What old wines have you tasted? And did you like them?

[Christer Byklum]

It seems that the auction house were the 47 was bought (we sent the bottle back, with content) is taking it very seriously, and it looks like we will get a refund, a bottle of 61 Latour a Pomerol instead

The 61 Latour is one of the highest on my list of the wines I really want to try, but some say the 61 Latour a Pomerol is better? Any views on that?

[Rani Osnat]

My experience has been sparse but overwhelmingly positive:
1945, 1947, 1949 Huet (Le Haut Lieu Moelleux) - really stupendous, especially the 47. Color was bright yellow, fresh as the day it was bottled. Tasted blind no-one would ever suspect it was anything older than 10 years!
1934 Latour - splendid
1914 Chateau d'Arche - who would have ever thought? Color was like a slightly reddish malt whiskey, but it was completely explosive on the palate, with great acidity and sweetness, like quince jam.

[Hamish Wakes-Miller]

I have two bottles of 1899 Chateau Latour Haut Brion. Do you think these will be OK? The levels are slightly down, but not disastrous. I bought them as part of a private cellar about 20 years ago. They have been stored in perfect conditions for the last 20 years. I was tempted to drink them at the turn of the millenium.....but I drank too much champagne and ended up under the table. I just don't know when to drink them.
I have enjoyed some fantastic 1843 and 1845 Madeira's in the past(at my 30th Birthday). A Chateau Latour 1945 was probably my finest vinous experience (of older wine). I tried a 1947 Cheval Blanc 18 years ago, which was fantastic, but IMO overhyped.

[Christer Byklum]

What I find is that to open the old and rare bottle is the event in it self, and can be done any day, that is a celebration of life.

[Francois Audouze]

Hamisch,
1899 is a very great year.
Nobody can say surely that your bottle will be good, as all depends of the bottle.
I have drunk original bottlings of Pontet-Canet 1899 which were great, and a d'Issan reconditioned which was awful.
I wish you a great tasting of a very great year.

[Pierre Wertheimer]

It was a 1923 Vouvray. Delicious! Fantastic conservation for a white wine. The wine growers keep the best vintages (1893, 1921, 1947 if my memory serves me well) for themselves, but I think you can still buy old ones. To can still see piles of these old vintages in the caves with their "barbes" I was the sole representative of the "Agence de Developpement de la Touraine" from 2001 to 2003. I brought a group of importers to visit the wineries and they served us the 1923 in a restaurant. A

Pierre
PS: The responses that I have read are impressive!!!!!

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[Steve Webb]

The first old wine I tasted just happened to be 1947 Cheval Blanc - a good place to start. As a young man in the wine trade I was delegated to entertain a Japanese customer who was visiting the UK. I took him and his interpretor to our restaurant where, almost as a joke, we were offering 1947 Cheval Blanc by the glass! We had discovered a few old English bottlings in a private cellar we had bought. He couldn't resist taking up the offer and bought a glass for me and his interpretor too! What he didn't know is that we finished off the bottle after he left!

Even though it wasn't in the best condition the wine was stunning and tasting it was a very special moment. I have tasted many old wines since but none stick in my memory quite so vividly.

I do have to say though that the best old wines are undoubtedly Sauternes!

[David Glasser]

It was a 1923 Vouvray. Delicious! Fantastic conservation for a white wine. The wine growers keep the best vintages (1893, 1921, 1947 if my memory serves me well) for themselves, but I think you can still buy old ones. To can still see piles of these old vintages in the caves with their "barbes" I was the sole representative of the "Agence de Developpement de la Touraine" from 2001 to 2003. I brought a group of importers to visit the wineries and they served us the 1923 in a restaurant. A

Pierre
PS: The responses that I have read are impressive!!!!!

[email protected]

Pierre, your reply reminds me of another great old bottle: a 1947 Bredif Vouvray that we purchased while visiting the cellars. Opened a few years later in 2007 for a 60th birthday celebration, it was stunningly complex, rich and alive. Just the nose alone was enough to transport me to another dimension.

[Marshall Gelb]

I have had a few old wines over the years. I fondly remember the years when the famous Heublein auction was held in Los Angeles. The wines that would be opened for all to taste were beyond belief!
As to what I own....I still have a 1948 Latour, a birth year wine, that I will probably hold for my (our) 65th birthday. The last one I tried was amazing! Over all, I have had great luck with 1948 ports, particularly Grahams and Taylor. I am still on the lookout for the occasional '48 Bordeaux but they seem to be few and far between.

Cheers!
Marshall

[Francois Audouze]

Marshall,
nearly all 1948 have been drunk, because people people preferred to keep the uneven years, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949. So years like 1942 disappeared as no one wanted to keep for long such a weak year. Same for 1944. But for 1946 and 1948 which are good years, they suffered from the fame of 1945, 1947 and 1949.

Here is what I have drunk from 1948 :
Champagne Henri Abelé rosé - 1948
Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac - 1948
Armagnac folle blanche - 1948
Château d'Yquem 1948
Maury Doré Paule de Volontat en magnum - 1948
Agneau Blanc, Graves, sélection baron Philippe de Rothschild - 1948
Grands Echézeaux Domaine de la Romanée Conti - 1948
Coulée de Serrant Cothereau - 1948
Château Léoville Las Cases - 1948
Château Suduiraut - 1948
Château Carbonnieux blanc - 1948
Château Léoville Poyferré - 1948
Montrose - 1948
Château Carbonnieux blanc 1948
Château Chalon, Bourdy - 1948
vin demi-doux 1948
Château Laville Haut-Brion 1948
Château d’Yquem 1948
Vega Sicilia Unico 1948
Mission Haut-Brion 1948
Château Cheval Blanc 1948
Château d'Yquem 1948
Château Laville Haut-Brion 1948
Château Lafite-Rothschild 1948
Chevalier Montrachet Bouchard Père & Fils 1948
Château Ausone 1948
Château Laville Haut-Brion 1948
Château Climens 1948
Meursault A. Perdrizet 1948
Clos de Tart 1948
Cru d'Arche-Pugneau Sauternes-Preignac 1948
Château Haut-Brion rouge 1948
Château Pétrus Ricard et Doutreloux négociants à Bordeaux 1948

If I have drunk them it is because they pleased me !

[Marshall Gelb]

Thanks Francois; It does seem that the 1948 wines suffered from being in the shadows of the '47s and '49s. I still hold out hope for an occasional "find." Over the years, I have also been lucky enough to try some white Bordeaux from the '48 vintage. The Pavillon Blanc du Margaux was delicious about 15 years ago......I also have a few 1948 Madeiras which I am still holding on to.

Cheers!
Marshall

[Alex Stone]

Francois,

That is an amazing list of wine. Did you ever publish your book in English?

[Alex Stone]

Marshall,

The only 1948 I have ever tasted is Chateau Latour. It remains one the best wines I've ever tasted. You are in for a treat. I think it was about 10 years ago when I tasted it. Please post a note when you open it.

[Jeffrey Silver]

Wow a pleasure to know you and Jeff

[Christer Byklum]

Yesterday was a rare occasion,

a good 1952 Pontet-Canet
a very good 66 Giscours
a surprisingly good 67 Mouton
A ok 67 Ch Margaux
A gorgeous 61 Ch Margaux
a very good 45 Margaux
a magnificent 34 Margaux
a volatile beyond description 29 Margaux
A superb 1928 Margaux
Beautiful 34 Cheval Blanc
Splendid 66 Cheval Blanc
a magnificent 61 Latour a Pomerol

And a 05 Coche-Dury Meursault, 01 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin and 93 Henri Jayer Vosne Romanée

Notes will come