A Wineaux Looks at 50

At the end of this stupid month I'm having another stupid birthday, and it's one of those stupid birthdays that ends in a stupid zero. Which is not weighing on my mind AT ALL, of course.

Now I had planned to observe this birthday the way I observe most birthdays (weeping softly in a corner), but my wife quickly put the kabosh to that. "You may not like the fact that you're now on AARP's radar screen, but I want to throw a party. Even if it's just for the two of us." So...I'm having a party. Just for the two of us.

"Party", of course, means "a nice dinner". And in our house, "a nice dinner" means any meal too good for the usual plastic spork service. I'm guessing a baron of beef or maybe a turducken. Whatever it is, it'll be meat, and it'll come from something other than the clearance rack at the butcher's for once. What the hell - once a year won't break us.

Needless to say, there will be wine.

That's where you come in.

The argument over "party vs. no-party" quickly resolved, wifey and I have now started bickering over what wine to open. I may have mentioned in a previous post that I have about 15 bottles left from a wine buying spree in the 1980's. These are bottles I could never afford to replace now (if I could even find them) and so I've become too scared to open any. I intend to have them blanket me in my casket for some future archeologist to enjoy.

Wifey wants to open one. And not just any one. THE one.

The star of my collection, the bottle I make pointedly sure to kiss every night before bed, is a 1959 Ch. Lafite Rothschild showing remarkably little ullage and just as remarkably deep color. It's 51 years old, I'll be 50. That makes it a no-brainer to my wife.

To me, it's not so clear cut. Aside from feeling like I'm being asked to decapitate and stuff my best friend's body into a wood chipper, from tasting notes I've read on-line it doesn't even seem like that '59 is ready yet! Or if it is, it seems like it will hold well into my dotage...when I might not be so sentimental and could actually cork the thing guilt free.

My question for you guys, therefor, is:

If wifey manages to browbeat me to her will (a safe bet, if history is any indication), how long should I let this thing breath? My head is spinning reading all the different bits of advice I've seen so far. The Lafite website says they double-decant their older wines, about an hour before service. But I've also seen very sincere wine sots write that one should either: 1. Decant once and serve immediately, as anything that old is going to be fragile and disappear in a puff of smoke within minutes. 2. Decant OR double-decant FOUR hours before service, because a wine this complex needs that much time to bloom. or 3. Call 1-900-PSYCHIC-VIN so a qualified wine diviner can commune with my bottle and determine its desire. Only $4.99/minute.

Of course there is always the tried and true: "Open, taste, taste a half hour later, repeat until optimum point reached, then serve." But since I'm serving it with dinner, that won't work. I can just see it: "HONEY!! The wine is ready! Pull the emu out of the oven, stat - I don't care if it's raw!" Know what I mean?

So has anyone here got a WTN for this particular vintage handy? If so OR if not: any considered opinions regarding breathing times?

I should add that there is some chance that this will all be moot. I've been known to cry hard enough to get my way in the past, and may consider doing it again here. Wifey sometimes caves out of sheer embarassment at my girly sobs. If that happens, I'll either be opening a Concha y Toro 'Casillero del Diablo' Cab-Sauv 1986 (in the cool old-style Burgundy shaped bottle with the plastic devil head pendant, woo hoo!) a '77 Heitz 'Martha's Vineyard' cab, or an '85 Sequoia Grove Estate cab. Haven't decided which yet...since wifey is still being Irish and hasn't caved in.

Thanks in advance for any smarty thoughts you may have regarding this little quandry of mine.

Oh - one last thing:

Don't nobody wish me a happy birthday.

Not that it's weighing on my mind or anything....

I have no clue about the wine in question but I am responding just to say I enjoyed your post, Tom, and I understand your need to do right by what should be a fantastic bottle. I am glad it's just the two of you as I made the mistake of opening an '83 Ch. Margaux with 7 drinkers at the table when I should have hoarded it for my wife and me...or just me.
Oh, by the way, you're way more than simply on AARP's radar screen - I predict that your get a letter from them within one week of your 50th birthday. By the way, I will NOT be wishing a very happy day, just as you requested.

Firstly, that was hilarious, thanks so much for sharing your big event!

I will offer advice that does not require any expertise in this area, since I have none...

When we have special meals at our home, we always begin with appetizers. I suggest you start with a variety which would complement your Lafite, even if not as ideal as your planned dinner. The 'open a few hours early and taste...' camp gets my vote, and this way if you Must drink this great wine while dinner is still in preparation, you can enjoy it with food (as is I think essential!). Have a great backup bottle which will either then be drunk at dinner, or with the appetizers if LR seems willing to wait.

FWIW, I personally would be delighted in this arrangement if my keepsake bottle accompanied the appetizers, I think this is the perfect time to reflect and appreciate wine at leisure. Plus that secondary bottle would Follow LR, adding to the fun!

Hi Tom,
I have an idea of what you're going through. I'm still sitting on the last 4 bottles from a case of '75 Lafite I bought in '78, but I have no idea about the '59. However, I'd suggest that you do the open, taste, wait ritual, but when it's ready, don't have it with a dinner. Let the wine be the star and have it with some nice cheeses and appropriate appetizers.

