Hi,
It's my wifes 50th birthday next Tuesday and as she is quite partial to a Rioja I thought about a nice vintage bottle of wine would be a good idea. Especially as we can't get out to a decent restaurant and her party is cancelled.
I wasn't going to go mad and was trying to limit this to £100 and ideally something we could drink if we wanted to. Just a bit of 'fun' incorporting the year.
See link below for one I was thinking about.
https://www.sodivin.co.uk/alavesas-b...condition-good
My knowledge on these matters is negligble other than a few Google searches to show that 1970 was a decent vintage for some grapes and that we'll need to leave it to settle for a while before drinnking.
Do any fellow TZ'ers have a fancy for such things and can offer up any good tips or do's and dont's?
Any good links to trusted sellers would also be appreciated.
Cheers.
Chris
does your wife like the taste of old rioja? personally i'm not a fan of wine that’s tired and past it’s best. i would go with something guaranteed to taste great just not from that year so a La Rioja Alta 904 or 890 or a murietta/riscal/Lopez de Heredia. you might find a 1970 Vina Ardanza for not silly money.
Well yes that's a consideration. I've no idea as we've never dabbled beyond the supermarket or the odd wine club purchase.
I did wonder whether spending less on younger wines which are at their prime was better. I'll check out your suggestions. Thanks.
It's just that has less of a obvious connection with the special birthday.
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Bit of a struggle to find a red wine unless port that has kept in the right conditions for 50 years at the £100 mark. Can try the big merchants like justerini and berry brothers website to see what they have.
Usually we are talking about very fine reds from top chateaux in Bordeaux for example or Italian Barolo etc that deserves that kind of very long ageing, to increase complexity and add ageing character, these are usually very expensive and only the top wines should be aged that long, otherwise they can be pass best and taste flat.
Choosing a nearer vintage like in the 1990s would be a lot easier and give you all of the aged complex taste you would want.
If it's "a bit of 'fun'" for a 50th and she like Rioja, I say go for it.
It may not be the best way to spend £100 on wine, you could probably get more actual drinking pleasure from say 3 £30 bottles but for a 50th birthday present for someone who likes Rioja, why not? I wouldn't think too much more about it.
I'm not a wine expert by any stretch of the imagination, but if you would like something that's 50 years old, it might be advisable to start by doing some research what types of wines can be stored for such a lengthy period and actually improve with time. You might like some wines that are 5 years old, but tasting the same ones after 15, 20 or more years that could be very different experience.
Storability is feature that varies a lot with different grapes.
For such an event, it sounds like a bit of rather good value fun given the situation and her enjoyment of rioja.
It almost doesn't matter if the wine ends up being a bit rubbish, you've still got a wine that's half a decade old and you're drinking it to celebrate her also reaching that milestone!
I visited all the big winemakers in Rioja a couple of years ago. One of the outstanding was Gomez Cruzado and in particular the Honorable range which was superb bang per buck, needs decanting for 2 hours. For the really top notch blow the budget Rioja go for Cirsion.
As far as I am aware 1970 was a good vintage for Rioja. But that is not the same as saying that a 1970 Rioja will drink well today and not be passed it’s best.
As always even for a good vintage year there will be a massive difference between how wines from different wineries in the same region will age.
The Robert Parker vintage guide indicates you may be pushing it with a 1970 Rioja.
https://www.robertparker.com/resources/vintage-chart
The key for whatever you buy for older vintages, as well as knowing that theoretically it’s likely to be fine, is to ask a few questions:
- whose risk if corked
- how has the wine been stored
I have occasionally bought the odd bottle to mark an event, but with potentially less risk.
- a 1983 St. Emilion, bought from Berry Bros and Rudd. Drunk in 2013 for our 30th anniversary
- a 1958 Madeira, bought from the winery itself (you won’t get corked Madeira, as it is preoxidised). Drunk a couple of years ago.
It probably comes down to what is most important for the occasion?
- a bottle from your wife’s birth year, or
- simply a great bottle of wine at the same price point from a vintage recommended by a decent wine merchant.
From the research I did for a similar idea a few years ago a 50 year old red will be a gamble however much you spend.
Dessert wines from certain areas seemed to be a safer bet. I took a punt on a ‘75 Chateau Rieussec Sauterne bought from a private seller through a Catawiki auction - think I won it for just under £100.
We had it on Christmas Day with the extended family and it made a nice talking point.
You're all over thinking it. Simply buy 50 bottles of her favourite wine!
