Everyone does it! We buy birth year wines for celebrating our own births.
For the past two decades I’ve been pulling together some 1970 wines for my monster 40th birthday bash. Plenty of yummy stuff to be had from that vintage.
I married a beautiful woman this past July, so now I’m getting HER 40th birthday wines together for 2025. Today I found a nice bottle buried at the shop! I’d open it for her 25th this year, but she’s already eating for two, so I’m sure she won’t be drinking anything until the late Summer.
Zach, keep it a secret (and the bargain bottle of '85 Fonseca I found)!
I am a 1973 kid, which was not a great vintage anywhere. As my 30th approached I was flicking through an auction catalogue and saw that a bottle of Pol Roger 1973 was being sold. I think Pol make very good Champagne, and I feel a sense of loyalty to them as they sponsor the Oxford/Cambridge blind tasting competition (and so had taken me to Champagne the three times I was either running or in the winning team, go Oxford!). I had to have it! 1973 is a reasonable Champagne, and Pol from that vintage has a good reputation, so I expected to pay serious money for it. Lucky old me, no one else at the auction seemed even remotely interested in this gem, so I got it for £25 (~$40), a screaming bargain!
As the big date got closer my partner was looking at the Swedish wine monopoly’s website (he used to live there) and spotted some Riesling Clos St. Hune 1973 fresh from the Trimbach cellars. They were charging £80 (~$130) per bottle, which was pretty much what than the current vintages were going for in London. I scored two bottles (one for my 30th, and one for an as yet undecided event).
Both of these wines had aged gracefully, albeit pushing at the exit doors of ‘mature’. The Champagne died a few minutes after it was poured, but whilst it was together it was quite delicious. The Clos St. Hune was a really refined entity of precise beauty. Two top wine efforts, then. However, more pleasing than finding these wines to be enjoyable was the morning of the day itself, celebrated at a friend’s vineyard with all my wine friends, when we start down to watch the rugby world cup final. It was was a very close match, but in the very final few minutes England pulled ahead and went on to win the match and so the world cup! Hooray! One of my friends whipped out a magnum of Pol Roger 1996 (wonderful wine) to celebrate the win and I felt that becoming 30 was not so bad after all.
David, I realize you’re in England so these may not be that easy to find, but 1973 was a fine year in California. It was overshadowed by 1974, but I have had some excellent 73 cabs from the best producers of that day, esp. Mayacamas, Heitz, and Villa Mt. Eden.
There’s a long list on Wine Searcher at reasonable prices (though all in the US). Just search on “cabernet california” in 1973. BV, Mondavi, Krug, Martini, Ridge, Phelps. All could be good.
Born in 1961, there is no Mark Herold, TRB, or Heidi wines out there I could wrap my head around from that vintage.
They would be too old for my tastes if there were…
I did the whole '61 board-o thing years ago. Twas not enlightened.
I’m going to a 40th birthday dinner next week. A bunch of '70’s wines will be opened - Petrus, Trotanoy, CVNE, Bolly RD, La Chapelle etc. Will try an post some notes on them.
I was born in '72. Talk about a crappy year for wine. I don’t think anything made with grapes in 1972 can be enjoyed. Luckily my kids were born in 2003,2005,&2007. Now they all will have some great wines when they get older. Actually I will be enjoying most of their birth wines with them.
My first great experience with mature champagne was at the Bristol Hotel in Paris the early/mid 90’s. I had dinner at the hotel the first night after arriving and I ordered the '64 DP more for a birth year novelty - I was just getting into drinking better and older wines - and was thinking that it would be just “ok” to drink. I was blown away by it, and this opened my eyes to drinking champagne that was decades old and their ability to age magnificantly and being fantastic drinks.
My mature red wine epiphany was also a birth year wine - '64 Cheval Blanc. Both of those drinking experiences pulled me deep into my black hole of collecting and drinkiing mature Champagne and red Bordeaux.
Born in 1965. From what I understand, not a good one in France. Port vintage mostly not declared. California was a little better. So far, I’ve had a 1965 BV GdL (dying) and a 1965 Louis Martini Mountain Red which was a joy.
Does anyone know Italian wines from the 1965 vintage?
I’ve only had a couple of '65 Piedmonte wines that I can remember and both were dried up and astringent - not sure if that’s the vintage in general or just those couple of bottles.
1965 was not a particularly good year in Piedmont, but you can never tell. 1954 was not a good year either, but I had a 1954 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Riserva that was glorious. And he did make Barolo in 1965. Even some 1.9 liter bottles. If you can find one, it would be worth a shot. OTOH I don’t think Conterno or Giacosa made Barolo in 1965. G. Mascarello did make a Barolo in 1965 which might be worth a try too.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve only had one Californian Cabernet from 1973, from Heitz, given to me blind by a really miserable wine buyer for an Oxford college (quite a few years ago, I admit, ooooooh I’m so old…). He looked visibly disgusted as he sniffed his glassful, it not being a dried-out, tough Claret of the kind he liked. I thought it was rather enjoyable and definitely charming, which allowed me to have a great time arguing the merits of the wine compared to the dreary styles he preferred.
I shall look out for the wines you suggest, thanks again.
I have a '71 Latour that I will be popping for my 40th next year. Unless I grab a stickie this year, will prob be the only BY wine for me. Will def grab some '09 for my 2 little guys…just won’t buy it on futures (oops wrong thread)
I’ll be very interested in your impressions on Trotanoy and Bolly. The former I have and I’m still seeking a '70 bubble for the big bash. Looking for a bottle of '70 Unico as well if anyone wants to sell/trade.
The 73 CSH is pushing the exit doors? I think that wine is drinking great, but can last 1 or 2 decades easily!
Peter, congratulations on your wife’s current non-drinking. I like '85 claret a lot, but some (most?) are fully mature.
'70 is a lucky vintage. Lots of good and affordable choices.
I’m a '60. Not very good. I think Vintage Ports are fine, if not stellar. I have one bottle of Fonseca left, and one bottle of BV GdlT for my 50th. I did have fun with my wife’s 50th last month- one great (59 Moulin Touchais), 2 very very good (69 Ygay and Talbot), 1 very good (59 Ferrari Solaria Jonica), 2 fading but good (59 Caillou creme de tere and Lanessan). Without spending a bundle.
