To celebrate the 1959 vintage, both the wines and myself; I’ve recently opened some 1959 vintage wines.
1959 Chateau Montrose
Bottled by Berry Brothers & Rudd.
Top shoulder fill. Healthy saturated garnet colored.
Lovely aromas of cherries, pencil box and cedar.
The fruit opened with air. More cherries, forest floor. Rich, some tannins left. Excellent acidity and length. The fruit is fading, but this is still a very nice, very enjoyable old Bordeaux.
1959 Federico Paternina Ollauri Rioja Gran Reserva
Top shoulder fill
Beautiful rich glowing garnet color fading to the rim. Looks almost like old burgundy.
Aromas of sweet cherries, forest floor, spicy red fruits.
Medium-light bodied. A bit astringent at first, but with about 15 minutes of air the cherry-like fruit emerged. No tannins, but good acidity. Nice length. A bit of decay, but still very enjoyable. Probably 10-20 years past it’s best but still nice.
1959 Cos d’Estornel
Chateau bottled. Base neck fill.
Deep, very opaque garnet red color with hint of brown. Will the 1982 look like this in 20-25 years?
Aromas of cigar box and cedar. Still fresh.
Medium bodied. Rich. Still nice red fruits left, has just started to fade. Good acid, just a hint of tannins. Nice finish. Very good, but probably terrific 10 or so years ago.
1959 Chateau Calon-Segur
Chateau bottled. Top shoulder fill. The original price of $4.95 is still on the bottle.
Healthy deep, rich red garnet color with bricking rim.
Lovely rich, tertiary aromas. Pencil lead, cedar, sweet fruit, bing cherries.
Medium weight. Lovely bright, rich, sweet fruit on the palate. Perfect balance of fruit and acidity. Vigourous, no decay. No tannins. Opened with air. Long, rich finish. Beautiful right now. Best of these St. Estephes.
1959 Huet Clos du Bourg Vouvray Moelleux
4 cm ullage. Glowing gold-green.
Complex aromas of wax, lanolin, grapefruit, quince along with tertiary aromas.
Heavy weight, but only off dry. More wax and citrus fruits on the palate. Lemons, grapefruits. Some hints of botytis on the palate. No lack of acidity. Nice balance. More tertiary flavors but the acidity keeps it fresh. Long finish with a bit of bitterness from the botytis. Very good. Probably apoint but can keep.
1959 Chateau Suduirant
Top shoulder fill. Considerable tartrate crystals in bottle.
Beautiful glowing burnished orange-gold color.
Heavily botrytised aromas; blood orange, tangerines, apricots, honey.
Very rich; hefty mouthfeel. More botrytis on the palate. Quite sweet, but excellent acidity for such a rich and sweet wine. Tertiary flavors have made this wonderfully complex. Long. Very young, improved in the glass. No way I’d guess a wine as old as me! Superb.
1959 Steinberger Cabinet Riesling Beerenauslese Naturrein
Erstetgert im Kloster Eberbach
Grosser Preis der DLG 1965
6 cm ullage Dark amber-mahogany color with greenish meniscus.
Rich, botytis affected nose; peaches, apricots, grapefruit, honey.
Very dense and rich palate. This is as big as German Riesling gets. Not oxidized despite the color and ullage. Just a bit of petrol. Not lacking in acidity, but obviously a low acid year Rheinwein. Lots of complexity. Sweet, but this has definitely mitigated with age. More complexity on the long, long finish. Hint of bitterness from the botytis. Excellent old wine but showing its age.
1959 Schloss Reinhartshausener Cabinet Erbacher Rheinhell Trockenbeeren-Auslese
4 cm ullage. Molasses colored with a green-gold rim.
Heavily botrytised aromas; honey, peaches, limes, grapefruit.
Medium full bodied. Very rich. No signs of oxidation on the palate despite it’s dark color. More botytis on the palate. Quite sweet but balanced by excellent acidity. Long, long rich finish. Excellent. Probably won’t improve, but will still hold for years.
1959 Massandra Collection Red Stone White Muscat
Top Shoulder fill. Short 2 cm cork which came out intact and cleanly.
Cloudy, amber-bronze with hint of green.
Fresh, grapy, muscat aromas with some tertiary changes.
Medium-full on palate. Sweet, but decent balancing acidity. Fresh fruit flavors, peaches, apricots, limes, honeydew melon; most definitely muscat based. Long finish, some bitterness noted. Quite young tasting, will still hold. Much better than a bottle a few years ago which was lacking in balancing acidity.