Port
Unico
Palmer
Petrus
Latour
Montrose
had an excellent lafite 2 yrs ago for my 40th. the second bottle was not so good
Mont, this is very good advice. Provenance/ shipping and handling is crucial with 40 + year old wines. Thank you.
Blake:
What the importers, distributors and retailers used to get away in the past was major negligence. We owe a debt to modern wine critics and a few passionate retailers to hold the industry’s feet to the fire.
Mont, I believe we also owe some of the producers kudos for ensuring their wines were transported properly so they would be the best representation of their product. I know, this only follows the wines so far and then it is up to the next tier to be responsible. Some have been and some have not. This is why it`s good to know who is involved from the outset. This information is available in some instances.
Chris has it right in my view
Gotta agree with those who say the Unico is unbelievable from this vintage, but of course very expensive. If you can source a good bottle, you will not believe it is over 40 years old. A top Port would probably be a better value though.
I drank a glorious Romanee Conti a little while back. It was easily the best example from 1970 for me.
Chris, Steve- I`m adding Palmer to the search list. Thanks.
One more vote for Palmer and Warre’s.
Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon
Along with the Romanee Conti, I forgot to add Louis Martini California Mountain Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon.
Another vote for Latour.
+2 We got a bottle of the 1970 Las Cas as a wedding gift and drank it in the early 90s. It was excellent then. I can’t speak for it now. I had the 1970 Taylor this year and it was top 2 or top 3 among a verticle of all Taylors from 1960 to present.
I agree on the Taylor - terrific and probably at the top of the '70 QPR list since you can still buy it for a reasonable price compared to the other ones mentioned in this thread. Lot of time left on that one - last bottle I opened got better and better over the course of the few weeks that I drank it.
70 PLL
We had a 70 Ducru Beaucaillou yesterday which was thrilling, no signs of decline, great colour, beautiful tobacco, mushroom and earth aromas, medium bodied, some sweetness, well integrated acidity, simply stunning. As good as a mature Bordeaux can get, Latour might be bigger boned but the combination of maturity, sweetness & elegance made my day.Cellared since 1979.
Another vote for Unico and Petrus.The great thing about Unico is you don’t need to worry where it was in the 70’s / 80’s. It wasn’t released until sometime in the early to mid 90’s.Cosidering its age- it’s in fabulous condition .Port is the only category in similar shape for 70 , although perfectly stored Bordeaux ( Petrus,Latour) is still drinking beautifully -70 Vega Unico is the top of the heap.
Again, thanks to all for your input. I just now will post 27 wines we had last night from the 1970 vintage. Some of your recommendations are included.