Couldn't agree more. Speaking of going 50 years I was mucking around in the cellar last week looking for something and discovered I still had a 1970 Musar, making it exactly 50 years old. I had thought my 1977s were the oldest and I had considered one last weekend when I encountered a low fill on another bottle and decided it needed drinking:JamieBahrain wrote:Decanted some. Musar whites- 2000 and 2004.
One of the great, underrated wines of the Fine Wine scene! They go 50 years btw.
I drank bucket loads of 1977 La Louviere when I first started off on my vinous journey. It was cheap, delicious, and already about 10 years old when I was I was drinking it. Lamb and a 10 year-old Bordeaux was my girlfriend and my favourite meal. 1977 was one of the worst vintages in Bordeaux but this wine was delicious: it had fruit, some maturity, and considerable depth. It was also cheap because the government run stores worked on a fixed markup above wholesale and it was likely bought en primeur back in 1978 or 1979. The collector in me, and the sentimentalist (because my girlfriend is neither with me nor in this world), didn't allow me to open the last bottle. However with the low fill it was a worry (though not with Musars mind you) and it was a 43 year old wine.
There was a lot of ugly looking mould and gunk under the capsule and still looked dark after I wiped it off with a wet paper towel. Sensing that the cork was likely very fragile I used the poor man's "Durand-method": gently inserting a fine corkscrew right through the cork, withdraw it, then carefully inserting the prongs of the butler's thief as far as it will go and slowly withdraw the cork. The cork was damp and virtually black, the markings of a typical Bordeaux cork . I decanted it shortly before serving, using a small decanter and chilling it in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes.
A sniff from the decanter was reassuring. In the glass the bouquet was lovely, if delicate, but it grew with time. The palate was also fine, not astringent or dried out as might be the case with wine from a poor vintage. Amazingly the palate grew with time, becoming fleshier and sweeter. Make no mistake this was not a "stellar" wine but it expressed its Bordeaux heritage in a delicate and feminine way, perfectly poised for what it is, showing the typical nose and palate of a mature Bordeaux. It was a sheer delight and one of the finer examples of old Bordeaux I've had. I am now apprehensive for my 1981 and 1983s, that they will need far more time to develop the sense of poise in this La Louviere.
The Wine Cellar Insider says this about the 1977 vintage:
"1977 Bordeaux wine owns the title of the worst year in a decade of mostly difficult vintages. It was a tough contest when you think about it as you were forced to consider 1972, 1973 and 1974! The 1977 Bordeaux growing season got off to a cold start due the severe damage caused by the frost in the spring that ruined the Merlot grapes. Many vineyards in Bordeaux suffered major damage from the severe frosts that struck most of the region on March 31 and again on April 9.
If that wasn’t enough, the frosts were followed by a wet, cold, sunless summer. By late September, the weather improved, but it was far too little, too late to help the 1977 Bordeaux vintage. The 1977 Bordeaux harvest officially started October 3. The vintage and I are equally happy we have never met."
I'm glad I had acquaintance with the 1977 vintage in the form the La Louviere, twice in fact, once with a past love and now with another.
Cheers ............................ Mahmoud.
