TN: 1959 Dinner - Comtes (‘06), Huet x 2, Imperial, 890, Cos, BAMA, Magdelaine, Coulee de Serrant

1959 is one of those legendary vintages that I rarely get to taste. I was therefore very happy when Brad (Kane) invited me to a dinner at Racines to commemorate the vintage’s 60th anniversary and glad to offer one of my two remaining bottles from ‘59 (both made by Gaston Huet). We had a nice set menu with a progression of dishes, orchestrated by Arnaud and Diego, to match the wines. Dinner started at 7:30, but not surprisingly, we closed the restaurant. It was a very memorable, festive occasion with long-time, wine-loving friends.

2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. We start with something younger. Great bottle. Still drinking well and relatively open and rounder aromatically than other recent vintages, as it has been since release, more citrus cream than citrus. But the tension and texture in the palate in this bottle suggests bottle age will bring additional depth. It was delicious and an outstanding, synergistic match with a light ceviche-type fluke dish accentuated by diced kumquat and kohlrabi, and characterized by masterful knife work. I still have a preference for 95, 96, 02, and 04 Comtes but 06 is not far behind and suggests similarities to the 90 on release that bodes well.

1959 Huet Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec. My first time with this wine and hopefully not my last. To a close friend, who has deep experience with 11 decades of Huet-labeled wines, this is apparently his favorite Huet all time. I find it an archetype of a fully mature LHL DS, having moved beyond the penetrating linear stage to something spherical and almost indescribably complex. But as always defying age. Wonderful wine. For me, in my experience it is not quite at the heights achieved by the ‘52 Le Mont DS, and there are some younger vintages for which I have even higher hopes. But it demonstrates again that Huet DS Vouvray, long term, is a sweet spot in the highest echelon of white wines.

1959 CVNE Imperial Cosecha. From before the Reserva / Gran Reserva conventions, this is almost certainly an original release GR bottle. 1959 is not the best vintage in Rioja but this is a fully mature great wine, leather and earth and muted tobacco to start while air brings out the fruit (let’s call it black cherry) and backend lift. It doesn’t have the weight or presence of two of the Bordeaux to come, but keeps going strong. And a nice match for the pork dish with endive.

1959 Rioja Alta 890. Corked. I could sense the underlying brightness of this bottle, before the TCA took complete control.

1959 Cos d’Estournel. I had very high hopes on seeing this at the table—that this Cos, the oldest I recall trying and from a great vintage, would convince me that my problems with Cos over the last few decades are a symptom of wine making, not dirt or potential. It starts out showing classic, earthy, yet still rustic St. Estephe character. It’s a good bottle: no signs of damage or maderization. Clean, with decent ripeness and fruit still in both nose and midpalate. But it stays somewhat dull. And it can’t keep up with either the CVNE or what is to come. I was frankly disappointed. Again. This is very solid claret for my palate but nothing more. I still don’t get why people, even those whose palates I highly regard, see Cos as a special or compelling wine.

1959 Bel Air Marquis d’Aligre (BAMA). From magnum. It’s immediately clear we were in for a treat. None of the funkiness or Brett one sometimes gets with these wines. High toned, red fruit, with strong herbs emerging with air. An unadulterated style of Margaux I very much prefer. So fresh. Stronger and stronger as the night goes on. Utterly beguiling. I haven’t tried that many BAMAs, but this was a head or two above any of the others. And the pairing with the NY strip had to be tasted to be believed; they sang in harmony, each accentuating and amplifying the other. Perfect. The BAMA could have been the red WOTN under many circumstances, but …

1959 Magdelaine. From magnum. First time. First whiff. Mic drop. Silence at the table. Then, broad smiles, chuckles, and head shaking in unison. And it went from a 10 to an 11 with air. A table of 7 had no problem draining this magnum (or the BAMA) over 2 hours. That classic Magdelaine nose I describe as mulberry (dark berry) on top of a distinct note of mineral citrus that I imagine must originate with the limestone subsoil (yes, completely unscientific and romanticized). Vibrant deep fruit balanced by perfect acidity keeps this fresh and almost quaffable. Concentration and elegance in one complete package. (And a lesson in why “power” and “density” in wine are not the same as real concentration.) Frozen in time. Now up with 1970 as my favorite Magdelaines. Can you tell I liked it? But then so did everyone else. Red WOTY?

1959 Huet Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux. My bottle. And frankly quite disappointing and a pale comparison to its older sibling bought at the same time and now long gone. The fill was almost to the bottom of the cork, but the cork had some issues (short and strangely compressed at one end). It was highly muted. Even after hours open and time in the decanter. By the end of the night, some of the rounder fruit and marshmallow-y character starred to complement the initial mushroom-like, muted petrichor notes. Not oxidized. But a bit flat and not quite right. And coming off as quite dry. Good bottles I’ve had range from deeply mature but rich and tasty to insanely young and fresh and linear and coiled. But this bottle was in a new quadrant entirely. I suspect a very slow but still accelerated oxidation process through the flawed cork leading to atypical evolution. Better the next day and day after. More generous classic quince /orange marmalade aromatics and a little more midpalate body and sweetness. Perfectly integrated acidity. But still a somewhat flat finish. Oh well.

