1975 Birthday Wine

I am not a big fan of most of the red Bordeauxs from 1975, although there are some decent ones and many have lasted well. However the Sauternes from 1975 can be outstanding. Since a little Sauternes can go a long way, you could consider the 1/2 bottle size. The outstanding Yquem may be over your price limit, but Climens and Suduiraut are also outstanding, and many of the others are not far behind. Finding a good

75 red or white Burgundy is likely to be risky. There were a lot of top German Rieslings made in 75, but only the best auslesen and higher grades are likely to be of interest now in most cases. A few 75 Champagnes were outstanding, but only the best such as Krug are likely to be interesting now, and these are likely over your price limit. A few of the best Brunellos from 75 are still holding well, but some of these likely are over your price limit. Some of the 75 Tokaji Aszu , 5 putts or higher, is very good and still holding well. The 75 Oporto was a bit weak in general, but The Taylor has been reported to be very good with many years of life left. The 75 Cabernet Sauvignon from California was a bit weak in general, but a few of the best ones are still of interest. Some of the 75 Australian reds probably have lasted, but I do not have information about them at hand.

Of course storage is all important for wines nearing 30 years of age, so you must be extremely careful about the source of your wine.

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The wines are from his latest Bordeaux book, from the beginning, where he assesses the vintages in depth, and where he lists the most successful wines. (I did not put down the first growths, however, because they obviously transcend the buyer's budget.)

M.

So does the absolutely killer La Mission! If you can find it for less than $500 US you are doing well.

"Michael Pronay"...

I might like to purchase this book, depending on what it contains.

What (if anything) does it say about 1966 Pichon-Baron? What (if anything) does it say about 1975 La Lagune?

Thanks in advance

Michael Pronay states: "Don't know about the whites, but *avoid* the reds. 1975 was a terrible vintage: rot, rot, rot. I don't think any really long lasting red Burgundy was made."

I do not recall ever tasting a 1975 red Burgundy. They had a terrible repution in the US. However some of the whites were not bad if carefull selected. I did not mention any, because even the best likely are too old and/or expensive for the birthday wine. I did taste the 1975 Le Montrachet from Thevenin. Unfortunately my notes are marked only R. Thevenin, and there is Rene and Roland, so I am not sure which applies to the wine I tasted. At one time Roland T. had exclusive distribution rights for the D. de Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet wines, which included 1/5 ha of Le Montrachet. I believe this tiny plot of Le Montrachet was bought by DRC quite a while ago. Anyway the wine I had at about 7 years old was rather concentrated and had considerable merit, but it was a little flat, and I doubt very much if it would be worth drinking today.

I also had several bottles of Moreau's Clos des Hospices 1975 Chablis. This was very hard and austure at first. It required about 10 years to develop and was still drinking well at 15 years. But again, I doubt if it would be of much interest now.

Of course in Bordeaux, Petrus 1975 has a very high reputation by many, but the price is so high that I did not mention it.

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A couple of '75 Bdx I've found to be quite good (and reasonably inexpensive) have been the Talbot and the Gruaud-Larose.

Even less expensive, I was shocked that a '75 Giscours was showing well, as it's not a favorite estate. But definitely at 'drink up" stage.

And on the slightly pricier end, my note re the 1975 Palmer from few months ago: -slightly "high-toned", but amazing complex and complete wine. Still a touch tannic, but great fruit balancing some apparent acidity, and loads of secondary aromas of leather, tobacco, and more. I recently told someone that to my tastes Palmer is overrated, as even top vintages like 1983 have left me unmoved. Can't say that anymore. My WOTN

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

PS Obviously with 30 year old wines, provenance and bottle condition are everything! Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Funny, then same wine, one year younger, was one of the very first bottles of serious white wine I ever acquired. Must have been around 1978. Drunk in the first half of the 1990s (and always stored well) it completely over the hill, nastily oxidized. With the knowledge of today I don't know whether it was the wine or the cork (premature random oxidation). At the time I thought the wine should have been drunk by 1980. (But then the 1976 burgundies from that hot year were know to be fat and flabby, so maybe it was the wine.)

M.

[Parker's "Bordeaux"]

"It is impossible to find a first class wine between 1961 and

1981" (my retranslation from the German edition).

"Some vintages of the 1970s can be surprising, especially when stored impeccably: The 1978, always first class (88/100, l.t.

2/89), the 1976 (88/100, l.t. 12/89), the 1975 (87/100, l.t. 1/01), and the 1970 (87/100, l.t. 1/01 from a magnum). They were all solidly vinified, classic Clarets that still can provide much leasure, provided the bottles were kept decently. The 1960s were largely disappointing. (Same remark.)

Given that Robert Parker is quite strict with translations, I guess this very much should come near to the original.

Can anybody veryfy? (My own English copy seems to have vanished for the moment).

M.

Giscours 1975, how could I have forgotten! It's the second best of the 1970s, close to the mammoth 1970 (when well-stored).

M.

Clive Coates gave extensive Bordeaux rating charts in the September 2004 issue of the vine. He rates on a 20 point scale. Here are the 1975 reds that he rated 17 or above. All are ready to drink, but most should hold a while longer. I find Coates tends to fall between Parker and Broadbent in his likes in wines.

Latour 18; Haut-Brion 18.5; Cheval Blanc 18.5; Petrus 19.5; Grand-Puy-Lacoste 17.5; Lynch-Bages 17.5; Leo. Las Cases 17.5; Gruaud-Larose 17; Ducru-Beaucaillou 17; Palmer 19; Montrose 17; La-Mission-Haut-Brion 19.5; Canon 17.5; La Conseillante19.

But many of the 1975s did not turn out very well. Here are some of Coates' low ratings: Lafite 14; Margaux 13; Pichon-Baron 12; Duhart-Milon 12; Lagrange 12.5; Brane-Cantenac 12; Cantmerle 12; Clos L'Eglise 12.5.

Buying 1975 shortly after relase turned out to be very risky. And the hype in the US about the oustanding "classic" 1975 vintage led many to pay very high prices for Lafite and such.

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If you are interested in veering away from Bordeaux for a moment, the

1975 Sterling Reserve Cab is an amazing wine right now. Premier Cru was recently selling magnums for $129 - I do not know if they are still available.

All the best,

Eric White

Eric White wrote "If you are interested in veering away from Bordeaux for a moment, the 1975 Sterling Reserve Cab is an amazing wine right now. Premier Cru was recently selling magnums for $129 - I do not know if they are still available."

I had a bottle of the 75 Sterling Reserve a few months ago that had been properly stored, and it still was holding well. Both BV Private Reserve and Robert Mondavi Reserve 75 CSs were still holding well just a few years back. I drank most of my 75 CSs many years ago, as most of them did not seem to have the structure for very long aging.

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Reserve

not

Thank you so much for all of your replies. I have been gone for most of the past week, as my father suffered a heart attack and needed emergency bypass surgery. Looks like he's going to be ok - I'll buy him a nice tannic red for his coming home present :)

In any case, the point about storage and bottle condition is well taken. I have no idea what the reputation of the vendors listed on wine-searcher are, so are there any in particular that you can recommend, and also some to avoid at all costs?

Thanks again.

- Chris