Bouchard Aine & Fils

I believe 1959 was a good year. But......I regard Bouchard Aine as well-behind Bouchard Pere in quality, I don't know if that was true then. In any case, if this is a village Vosne (no 1er Cru vineyard designation), I'd expect that it died long ago. Especially if it wasn't in cold storage. You could probably get $100 from a curiousity seeker if you could prove cold storage.

You might try looking on winesearcher.com Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Dale,

I think you are about right here.

1959 was actually a tremendous vintage and no vintage today, with the possible exception of 1993, will have its staying power IMHO.

I have had a few 1959s in recent years including DRC Grands Echezeaux and Pierre Ponelle Bonnes Mares- both of them stunning and still in their prime.

$100 is probably fair for this. The negociant is not of huge reputation, but the vintage is quite highly esteemed- both in quality and in likelihood of the wines, if well stored, being in excellent condition today- a reputation exceeding most any other great vintage between 1964 and 1985 I might add.

I know I would pay $100 for something like this provided the provenance was good.

Take care,

Tom.

How do you pronounce "Bouchard Aine & Fils?"

My French ain't that good.

Thanks.

Boo-shard ay-nay ay fees.

For future use for all, this is a handy site:

Most of the red 59s from Burdundy had the potential to be nearly as good as they could be. Of course there always are some growers who overcrop, cut corners in wne making, etc., and these can produce an ordinary wine in the best of years. The 1959 la Tache was, and still is, one of the greatest red wines of any type that I have ever tasted. Unfortunately I have only one bottle left. It drank well from early on. The secret was that it had and retained nearly perfect balance. In a year such as 59, even some village wines can be outstanding. However I would not buy a wine over 40 years old unless I knew it had been stored properly. Even the 59 La Tache could be bad if it has been stored at a warm temperature for much of the time.

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