Overall vintage rating **
About 20 years ago I managed to snag a good looking bottle of Lafleur 1979 for a decent price from the wine shop at Le Pont De La Tour restaurant by Tower Bridge. This critically acclaimed Pomerol was regarded as the undisputed wine of the vintage. When I eventually got round to opening it about five years ago I was dismayed to discover that this particular bottle was ordinary. There was nothing obviously wrong with it, but it was just dreary and tired. The acid and tannins had outlived the fruit, which had all but faded. My first reaction was to think that I must have been unlucky and that bottle was probably atypical. But judging by the seven notes on cellar tracker more tasters have had a similar experience to me, than have been wowed by it. Lafleur 1979 is probably past it.
About 20 years ago I managed to snag a good looking bottle of Lafleur 1979 for a decent price from the wine shop at Le Pont De La Tour restaurant by Tower Bridge. This critically acclaimed Pomerol was regarded as the undisputed wine of the vintage. When I eventually got round to opening it about five years ago I was dismayed to discover that this particular bottle was ordinary. There was nothing obviously wrong with it, but it was just dreary and tired. The acid and tannins had outlived the fruit, which had all but faded. My first reaction was to think that I must have been unlucky and that bottle was probably atypical. But judging by the seven notes on cellar tracker more tasters have had a similar experience to me, than have been wowed by it. Lafleur 1979 is probably past it.
Is the downwards spiral of Lafleur more typical of the
vintage more generally? Probably it is for many wines. Put it this way: no ‘79
will benefit from further bottle age. However, there are several wines which
are still drinking well, and not just the ones listed in my top ten below. So
if you have a birthday in that year there are some worth seeking out,
particularly as the 1979 vintage was quickly forgotten, coming as it did on the
cusp of a global recession, and after merchants were already well-stocked with
several of what were considered reasonable vintages at the time (1978, 1976 and
1975).
When I was living in Connecticut (2007-11) I remember
scooping up several bottles of 1979 claret for around $100 each or less. These
wines included Palmer, La Tour Haut-Brion and Trotanoy. Of those three only
Trotanoy was over the hill. The other two were sublime examples of mature
claret. At the time of the harvest 1979 was a promising year, but many of the wines
never really delivered. Many lacked charm and didn’t develop very well. A good
example is Chateau Latour, which is on a slow boat to China. It lacks any charm
or generosity. Like the dismally dull 1958 Latour it will last for many more
years but provide little pleasure.
Better examples of the vintage which are still going strong would
include Montrose (similar to Latour but much more interesting, especially for
masochists, because it is so wonderfully austere and curmudgeonly), Cos
D’Estournel, Leoville-Lascases, Gruaud-Larose, Ducru Beaucaillou and La Lagune. However, there was only really one outstanding wine in the three main northerly Medoc appellations in 1979, and that was Pichon-Lalande, a marvelous effort, which stands head and shoulders above anything else produced in Pauillac/St-Julien/St-Estephe. On the right bank reasonable, albeit somewhat introverted wines would include the two top wines in St-Emilion: Cheval Blanc and Ausone, which contrast with the wonderfully quirky, bordering on latrinal, Pavie; but otherwise it is
fairly lean pickings on the right bank.
By far the best appellations in 1979 were Margaux and
Graves, now more accurately, Pessac-Leognan. For my money Chateau Margaux is
the wine of the vintage. It is an ethereal and sublime example of Chateau
Margaux, which contrasts quite starkly with more powerful efforts like the 1983
and 1986. The silky 1979 Margaux is a step up from the more rustic 1978, itself
an overdue return to form for the estate, and probably the best Margaux in 20
years, though fans of the 1961 might have something to say about that.
My runner up would be Palmer, which was slower to evolve than Margaux, but probably a nose short of the enthralling 1978. It is a beautiful expression of Palmer though, which has been well worth the wait. Again, like Chateau Margaux, a triumph of elegance and finesse over raw power. Another star from the Margaux commune is Giscours, which really punched above its weight in the 1970s. Chateau Haut-Brion is magnificent in 1979, and very true to the appellation, with lashings of gravel, minerals, earth and tobacco in an accessible medium-bodied format. As already mentioned La Tour Haut-Brion was a revelation in 1979, and in my book gets the nod ahead of a very good La Mission Haut-Brion.
Top ten clarets in 1979
10. Leoville-Lascases
9. Cos
D’Estournel
8. Ausone
7. La
Mission Haut-Brion
6. Giscours
5. La Tour
Haut-Brion
4. Pichon Lalande
3.
Haut-Brion
2. Palmer
1. Chateau
Margaux
Notable wines not tried
Calon Segur, Lafite, Mouton, Petrus, Certan De May
Disappointments
Lafleur, Latour
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