1960 Vintage

[docsconz]

I like to celebrate milestones with vintage wines from the milestone year. Given that someone I know was born in 1960, I am on the lookout for a great wine from that vintage. So far I have been stumped with Madeira being one of the few possibilities that I have been able to identify. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[budrichard]

Any Bordeaux or Burgundy is long past its prime for 1960 and not worth spending any money on. Falling between 1959 and 1961, the 1960's were great values at the time. I suggest that you look for something else to from 1960 to celebrate with. -Dick

[docsconz]

Any Bordeaux or Burgundy is long past its prime for 1960 and not worth spending any money on. Falling between 1959 and 1961, the 1960's were great values at the time. I suggest that you look for something else to from 1960 to celebrate with. -Dick

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Thanks, Bud. That is the dilemma for 1960 in that I haven't been able to identify let alone find any area of the world in which 1960 provided a superb age-worthy vintage. Of course, the world of fine wine was much different and smaller then than it is today. Madeira is one of the very few locations that I have identified that may provide an acceptable bottle from that vintage. I'm hoping that someone will be able to identify some obscure gem that I will then be able to go out and find

[melkor]

I'd look for a Krohn Colheita port - I haven't had the 1960, but the older and younger bottles I've had have at worst been pleasant and are often quite good. Premier Cru has it for $90/bottle.

[docsconz]

I'd look for a Krohn Colheita port - I haven't had the 1960, but the older and younger bottles I've had have at worst been pleasant and are often quite good.  Premier Cru has it for $90/bottle.

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Thanks, Dave. That is an interesting suggestion. I don't believe that 1960 was particularly notable for port, but if a port won't have lasted reasonably then what would have?

[JohnL]

Armagnac.

[melkor]

I'd look for a Krohn Colheita port - I haven't had the 1960, but the older and younger bottles I've had have at worst been pleasant and are often quite good.  Premier Cru has it for $90/bottle.

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Thanks, Dave. That is an interesting suggestion. I don't believe that 1960 was particularly notable for port, but if a port won't have lasted reasonably then what would have?

←

It being a colheita, it would be more like a single vintage tawny - kept in bulk for much of the past 47 years and only bottled recently. I wouldn't expect the wine to be earth shattering but it'd probably be quite decent. I would expect it to be more alive than most of the other options from 1960.

[Brad Ballinger]

Doc,

You are right that 1960 is a tough year. Dave's recommendation of a Coheita is the best one. The easiest for you to find will be from Krohn, and if Premier Cru has it for $90, that's a steal.

Or you can roll the dice with a Vega Sicilia Unico.

[JasonZ]

I'm looking at James Suckling's book on Vintage Port (1990, Wine Spectator Press) and he lists the 1960 vintage as #23 on his "all time best" list. He gives it a score of 87. It was clearly overshadowed by the 1963 (98) and 1966 (93) vintages, but that means it's not as sought out by collectors and may be easier to find and more reasonably priced. A colheita would be ideal and, in fact, is what many Portuguese use for such occasions (eg, birthdays, anniversaries), where a vintage port might be unobtainable or prohibitively expensive.

Don't know when you need this bottle, but I will be in Portugal & Spain June 18-July 4 and in the Duoro Valley (Porto and Pinhao) 29 June - 03 July. I'll be visiting both lodges and Quintas, notably Niepoort, which has become my favorite "undiscovered" port and Quinto do Noval Nacional, the most collectible port (made entirely from ungrafted vines). If you have something you'd like me to look for, send me a pm and let me see what I can do ...

Regards,

Jason

PS I've enjoyed so many of your posts and find we share many of the same thoughts, so I'm happy to make the offer ...

Edited June 8, 2007 by JasonZ (log)

[SBonner]

I guess if you go with a Bordeaux look at a larger format it may have held together a bit better. Have you thought of Chianti or Piedmont as an option?

Cheers,

Stephen Bonner

[docsconz]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I haven't seen anything available from Chianti or Piedmont and haven't read of anything in particular to search out. Given that I haven't seen that vintage considered great anywhere, I am not necessarily expecting something amazing. I would hopefully find something decent and worth drinking to celebrate a family milestone with. The port option is certainly becoming more interesting.

[melkor]

Here's someone selling 1960 yquem.

[docsconz]

Here's someone selling 1960 yquem.

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Interesting, though a bit pricey for a vintage without a significant pedigree. I paid about the same a couple of years ago for a 750ml bottle of Yquem from 1959, my own birth year. Thanks for the tip. Has anyone here tried the 60 Yquem?

[GordonCooks]

Had it at in a similar circumstance (anniversary dinner) An off bottle from what I remember - dark and oxidized, lacking that D'Yquem dehydrated fruit but lots of botrytis. The 60 Lafite and Ausone were delicious.

[Don Giovanni]

Here's someone selling 1960 yquem.

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Interesting, though a bit pricey for a vintage without a significant pedigree. I paid about the same a couple of years ago for a 750ml bottle of Yquem from 1959, my own birth year. Thanks for the tip. Has anyone here tried the 60 Yquem?

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1959 was a great year...maybe one of the best....

[JasonZ]

I passed on the question to a Portuguese friend acquainted with what is available in the Douro Valley and Porto. He indicated the following were available, all 1960, with approximate prices (I'm assuming in Euros) listed:

Ferreira vintage 270.00

Wiese krohn vintage 275.00

Warre vintage 180.00

Real companhia velha colheita 120.00

We've mentioned the Krohn here earlier, but for a coheita, not a vintage, at USD 90/bottle. If you had to give docsconz a recommendation from this list, what would be your recommendations?

I'll be in Portugal in the next few weeks, so let's assume I can bring this back with no shipping, customs or duty charges ...

Regards,

Jason

Edited June 13, 2007 by JasonZ (log)

[DaleW]

The Krohn colheita is probably pretty good. But there's plenty of '60 VP around too. I'm a 1960 vintage myself,and have tried multiple '60 Vintage Ports. They're not rock stars, but no bottle has been dead at all. I am down to one bottle of the Fonseca, which I'm saving for 2010. I also have a bottle of BV George de la Tour Reserve, but that's much riskier.

Sherry-Lehmann has some '60 VPs, though prices have risen sharply since I bought mine. I think Crofts for $175 and Fonseca for $225.

[docsconz]

The Krohn colheita is probably pretty good. But there's plenty of '60 VP around too. I'm a 1960 vintage myself,and have tried multiple '60 Vintage Ports. They're not rock stars, but no bottle has been dead at all. I am down to one bottle of the Fonseca, which I'm saving for 2010. I also have a bottle of BV George de la Tour Reserve, but that's much riskier.

Sherry-Lehmann has some '60 VPs, though prices have risen sharply since I bought mine. I think Crofts for $175 and Fonseca for $225.

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Thanks, Dale. What has your favorite been?

[DaleW]

Probably in order:

Taylor

Fonseca

Dow

Cockburn

Haven't had many of the normal big names, like Grahams , QdNoval, etc. Might post a question at Roy Hersch's "For the Love of Port" site.

[docsconz]

Thanks. That tends to mirror my own port preferences, although I tend to prefer Fonseca to Taylor.