Tom,
If I were in your dilemma, (such a dilemma to be in!) I would likely follow the François Audouze method of aeration. Here is a web page where you can see what I am mentioning in case you are not familiar with the gentleman.

http://www.academiedesvinsanciens.org/a ... wines.html.

If you'd both appreciate it, then open it.

... and if it isn't ready now, then I suspect it never would be, which would be a real waste.

As for decanting time, the bonus here that's it's two of you. Not 10 people who'll get a glass each and it will be gone in half an hour. Thus don't get worried about getting it 'at peak' on the 1st taste. It's had ~ 50 years in the bottle and has a story to tell. Don't rush that story, but let it unfold over 2-3 hours. Enjoy the story as it unfolds.

Oh and trust your wife. She's right

regards

Ian

Tom,
First of all, great rant. Since I hit the big 5-0 last year, I feel rather smug about offering you advice. #1: If you don't want to open that '59 Lafite for this occasion, which one do you want to open it for? Your funeral? You gotta open that sucker some time, so why wait much more? #2: As for readiness, how has the storage been for the last 49 years of its existence? Any question marks? Any moments when the temperature may have strayed above 55°? 60°? 70°? If so, there's no reason to rely on notes derived from bottles impeccably cellared in Glamis Castle for the last half century.

Just my devalued $0.02,
Mark Lipton
(half a century down, half a century to go!)

Had it in Feb of last year (believe me, not my bottle!)
Next flight was , um, memorable
Red #5
A bit more restrained than flightmate, solid dark fruit, lead pencil,
resolved tannins, fairly fresh fruit, but nice tertiary notes of
hummus and leather. 1959 Lafite Rothschild A-

(it was served with a 59 Mouton)

Unsure of how it was handled, but think it was a decanted an hour or two before. Great wine (sure on any other night it would have gotten a solid A from me, it was just the Mouton that kept it from the A). Personally, I'd open a bit before dinner, decant when you're ready to drink, and follow over several hours.

I will have the same 0 ending later this year, you can call 59 as your conception year, mine's iffier. I have nothing to compare to a 59 Lafite!

I'm with Mark- if not now, when? I understand your feelings, but wine is made to be drunk!

You guys ROCK. Thanks for all the thoughts, comments, and expressions of sympathy (such as they were). I thoroughly enjoyed all your takes on this.

I'm liking the idea many of you put forward that I should just start drinking with a succession of small courses - or none at all perhaps - letting the wine be the star and "when it's ready it's ready". You're all right, of course. The wine should be the center piece around which everything else revolves. Having it wait on food, rather than the other way around, would do it a disservice. Thanks for bringing me back to reality!

Seriously, all your non-wine comments were a hoot and a half too. My wife was standing over my shoulder laughing along with me at them.

Especial thanks to Dale for sharing the tasting notes. Not reading phrases like "way over the hill" or "won't be ready until 2317 at the earliest", makes me a very happy man!

Oh, Bob: that was a great little article about the "Audouze Method", thanks! I'd actually read up on it a little while ago after reading about it in another post. Interesting, and a funny writer, too! I've gotta ask, though, do you see this as that much different than just double-decanting? You do get that aeration when you decant, then pour back into the bottle. But after that brief jostle, you're back into a container with a small opening...and minus the sediment. Sediment I would worry would get rocked back and forth into solution if you followed the Audouze method to the hilt. What do you think? Anyway, it is something I intend to try on at least ONE of my old bottles. If I ever decide to open another

And yes, by the way, I got the point. What in the world and I saving them for, if not to drink? Although I do like the Mark's suggestion (however insincere) that I save it for my funeral. After all, where else would you stop off for a stiff one?

Thanks again, all! It really is very much appreciated here

Oh, Bob: that was a great little article about the "Audouze Method", thanks! I'd actually read up on it a little while ago after reading about it in another post. Interesting, and a funny writer, too! I've gotta ask, though, do you see this as that much different than just double-decanting? You do get that aeration when you decant, then pour back into the bottle. But after that brief jostle, you're back into a container with a small opening...and minus the sediment. Sediment I would worry would get rocked back and forth into solution if you followed the Audouze method to the hilt. What do you think? Anyway, it is something I intend to try on at least ONE of my old bottles. If I ever decide to open another

Tom, I have not been lucky enough to have tasted many (any?) wines so old. Andouze does these dinners where he has a dozen or more wines some going back to 1800. As to whether it is "better" than double decanting or not, I know not. However, I would say that a 30-50-? year old wine might easily be bruised and therefore damaged by double decanting. I can see that this would help a young tannic wine, but would be afraid of it in such an older wine. I do have a few mid 80's California cabs and when (soon I hope) I get around to opening them I want to do the Andouze method.

I see what you're saying there, Bob. Makes sense to me, so I will give it a shot with one of my Elders when I finally get around to opening another. I'm still up in the air about the lafite though, but I'll give it a lot of thought before deciding. Thanks again for sharing your insights!

[Jenise]

Okay, per your instructions, don't have a happy birthday. Although that has a bad ring to it.

I'm with Dale and Mark and anyone else who told you to open the bottle. It would be hard to find a better excuse, and I'm reminded of something I once heard Julia Childs say about putting off indulgences, namely that if her personal circumstances required that at some point she live on dog food, then "it might as well be when I'm old and have no teeth." Now's the time.