Or 50 bottles of dry cider.........thats the other favourite tipple.Originally Posted by hogthrob
It is a gamble if you pay a lot and when you open it it tastes like vinegar. One safe way after the crisis is find a restaurant or specialist wine outlet that will sell you the wine to drink there and then. If there is an issue it's their problem.
For example at Penfolds in Adelaide you can order stuff going back 60 years in their restaurant and it is all in tip top condition, but not cheap.
Alternately buy from someone like Berry Bros who would probably guarantee the wine within reason.
Totally agree with this. Hence if it had to be 1970 something like this would be safest:
https://www.leaandsandeman.co.uk/win...E-3590-00.html
I wouldn't.
Since the new year I've 'drunk' three bottles of Bordeaux from 1982, widely considered to be one of the best vintages of the last century. It really wasn't very good. A lovely colour but thin and anticlimactic. Only the faintest traces of what they once were. Decanting them was much more interesting than drinbking them.
I had these bottles for far too long, I think I bought them in the early 90s, and I wouldn't pay any money for them now.
Desert wine is a decent option for old wines. Anything with high residual sugar tends to age well so port, Sauternes and trockenbeerenauslese would all be safer options than going for a red wine. As with all old wine provenance and careful storage is very important.
Two bottles of 25 year old wine... You've got twice as much to drink
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This guy does a great service and has plenty to choose from in the 1970 pages.
I might suggest going for two of the £50 bottles he has in the hope that one might be decent.
Either that, or go for a fortified wine of some kind as that’ll be far more likely to be tasty.
Great idea! Let us know what you go for and how it is!
You might have to reorder this page by price ascending.
https://www.vintagewineandport.co.uk...ultsPerPage=25
I quite like that idea. Or five bottles of 2010?Two bottles of 25 year old wine... You've got twice as much to drink
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I have recently given 2 x 50 year bottles of Port and a 40 year bottle of Port - they were all much appreciated both as gifts and enjoyable.
1970 doesn't seem to be a declared year so more afforbable than the 1969s I bought...
I would say go for it but get Port if you want a better chance of drinking it - they are recent decants/bottled.
I bought mine from vintage wine & port - if you are going to buy one from there PM me as they gave me a discount code and will try to find it for you.
??
Shurely shome mishtake. 1970 is a legendary year for port; the 1969 was not declared by most shippers.
See e.g. 'Decanter', which says of the 1970 (1969 not listed):
'Classic, tight-knit wines, some outstanding, that will will last a lifetime. Drink now to 2030+. 5/5 ... Although not as fine overall as the undeniably impressive 1963s, there are wines from 1970 that deserve to be ranked among the great vintage Ports of the 20th century.'
[https://www.decanter.com/learn/vinta...guide-380297/]
'Wine Spectator' scores the 1970 at 95/100 (1969 not listed): https://www.winespectator.com/vintag...s/search/id/46
Or see https://www.vintagewineandport.co.uk...ine/1970-wine:
'The 1970 Port Vintage was universally declared as a vintage of outstanding quality. Ideal growing conditions produced what is now a classic, outstanding vintage. The 1970 port wines have great balance, good structure, and will age superbly for decades to come. Declared by all the major port houses, 1970 is one of the finest Port vintages for the last 50 years - a bottle from this year would make a stunning 50 year old wine gift for a birthday or 50th anniversary this year.'
Etc.
Last edited by Tom-P; 12th May 2020 at 22:45.
I had a splendid 1993 Protos Ribera del duero at christmas time, decanted and all and it was superb still - a bout to go past its prime so I think I caught it just at the right moment
but that is a bottle that has not been stored properly and been through two house moves.
I agree. Trying to find a 50 year old wine sounds too pompous. Make it more fun, for (close to) your budget, you can buy 50 of these and give her a nice hamper full of them.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-G...ucts/280136273
For a Scotch loving mate's 50th, I put 50 miniatures of a 12 year old malt in a hamper. He loved it.
A 50 year old argmanac (brandy) might be an option?
Though probably closer to £200 (or more)
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Better yet then to get the Port ! I was basing my assumption on the prices as I think the 1978 was about 80, but the 1969s were much more expensive so maybe it is just supply?
Was 1988 or 1991 a good year for Rioja?
It sounds as if an 18th or 21st birthday year wine may be a safer bet, assuming it didn't taste like water or vinegar initially...
Not something I know anything about, but maybe worth investigating if you fancy a 'significant year' bottle?
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Definitely not unless she is already interested in drinking old wine. Better to buy a more recent high quality bottle, or two £50 bottles.
Get a younger wife, the wine will be better!
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