Just another birthday!

David McDowall

David McDowall

Location
St Andrews
Mildly significant birthday tomorrow. Small, Covid restricted, celebration planned - consisting of Andrina and myself having lunch outside in St Andrews. This birth year wine in the spotlight at some point during the day - bought as part of a mixed lot at auction over 10 years ago - £50 the lot if I remember correctly. This would now be classed Pessac-Leognan and it looks in pretty good nick - famous last words!
If intact what might we expect? When to open? Decant or not? So many questions and you'd think by my age I might know the answers!


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I would take the Audoze method with this: The slow oxygenation method for opening old wines | Académie des vins anciens

1961 obviously a great and long lived vintage so I think you stand a good chance of it being an enjoyable bottle, but one musn't dismiss La Garde being a relatively low level producer.

You may wish to do a very gentle decant off sediment just before serving, or just pour carefully. I would not "properly" decant this in advance at all, it'll fall apart.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow - hope it shows well!
 
David,

Happy birthday! Firstly, if not standing up get it so ASAP and do not touch until decanting. I have opened 3 1961s in the last few weeks, here is what I did.

We opened and decanted very carefully through mesh into decanter just before sitting down. Worked just fine - we finished the bottle in about an hour. Batailley and Pontet-Canet showed best after approx 20 minutes in decanter. Due to the age IMHO you will need to decant the whole thing in one go to preserve clarity, decanting through mesh into glasses just won't work. Rinse the bottle immediately and decant back into the bottle to slow down the process.

Enjoy :)

Joel

PS: we had best success with Riedel chianti rather than Bordeaux glasses. The wines were attenuated, but fragrant and strikingly delicious if you enjoyed them for what they were, rather than being analytical
 
If you do decant off the sediment, I'd agree with Joel and put it straight back into the cleaned bottled and stopper it. And maybe have a couple of teensy glasses just after decanting and before heading out. It's always a bit of an unknown, but sometimes the bouquet of really old wines is at its most vivid in the first minutes, so it might be nice to experience that.
 
Dont decant. Open 6-8 hours before you plan to drink it. If it smells good just stopper it and leave till you are ready to drink. If it smells maderised or deathly on opening just leave the cork out. That smell should fade after about 3-4 hours and by 6-8 it should start showing some fruit.

I do this with all bottles older than 1970. It generally works unless the wine has totally oxidised.
 
Joel Hopwood said:
David,

Happy birthday! Firstly, if not standing up get it so ASAP and do not touch until decanting. I have opened 3 1961s in the last few weeks, here is what I did.

We opened and decanted very carefully through mesh into decanter just before sitting down. Worked just fine - we finished the bottle in about an hour. Batailley and Pontet-Canet showed best after approx 20 minutes in decanter. Due to the age IMHO you will need to decant the whole thing in one go to preserve clarity, decanting through mesh into glasses just won't work. Rinse the bottle immediately and decant back into the bottle to slow down the process.

Enjoy :)

Joel

PS: we had best success with Riedel chianti rather than Bordeaux glasses. The wines were attenuated, but fragrant and strikingly delicious if you enjoyed them for what they were, rather than being analytical
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Big glasses will hold a whole bottle and as this is for two drinkers it can be done in, effectively, one go, with two glasses next to each other and each glass receiving say 35cl, leaving a bit at the bottom of the bottle for sediment. I prefer that to the greater aeration from double decanting.

The complication is stirring the sediment up on the way to the restaurant - if you're nearby you could leave it with them tonight.
 
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With all 3 I opened recently it took a good 5 minutes for the bottle stink to blow off. And there's no bottle stink like a 60 year one! Personally I think clarity (ie minimum possible sediment in suspension) is the most important factor and that is all about 1) most time possible with bottle standing up pre-decant 2) single smooth decanting pour and 3) stopping decant at right point.
 
kevin heatherington said:
Dont decant. Open 6-8 hours before you plan to drink it. If it smells good just stopper it and leave till you are ready to drink. If it smells maderised or deathly on opening just leave the cork out. That smell should fade after about 3-4 hours and by 6-8 it should start showing some fruit.

I do this with all bottles older than 1970. It generally works unless the wine has totally oxidised.
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The 'Méthode Audouze' in all its glory. I like it, I think it does no harm and it might do some good though these things are impossible to demonstrate. My particular method with very old bottles is to chill right down before opening, returning to refrigeration for a few hours then very carefully double decanting. It works for me, but the enjoyment of old wine is even more about psychology that wine appreciation in general. I have never even once had a wine die on me after a strong start when using this method.
Jeremy Caan said:
Big glasses will hold a whole bottle and as this is for two drinkers it can be done in, effectively, one go, with two glasses next to each other and each glass receiving say 35cl
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I think I would find a 35cl pour rather unappetising. A smaller portion can be served with the rest going into a third receptacle, perhaps a small decanter.
My general view is that if a wine can't survive decanting it is unlikely to have meaningfully survived at all, but I wouldn't even think of doing it if the bottle weren't very cold.
 
Happy birthday David - one year younger than I am :cool:

Given the differing opinions offered on decanting I won't muddy the waters with my suggestion of carefully placing the bottle in a brown paper bag, find a nice seat in a St. Andrews bus shelter, slug it straight from the bottle while shouting at the passing traffic.

It looks a very good fill level for the age, by the way.
 
Thank you all for the collective wisdom of this wonderful community! I am a natural optimist so I'll more than likely follow the open and pour strategy - if this results in disappointment then this thread gives me a myriad of excuses as to why the wine wasn't all that it might have been.
It is after all a massive punt opening something like this but that's what makes it so much fun.
I will report back tomorrow on which 60 year old has aged better - my money is firmly on the La Garde.
It has been standing up for a few days now next to the magnum of '99 Mouton that is earmarked for a slightly larger celebration on Saturday! In Scotland that means 6 people in our garden!
 
So, the big day has arrived and the La Garde has been broached. Slight disaster as the cork splits leaving my pop and pour strategy in tatters! Anyway a swift double decant leads to the following presentation in the glass (sorry Joel but only Riedel Cab Sauv available).


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Great colour and no sign of serious age - in total contrast to the "Birthday Boy". On the nose, to be honest, a little muted and in the mouth all the constituents you would look for in an aged claret are there but you have to look quite hard to find them. All in all a complete success for such a modest wine at 60 years of age.

On the subject of who has aged better I will leave that to my 14 year old son who, having tasted the wine, said "You win Dad, as the wine is a little sour!" Oh, the innocence of youth.

Prior to broaching the 1961 we had this in the garden



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Last of three bottles bought way back in 2004 and, in all honesty, the least attractive of the three. Just the slightest hint of TCA kept getting in the way for me but again well worth opening just to marvel at how well fermented grape juice can survive the passing years.

All in all a lovely day and roll on the next 60!
 
Happy Birthday David. I like old modest bottling and this sound like it would be right up my alley. I agree with Jeremy about it being a beguiling label, ever so much better than the one on my 1989 bottle. As you said, this is now Pessac-Leognan (and also a Dourthe) but it is interesting that the label also identifies it as a Martillac within Graves.
 
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