white chocolate and marzipan.
In 2012, shared a bottle of 1988 Beaucastel VV which was excellent. In 2016 repeated the experience with a bottle from the same vintage and it was as well very fine indeed.
Have had the 1974 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve a couple of times. Fascinating wine that I liked very much.
I’ve had a Clos des Pape 1975 last year (as part of a vertical)… and it was quite good (95pts). My notes:
This was a big surprise. Fill level was roughly 6cm, the cork crumbled in 1000 pieces, no professional or Cellartracker reviews and in Parker’s vintage chart the 1975 CDP vintage got the lowest rating along 2002 and 1987 (60). Hence, I expected a dead wine. But the fears proved to be utterly unfounded. Layers and layers of ripe sweet red fruit along, tobacco, leather, an earthiness, some barnyard funk on the nose and more pronounced on the palate. Good precision and length. A Burgundy-like structure, very fine tannins, good acidity. Everything is quite harmonious. Even after 45 minutes in the glass the wine did not collapse and remained on this unexpectedly high and clean level.
2009 Beaucastel Blanc (not VV) last year, pre-covid, a bit blowsey but not premoxed, got a bit tiring.
I cant help but feel most peolpe arent reporting the year in which they’re consuming these old wines - I assume the question is more about the relative age of the wine than when it was bottled in particular?
Like, if you did a vertical of 70s white CDNP, then fantastic, but not helpful to the original question if that vertical was consumed in the 80s.
when I’m writing about 1969s, 71, 76, 79s it doesn’t really matter if tasted in 2008, 2011, 2014 etc … does it?
Think it depends on the mix in the blanc. Pure roussanne, like Beaucastel’s vv, can age very well. Wines with more grenache blanc or clairette will probably be in the sweet spot within 2-3 years of vintage.
Rayas blanc is app. 50:50 Grenache blanc and Clairette - and I had a marvallous 1981 in 2012 that could well go for another decade
This has just arrived from a cellar in Avignon. The fill is a touch low but the colour looks spot on. Will report back
