TN Chateau Margaux 1959

I bought 6 bottles of Ch. Margaux 1959 in the mid 1970s and it has been properly stored since bought. This is the 4th bottle that I have opened. This wine was imported from Walter Siegel Ltd. in London rather than directly from Bordeaux on release. The bottle just opened had a very high shoulder fill and the remaining 2 bottles have a low neck fill. There were no cork or other issues for the bottle opened, and, to my surprise, the cork for this 50 year old wine came out in one piece.

The color still is fairly intense with a touch of orange around the rim. There is a touch of brick to the scarlet color. The wine is fully mature and has been for many years. It likely will last several more years. The wine is complex in bouquet and taste with the usual red Bordeaux fruit with hints of a light roast coffee and something floral. The tannins are resolved and not too dry. The wine is very well balanced and has a long finish.

There have been reports that some bottles of 1959 Ch. Margaux have not developed so well. Michael Broadbent in a book reported that about 6 bottles out of about 29 tasted were disappointing to poor and the wines that did not show so well mostly had low fills(perhaps due to poor storage?) or cork problems. However he gave the wine his top rating when such issues were not present.

Is the 1959 or 1961 Ch. Margaux the better wine? Broadbent often liked the 61 more than the 59, but in some cases he liked the 59 better. In a wine this old, bottle variation likely is rather important.

Never had the '59 but the '61 was stunner.

I have never had that old of a Bordeaux. My oldest Margaux in cellar are from 1980's. My favorite still the 1989 Chateaux Margaux and the

Thanks as always for the evocative notes. Never had the '59 Margaux, though I've had a couple other Firsts through the generosity of others, great vintage. Even some lesser classified wines doing well (opening Talbot tomorrow, we'll see)

I have never had the 59 but have had the 61 numerous times. The 61 is one of the best I have ever had.

Lew

I have to add my $0.02 here, the 1961 Chateau Margaux was one of the best wines I ever had in my life.

Thanks for the very lovely note. As a '59er myself, I am envious of the experience. Since my wife Jean is a '61er, we have had endless debates over the comparative virtues of those two years ;-)

Mark Lipton

Don't know if I get everything correct, but it was Rausan Ségla back then, nowadays it's Rauzan Ségla.

M.

I always forget that. Funny thing when they changed the spelling I assumed it was a bad counterfeit label!

My memory hook to distinguish the (older) spelling difference between Rau_z_an-Gassies and Rau_s_an-Ségla always was "_S_an _S_iro" (a football stadium somewhere in Italy, possibly Milan?) which lead me to (Rau)_s_an-_S_égla.

M.

Hi Dale,

I recently acquired a similar bottle. Do you happen to have pictures of yours? I was hoping to confirm the authenticity of mine.

Best,

Wesley

That wasn't my bottle, it was Dr. Dwiggins (cwdjrxyz) who passed away last year. I've been lucky to have 59 Lafite, HB, and Mouton, but I don't think Margaux (and I've never owned a 59 First Growth). Lots of pictures on Cellartracker (some look like obvious fakes to me). Sadly 59 FG are prime targets for faking.