1959 Madame Cothereau Clos de la Coulee de Serrant. Apparently this is a Unicorn. First, because I was curious about the (pre-Joly) vignerrone, here is a history lesson courtesy of Richard Kelley for this site as part of the lands belonging to the Chateau de la Roche-aux-Moines. “The property was owned by successive generations of the Walsh de Serrant family during the late 18th and early 19th century. In 1830 the ownership passed through marriage to the Duc de la Trémoïlle where it remained until 1894, when, threatened with the cost of having to replant the whole vineyard after phylloxera, the Trémoïlles decided to sell up. During the first half of the 20th century Le Château de la Roche aux Moines experienced several owners. Immediately after the scourge of phylloxera epidemic it belonged to a M. Colin of Angers and his relative, M. Rousseau-Colin of Saint Florent le Veil, who appeared to have done little with the land. It was left to Laurent Bougère, who bought the property in 1905 for a derisory 50,000 French Francs, and set about re-establishing the vineyards during the 1920s. The property in turn passed to Colonel Cothereau, a relative of Bougère. It was upon Cothereau’s death in 1960 that his widow sold to M. De Craecker, a retired Belgian ship captain, who bought the property not so much for the vineyards, but for the view. In 1958, De Craecker had already acquired a significant portion of land in La Roche aux Moines, although he appears to have had little or no interest in realising its viticultural potential. The Jolys were to follow, having bought the property in 1962. André Joly was originally from Le Lude and practiced as a surgeon in Angers. He and his wife, Denise, were looking for a property to retire to, and according to Nicolas Joly himself, there is a photograph of his parents taken in front of the house well before it was purchased. André had approached De Craecker to see if he was interested in selling. He was not, although a little while later after a family feud, he contacted Dr Joly and asked him to make him an offer, which he accepted. At the time of purchase, the Jolys had no idea they had just acquired one of the most renowned vineyards in France, so it was by chance that Denise Joly became a vigneron. Fortunately, one of her close friends was Mme Fournier, owner of Château Canon, in Saint-Emilion, so advice on all things viticultural was readily available.”

Nutty, caramelly, earthy, but vibrant. Delicious middle weight Moelleux now coming off as more demi-sec in style and showing well integrated acidity. This is delicious and appears to be at peak, and there’s much more to it than the Huet Moelleux at the same table. Nice with the cheeses, even the blue. A great way to finish the night.

Everyone’s generosity was extraordinary. Hopefully we can do this again in 10 years.

Happy Holidays!

Wow!
Fabulous notes and some great wines.
A selection of wines I don’t drink on the regular, but the BAMA and Magdelaine sound freaking awesome.
Just a great lineup. Nice night! [cheers.gif]

If you’re going to drink some ‘59s, why not throw in a magnum of Magdelaine?

Cool.

Nice Jayson, you’re really slumming’ it there. !959 has so many great wines! I like your notes that you know its gonna be great before you even taste. I love that giddy feeling!

Fantastic experience and detailed notes, thanks Jayson!

Great notes and history; I have the same problem with Cos: BOring!

Thanks. The two magnums were freaking awesome. The same guys (who buy some wines jointly) brought both.

Why not? :slight_smile:

That’s a great feeling. Especially when the experience even exceeds expectations.

Charlie, let’s pick a weekend to fly up to NYC to join these boys in their revelries! I don’t think NYC has experienced country in Gucci high-tops. I’m 59 all over that.

Thanks. Felt lucky to be at the table.

I keep trying. And try to put confirmation bias aside. But we all have wines that are seemingly always in sync with our palates and those that never are.

Charlie and I have experienced better than Gucci together at that place on the left coast of Florida.

Yea but has Charlie driven you around his vast land holdings, sand pits and dumps, in a beat up old pick-up, listening to classical, waxing philosophically about traditional Bordeaux? In his Gucci high-tops and cut up acid washed jeans, skin tight?

Um… Nope.

Great notes!

Thanks!

Excellent write-up, Jayson, cheers! I’m jealous to read about the BAMA 59 which sounds even better than the 82 - that should persuade that man in Florida to go and buy the 59 magnum! I’m not a Cos fan but to be fair, it’s one of those wines which unlike BAMA, for instance, has changed so profoundly that older vintages tend to be disappointments.

Wow, great notes, sounds like a great dinner

But I think a very good vintage, just overshadowed by 1958? At least I’ve had very good luck, with excellent bottles of MdM Ygay GR and the 890 (sad that yours was corked). I’ve gone through several half bottles of CVNE Vina Real Riserva this year and even from that format I’ve enjoyed them all
'59 was birthyear for my wife as well as several friends, so I’ve opened most of the ones I have this year. For Betsy’s birthday party (not wine geeks in attendance) I opened ones that I had multiples of. Best showing was La Grave a Pomerol and Moulin Tochais, but several bottles of a negoce (Vienot) Chateauneuf-du-Pape and better bottle of Giscours were fun too.

Thanks, Julian. That BAMA was very special. On Cos, I still try to keep an open mind but a lot of evidence under the bridge. As a buyer of St. Estephe, I’ll stick with older vintages of Calon Segur and Montrose.