Hey there, I’m thinking about starting to sock away wines from the 1997 and 1998 vintages (birth years for my partner and I) to open on milestone birthdays. Open to any suggestions, although $500+ bottles will likely be out of reach.
I assume there will be a decent assortment drinking well at 30 years in 2027/2028, but anything that will still be going at 50? 70?
Found this thread on the topic, but discussion was mostly focused on dry options: Recommendations for wine from 1997
1998 VCC
1997 Jadot Clos St Denis, Chambertin Clos de Beze
Most of the major Port houses declared 1997, and those should have no problem going the distance for a few more decades. Fonseca and Niepoort are personal favorites and should be readily available.
Our daughter was born in 1997 and we have these, all of which I would recommend – Dunn HM, Ridge Monte Bello and Montelena from California; Taylor, Fonseca, Dow and Graham’s for Vintage Port; Climens and Rieussec from Sauternes. I have had 1997 D’Yquem once and it is outstanding.
For 1998, La Mission Haut Brion might be at the top of your price range. Haut Brion is probably over it, and both are superb.
I generally like big wines
1997 Dominus
1997 Phelps Insignia
1997 Shafer Hillside
1998 Pavie
1998 Tertre Roteboeuf
1998 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain SGN
1998 Right Bank Bordeaux
I think both of those left bank are more than 500; interestingly we did a comparison of those three wines a few years ago and VCC was head and shoulders above the other two.
1997 Port and JJ Prum Auslese and above.
1998 VCC, Conseillante, and Haut Brion
1997 d’Yquem is magnificent and my first choice for the vintage. Mosel Riesling would be next- Auslese and above as Kris suggests for the Prum option (which I heartily endorse FWIW.) Port as well - I do not recall any failing to impress.
1997 for burgundy is chancy- a decade ago Roumier Musigny was in full cry and holding- but not a wine I would keep another 30 years. I mention that not to show off, but because that is one of the longest-lived burgundies there is, and so if it is not a candidate for a given aging target, little else will be. Maybe Clos de Tart if you like that style? I have not had any other 1997s that I think would even come close to making it 50 years and being good- the wines are a little blowsy- not enough acid to carry them long term.
1997 in Bordeaux and CA - given you have a 50+ year time frame, there is nothing in CA I would recommend, and in Bordeaux only Petrus or Latour which have a long history of surviving and being drinkable in even the worst of vintages. And even then, I would advise magnums- both well over $500. Lafite will surely survive that long, it is quite balanced and came out beautifully, but will likely be on the other side of the aging curve by then.
1998 is much easier. Pomerol and St. Emilion are magnificent. I can envision La Conseillante, L’Evangile and VCC all easily making the 50 year mark. Chateau Magdelaine as well- majestic vintage for them.
The other side of the river has some candidates too- Mouton and Margaux are both mature and came out quite beautifully, but also have the classic structure to go to 50 years or more. La Mission as well- but not sure the current going rate for that one.
1998 burgs are good candidates too- like 1993 a really great long term vintage maligned by many critics at the time who really just don’t get burgundy. Since you are looking at 50+ years, I would stick with grand crus. Good choices in your price range would be Drouhin Bonnes Mares and Grands Echezeaux, or Jadot Bonnes Mares and Chapelle Chambertin. With pricing where it is, I am hard pressed to think of other ideal candidates under $500 per bottle.
Jadot made the best 97s; they are still young and will go for a long time. Yquem is also good. 97 Roumier Bonnes mares would also be good but way above their price target.
Almost all 98 burgs you’re describing would also be more than $500.
The Jadots are not bad- I have had a few- and to each his own, but IMHO they are well below where Roumier and DRC ended. I am not a big fan of the vintage in any event. At a Roumier Musigny tasting even the 1992 was better than the 1997. The latter just does not have the structure and acids to carry it long term- my beef with pretty much all 97s.
50+ years is a pretty ambitious outlook.
Have you had the Jadot recently? I’ve had CSD and Beze in the last couple years and they’ve been very good. They needed a lot of time.
1997 Jadot Chambertin Clos de Beze
Pure burgundy on the nose with some forest floor and plum. Streak of acidity and LOTS of structure. Very long finish. This opened up on the mid palate after about an hour open in glass but was still a bit surly throughout the time we had it open. Great as 97 jadot tends to be, but this would be better in 5-10.
1997 Maison Louis Jadot (Domaine Gagey) Clos St Denis Grand Cru
A steal at $200 a btl. A little reticent but opened up after ~30 min in the decanter. Currants, Sous Bois, and morels on the nose, beautifully integrated palate with tertiary elements starting to emerge. Grand Cru pedigree was evident. Concentration wasn’t to the level of bigger Grand Cru but it had typical CSD elegance. Beautiful wine that went well with the veal chop.
There’s no point in discussing DRC and Roumier when their price limit is $500/bottle. That said, I have been utterly underwhelmed by 97 DRC. I’ve had La Tache, RSV, and RC lately and they were more interesting than good.
97 Roumier is good, but mostly because it’s ready to drink unlike a lot of other vintages around it. 97 is the type of vintage in which the Bonnes Mares may be a better choice than Musigny; with such a small production it’s very hard for them to do well in poor vintages. I think in the best vintages Musigny hits higher heights than the Bonnes Mares, but not in poor vintages (although there are far less of those, recently).
Always impressed by the depth of knowledge in this forum. '97 Ports seem widely available and reasonably priced, will likely start there for now.
Completely true – figured better to start thinking and acquiring now when there is more still floating around. I know $500 limits options, particularly in the pricier regions, and I appreciate the notes on wines beyond that. My buying power is likelier to increase than decrease, although so will the prices.
Anything out of Italy worth looking into?
97 Roumier Musigny and Bonnes-Mares are on a pretty even keel. I am very familiar with Musigny and the limitations of its small production. The 2 most problematic bottlings of our generation happen to come from very good vintages- with the 2002 looking like it may emerge okay, but 1991 still in a very funky place. The issue is not vintage quality, but whether something goes amiss that could only be dealt with by having more grapes.
Biondi Santi Brunello if you like the style. 1997 was especially good there- when a friend was out there years ago and bought a case of the Riserva, they told him they thought it would last 100 years.
Yeah my point was that in poorer vintages (smaller production) vintages they essentially need to use all the grapes. I believe they made less than 20 cases of wine in 2016, for example, using all the grapes.
Anyways I’m pretty confident the two Jadot grand crus i mentioned will be fine in 2047. The 97 beze even with some air wasn’t remotely ready. The 97 CSD tasted pretty young too. Sourcing them, however, may not be so easy. The Bordeaux will certainly be easier to source.
Surprised no one has mentioned Piedmont, which did really well in 97. They’re a bit on the riper / lower acid side, so not all of them will last 50 years, but you should be able to find well stored bottles from good traditional producer for under $500.
It’s been a few years since i’ve tried one but Mascarello Monprivato is fabulous and within your budget.
A lot of the old-timer Piemonte-lovers on this board don’t post as often as they used to. 1997 was maybe the peak of the modernist movement, so some wines are undrinkably oaky, imo. Happily Monprivato is not in that camp. But buyer beware!
Wine Spectator was really high on 1997 and 2000 but many OG here believed the other vintages around those two are probably better.
Any other producers to look out for in the traditionalist camp? Also, any thoughts on 1998?