1972, what's the real wine to buy?

Vilco

Forget Bordeaux. It was an awful year. Burgundy was average. I don't know if any Port house declared in 72. You may have to look at CA Cabs.

Tom Schellberg

1972 Heitz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet

I know that the 1974 gets all of the attention, but the '72 will blow you away (if you can find some!). I would also grab a couple of other '72's for backups. Australian Ports are always nice. Good luck!

Sean

Both Bordeaux and California Cabernet were poor in 1972. The best of the vintage here in California was the Heitz "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernet - but that's probably dead by now. At release it was $6 US - and pretty good for the vintage, but not a keeper.

The whites from California were *outstanding* that year, but over the hill by now.

Your best bet might be a well stored Burgundy. I recall those being really nice at the time. Almost forgot: the 1972 Mount Eden Pinot Noir was really excellent. Good luck finding any...

Tom S

I had a friend with a 1972 anniversary year and he hit me every year until I ran out for a bottle of Dao Reserva.

Apparently it was a decent vintage in Portugal - but good luck finding any table wine from that vintage.

Your best (and most expensive) bet is indeed Burgundy.

M. Broadbent rates 1972 as 5-star(out of 5-star) for Hungarian Tokaji. He has this to say: "The top vintage of the (20th) century, for the size and quality of Aszu production across the whole Tokaj region. Long, warm, favourable autumn weather and widespread development of 'noble rot'."

If you can find a 5 or 6 putt Aszu it likely is still in top form if it has been well stored. Better examples and especially Aszu-Essencia from this year may not have peaked and could last up to many more decades.

My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net from my email address. Then add snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com . I do not check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.

[] ] Your best (and most expensive) bet is indeed Burgundy.

Perhaps. Certainly not a banner year anywhere in France. However I believe there was some good wine made in the northern Rhone. A top Hermitage should be a decent bet.

-E

Another sticky to consider would be high end German dessert wines. Despite being overshadowed by the spectacular 1971 and 1976 vintages some of the

1972's are extremely good still. I recently had an apportunity to taste a 1972 Schloss Volrads Riesling Eiswein and it was holding up remarkably well.

Cheers,

AndrewC

I've had some disappointing La Chapelle from this vintage - and some great Burgs - a Grands Echezeaux whose maker I cannot recall for instance.

California was weak - just about everywhere was mediocre. Tough year to be born in. Frankly, I'd rationalise and buy a nice Bordeaux or Sauternes from 1971 - "released in 1972" - you could say the same thing of the birthday boy.....

Tom S. sez:

I don't believe this! That's like a complete stranger telling everyone about what you thought was a "secret", 30 years later!

I almost fell out my chair when you recommended the '72 Mount Eden Pinot Noir. I've GOT one bottle of it!

And, by the way, you are right---'72 was an awful year for California Cabs. I hear that it rained so hard, the picking bins were literally floating in the vineyards.

I started my career at Sterling in 1976. I remember the '72 Sterling cab as being rather nice, but not very rich. They did have a good 1972 Pinot Noir, however---but it was also unusual because it came from Calistoga fruit, specifically, Three Palms Vineyard ! I have a couple of magnums of that stuff, still. But I haven't stored it that well.

Concerning 1972 Mount Eden: Merry Edwards was the winemaker, one of the few women in the business at the time. She's been a friend to me for almost 20 years, since she was at Matanzas Creek.

But during the 1970s, she became acquainted with Alex Dierkising and Gayle Keller, the owners of the Silverado Restaurant in Calistoga, which at that time had one of the best wine lists in the nation. They also sold some of their favorite wines at retail (which they still do today in Calistoga, at All Seasons Cafe).

Gayle told me that if I bought a bottle of that Pinot, I should keep it for twenty years.

Well, it's now going on 32 years !

And every time I meet with Merry Edwards, I ask her, "Iz zat stuff ready to drink yet?" She laughs. It's become a running joke.

---Bob

Vilco:

Where do you live?

I have quite a few bottles of the 1972 California vintage knocking around my cellar.

I'll GIVE you one bottle, if you'll only send me whatever money it takes to buy a styrofoam shipper box, plus the UPS costs.

I will not vouch for the "sound"-ness of these wines---in the first place, they are all likely to be past their prime; and secondly, while they have never been abused, my storage conditions have been less than optimal.

Still, they WILL be drinkable, and you may encounter a surprise treat!

If all you seek is a relic from the year you were born, I'd be happy to send you a bottle.

Mostly what I have is 1972 Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon, but I have a few other

1972s which I'll probably never drink.

If you want really great wine from that year, you'll probably have to look to Australia, or French Burgundy, as has been suggested.

It's possible that some Zinfandels from California are also still alive: I think of the early vintages of Ridge Vineyards, which are collectors' items today and quite expensive.

The Santa Cruz Mountains area of California had many boutique producers at the time, and their wines, such as the 1972 Mount Eden Pinot Noir, were superb.

1972 late harvest wines, such as from Sauternes or Germany, might be a possibility. 1971 in Germany was fabulous; but that of course means nothing.

For Burgundy, if you buy a negociant's Burgundy, I would trust the shipping house of Louis Latour: they seemed to be on top of their game at that time.

E-mail me privately at this address, and we'll be in touch.

Sincerely!

---Bob Robertson

Did you overlap with Rick Forman there. He made/makes good wine but I heard he was hard to work for.

And of course Zelma Long at Simi.

I am still hanging onto some Wente Brothers Pinot Noir from 1974. We discovered it in a wine group and most of us went around trying to buy up all that was on the market at $4.75 a bottle back then. The winery got hit hard by an earthquake right after the Pinot Noir went in the aging barrels. They kind of ignored it while they were rebuilding their stainless equipment. When they did get around the bottling it, it was magnificent. The winery right across the road, Concanon also produced a great Petite Sirah in that same time period that won the Les Amis du Vin wine of the year award.