1961 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Community Tasting Note
csimm wrote:
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 - Bordeaux tasting - with a few pirates: Having this 1961 next to its great, great grandson the 2018 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was like watching Twins with hieroglyphic subtitles, or more accurately, looking at side-by-side then-and-now photos of Mickey Rourke. Having a not-fortified wine that clocks in at 61 years old is pretty darn cool, especially given the fact that it was not flawed (aside from obvious age-related progressions) and was otherwise stable and sound throughout the entire tasting. The only thing that required some algebraic acrobatics was the cork. Thankfully the Ah-So in conjunction with some yoga wrist whittling and elbow genuflecting made for a clean pull (eventually) and a tidy pour.
I mean, it’s kinda not wine at this point, but it kinda is. It reminded me a bit of Christmas as a kid at my grandparents’ house. Sherry and warm apple cider flavors abound, with cinnamon stick, toasted hazelnuts, dusty blanket, and cedar notes making for a rather expected flavor profile, but with surprising energy given its stage of development, or devolvement. Hey, if you love old wines, then this is still a performer in many senses. If you like fruit, you might be about 35 years too late. But if you love listening to Roy Orbison “Crying” while thumbing through Aunt Edith’s photo albums with the smell of Lipton’s Onion Soup mix wafting through the room, then the ’61 Lalande will bring you nostalgia the likes of which you never imagined. It’s a warm apple pie kind of experience.
And to be quite frank, my mind went from, “Hey this actually isn’t undrinkable,” to “Hey, this is actually good.” Now, I admittedly don’t long for this sort of flavor profile, and this wine didn’t necessarily change that stance for me. However, if this was the only wine at the table, I wouldn’t be mad at it. Bust out a roasted honey ham and Cuban Cohiba and you’re all set. A special experience to try this wine. Geek-central alert!
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Comment posted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine:
11/2/2022 1:53:00 PM - I think any time you get to taste a wine this old, it is a treat (even if just for the experience), and if the wine is still good, then icing on the cake! 1961 was a phenomenal year, so chances are still pretty good for a special wine! This wine probably should have been the first red, and consumed with no other company....just my opinion! Love the notes and the tasting though! Sounds like a great time!
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
11/2/2022 4:20:00 PM - cs.....these old wines are mainly for the 'experience' and always ones to file away in the memory banks. Most wine geeks would never get the oppo to try a wine like this and I guarantee, it will stick with you for the rest of your life. We were equally fortunate, during our dinner at Beychevelle in '17 when the Directeur went down into their cellar and pulled one of their '61s for us to try. I gave it a 95 that night, and I can still appreciate it to this day. Oddly enough, it had a lot in common for me with an old '80's Arrowood cab from Sonoma.
Comment posted by csimm:
11/2/2022 4:57:00 PM - Totally agree on all points. It was an experience and I felt very fortunate to have had the chance to check it out. Super cool geek wine.