On 2007-10-11 20:57:45 -0700, cwdjrxyz > said:

> On Oct 11, 6:31 pm, Ronin > wrote:
>> On 2007-10-10 10:52:34 -0700, cwdjrxyz > said:
>>
>>> I always remember the 1959 and 1961 Bordeauxs. Early on, many rated
>>> the 1959s as superior to the 1961s, many of which were quite tannic
>>> and harsh when young.
>>
>> As you seem to have some experience with those vintages, I wonder if
>> you might have an opinion about the '59 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion. I
>> was unfortunate enough, (sad, I know,) to have inherited 4 bottles (in
>> the original case, no less) a couple of years ago. They look to be in
>> good shape and I am looking forward to opening them. As I have no
>> experience with this vintage or this chateau, Maybe you have some
>> memories that will enrich my/our experience when we do open them. I
>> will, of course, offer tasting notes when they do go the way of all
>> bottles...
>
> I bought very few 1959 and 1961 wines when they were first released. I
> was just out of college then and did not have a lot of money to spend
> for wines to age. I did buy a case of 59 Yquem and a case of 61 Lafite
> at the then high price of about $US 11 per bottle. I picked up a few
> more bottles of 59 and 61 wines a few years after release, but by then
> the prices had greatly increased, but still were very low compared
> with what first growths cost today, even considering inflation.
>
> Michael Broadbent likely has tasted more of these old wines over the
> years than most. You must consider that he has a "classic" English
> taste for Bordeaux, and not a "California" taste. Parker was not
> important on the wine scene back then.
>
> Back in 1959 La Mission Haut-Brion was still owned by the Woltners who
> were making it at their best. It often was a more powerful wine than
> Haut-Brion itself, and many, especially those in the US, often
> considered it better than Haut-Brion - a matter of taste. Broadbent
> says it took 20 years for the 59 La Mission Haut-Brion to lose enough
> tannin for the wine to be decent. It was at first restrained, but had
> perfectly evolved by the early 90s. He last reported tasting it in
> 2000, where he found plenty of everything in good balance. He then
> rated it 5-star out of 5-star and said that it would keep. If your
> wine has been properly stored over the years, it likely now is a very
> great wine, and you might want to plan some special event to serve it.
> If storage has been less than ideal, all bets are off and it could
> range from undrinkable to still outstanding.
>
> Both La Mission Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion were outstanding in 1959 and
> 1961 and all should still be drinking well and should hold longer if
> properly stored. Any combination of these wines would make a most
> interesting tasting.
>
> The star of both 1959 and 1961 is Ch. Latour. Broadbent gave his very
> rare rating of 6-star out of 5-star (over the top) for both of these.
> In the late 90s he thought both of these had not even peaked yet, and
> that the 59 might have another quarter century and the 1961 another
> half century of life. Wines such as this are very difficult to
> evaluate either young or at a decade or two old. Here blind tasting is
> of little help, other than to detect flaws such as a corked wine or
> poor storage condition. If one knows the wine is Latour and has
> followed the development of Latour from youth to maturity over many
> vintages, then one may be in a position to predict how a new young
> Latour will develop (and one is by then usually quite old). Wines such
> as this can in youth have very aggressive tannins and acids, and
> mainly "label" drinkers will say they like them at this stage. For
> many, if not most, such aggressive young wines, the wine often just
> dries out with age or oxidizes before it becomes liked by many.

Many thanks!

Ahhh the good old days - I remember in '67 going through emotional
turmoil, and finally deciding I couldn't possibly pay all of $5 for a
bottle of '59 Yquem.

This case of La Mission was stored "OK" as far as I know - Was
purchased originally by Matt Sterling, the archiologist who discovered
the Olmec civilization in Central America. He wrote "Very good wine!"
on the side of the case and I suspect they took good care of it in a DC
cellar. His wife subsequently became my step mother in law, and I know
it was well kept for the last 25 years. In any case, it will be fun to
try!

JB