Off vintages

Mssr. Duroux

I am a huge fan of '04 Bordeaux in general…what are some of your favorite less herald vintages in the last twenty years? Thank you

Good question! Time to find some unheralded ‘bargain’ vintages…

1971, 1979, 1991 , 1999 : those are for top Palmer and few people know…

'71 is my birth year - perhaps I need to find a way to get some!

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And '79 is mine. I’ve been lucky to have acquired a few bottles, and have popped one or two already, and it is definitely a beautiful wine!

'79 Palmer is magnificent.

Is '79 an off vintage or perhaps the best vintage of the '70s, at least after 1970? I’ve heard it was variable but my own experience is very solid. Traditionally it was ranked after 75 and 78 as well but I’m not sure if it really turned out that way. There are a lot of other really good 79s including Pichon Lalande, Margaux, Gruaud Larose, Haut Brion.

That it is! Historically I seem to enjoy the '78 a bit more, but the last time I had the '79 I was blown away, I have been trying to seek some out.

On these forums, I am often a champion of non-classified Bordeaux (… “the other 95%”) as well as the so-called off vintages.

I went to New York for a wine dinner and requested that the theme of the evening be “Off-Vintage Bordeaux”.
Everyone brought a bottle. Mine was 99 Palmer. And it stole the show.

Alex R.

The great houses make great wine in nearly every vintage, so ‘off’ doesn’t always apply