1971 wine - what to look for?

bradkaplan · February 21, 2020, 12:15am

My birth year, too - 9 years ago had a Corton which was in good shape, a BA, and Coteaux du Layon - all of which were in good shape. Have a Madeira, more Coteaux du Layon, and a Fontanafredda Barolo on deck to enjoy next year (the first bought from Rare Wine Co, the latter two from Envoyer, both many years ago).

Nicos_Neocleous · February 21, 2020, 1:57pm

That’s why I am still ageing my bottles of Huet!

Mike_Evans · February 21, 2020, 2:23pm

Brad, I’m also a 1971, so we should definitely open some birth year wines together next year. I have several bottles of Yquem coming as well as a Noval Colheita and a few others.

I went nuts chasing 1971s many years ago and agree with the recommendations for Right Bank Bordeaux, Sauternes/Barsac (the Climens is stunning), Germany, Loire, and Piedmont. I’ve had the 1971 Ridge Eisele and it was definitely worth the $100 or so that I paid for it, but not the current pricing and the Montebello is a better wine. The Latour was good, but not the equal of the 1970 Latour or better 1971 Right Bank Bordeaux (the Trotanoy in particular was terrific).

Jayson_Cohen · February 21, 2020, 5:28pm

While 71 Right Bank is well known, my favorite being (now unaffordable) Cheval Blanc, some Left Bank favorites from the last few years are Haut Brion, La Miss, Montrose, Ducru, Haut Bailly, and Giscours. I would guess Calon is good based on its aging track record, but I haven’t had it.

Pat_Martin · February 21, 2020, 8:18pm

I’m another 1971 birthyear. I strongly second the Chambers St suggestion assuming you like italian wines. Chambers regularly gets back vintages including 71s and they always have ideal provenance.

tpetty · February 21, 2020, 8:48pm

I checked, and Chambers St won’t ship to IL. IL is a weird state for shipping to. Some stores/internet sites will ship here (like wine.com) but most won’t. I happened upon Flickinger Wines in Chicago - looks like they deal in lots of vintage European wines as well, I will keep my eye on their site for updates.

R_Frankel · February 22, 2020, 2:02am

Flickinger is very good, I’ve bought from them. Might be worthwhile to go in and talk to them about what you’re looking for.

Mel_Knox · February 22, 2020, 2:28am

I’d second the comments about 71 Germans. For Sauternes 71 Rieussec and Rayne Vigneau were excellent and so was Yquem of course although much more expensive.
The sweet Lore Valley white idea is good but I have no idea who might have these wines for sale.

The Barolo/Barbaresco idea is also pretty good.

I’d stay clear of red Bordeaux and Burgundy unless you bought Tesla at $100 and just cashed in.

Not much 71 Napa Cab around, I would think.

Mel_Knox · February 22, 2020, 2:31am

Mel_Knox · February 22, 2020, 2:33am

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/sauternes+bordeaux+france/1971/usa-ca-y

lleichtman · February 22, 2020, 6:48am

Cheval Blanc always holds for me for really old bottles that are often great. I think '71 is under $700 and well worth it.

Gerhard_P · February 22, 2020, 9:13am

I don’t want to spend $500, but in the $100-$200 range would be OK.<<

What´s the point … Petrus is even better imho …

Mont_Stern · February 22, 2020, 2:22pm

I would be wary of provenance of bottles in the US from this era. I would consider sticking with something more immune to poor storage or find a CA bottle with great provenance. Or look in Europe.

Mel_Knox · February 22, 2020, 3:53pm

There was a lot of 71 Sauternes sold in the SF region back then. Connoisseur sold 400 cs of d Yquem. Where I worked we sold that amount of Rieussec. Dade Theriot of DeeVine wines sources his German wines in Germany and those should be quite good.

Ian_Sutton · February 22, 2020, 6:50pm

Indeed - I was going to say look for a good level and where practical a good colour

Jayson_Cohen · February 22, 2020, 7:00pm

Re: provenance and bottle condition, I have had much better luck on average with Bordeaux from the late sixties through 71 than Piedmont from the same period, a fact which takes on more weight because a lot of the Piedmont wines were supposedly sourced from good cellars in Italy and brought over recently under supposedly impeccable conditions while the Bordeaux was largely random auction bottles in the US.

tpetty · February 25, 2020, 1:30am

This is on Heritage. Anyone had this?

Jeremy_Holmes · February 25, 2020, 2:05am

Hi Todd,

I had the '71 Riserva from 3.78L on New Year’s Day this year. Drinking beautifully. My note below.

A complex nose of tobacco, tar, Indian spice and dried fruits. It sweetens up and has a concentrated heart. It has some mushroom/truffle development. There’s plenty of savoury nuance and a long finish that has excellent structural support.

Tom_Mann · February 25, 2020, 2:44pm

Forgot about Cheval '71 - a great wine

David_Glasser · February 25, 2020, 10:54pm

Todd, I’ve had some excellent old Borgognos (1964, 1947), but haven’t had the 1971. The red capsules are the ones to go for, which is what the '71s in that photo have. The black capsules have been reconditioned by the producer and have a reputation for not being as good as unopened bottles (the red caps) with good fills.

It seems suspicious that the bottle heights in that photo don’t match. I’d ask Heritage for more info on that.