1978 French Burgundy ?

[sevenal]

Hey Gang

Well tomorrow is the day!
We have a bottle of 1978 Red Burgundy for Eastern France ( Cote D OR )
Or The Golden Slope.
The label says MERCUREY and it is from Geisweiler & Fils
The condition is good with a little oxidation around the foil.
No sediment in the bottle and even though it is in a green bottle it appears the have a nice red color.
One curious thing is a Burgundy from France might be expected to be a more solid color, closer to a Port perhaps?
Anyway Friday is the day of truth for this grand old vintage to be spilled.
A special day in our home and I fear it will be wasted on a uneducated palate.

Can anyone recommend a serving temperature and perhaps a meal that may enhance the wine and not distract from it's age or select flavor?
Also can anyone tell us anything more about this wine, the vineyard, the vintage or other notable points of interest?

Let's hope it's not VINEGAR! ry

 

[tonyt]

Can't speak to that wine but I hope you have had it standing for at least a week and decanted it today to serve tomorrow. Giuseppe Quintarelli says his 10 year old Amarones should be decanted a week.

 

[joea132]

I think we have to come try it to truly understand. Party in North Carolina tomorrow?

 

[JohnT]

I say serve NOTHING with it and make it the very first wine you taste for the day. Why influence your palet with external food flavors? Get thhe most out of this GEM.

As far a temperature, I would recomend typical cellar temps (60 to 65 degrees although others my argue).

Enjoy and please let us know how it was!

johnT.

 

[sevenal]

Ok plan change

We will put it in a decanter today and have it this weekend.
After all the wine is 33 years old now and so is our marriage.
We have had a full day and tonight we travel out of town to see our beloved
West Carteret Patriots dismantle another rival school in 3A High School Football so the alcohol can wait. We had some blazing hot wings off the grill today and it just did not seam like the time. The suggestion to drink it prior to eating sounded like a winner. So perhaps before some good cheese and Greek olives with an assortment of crackers would be nice.
All this build up, just hope it's good after 33 years.
I'll let you know.

AL

 

[gird123]

Well? How was it?

 

[ffemt128]

Waiting to hear. Hope it was still good. Congrats, based on your posts, I assume it's your wedding anniversary? Of course, I could have been reading too much into that.

 

[wvbrewer]

Enjoy every drop and let us know how it is.

Dave

 

[sevenal]

Color not just right

Ok
I am no expert, but I'll try to describe it.
Oak, I taste oak
The color is red with just a little shade or brown
I guessing a little oxidized
Cork was soft
Ya got some in the bottle
Ran it through a coffee filter into a decanter
Mouth taste better than after taste, dull oak
Should have been consumed 20 years ago.

I like my wine better.

 

[sevenal]

Not good

Sorry for the hype
It was not vinegar but not good
I guess the color gave it away

 

[robie]

Sorry for the hype
It was not vinegar but not good
I guess the color gave it away

That happens often with a very old wine.

That's a good old age for a red Burgundy (Pinot Noir). Still, just guessing it wasn't kept in a perfect environment all those years, but it might have been better had it been kept that way, which is hard to do unless you are willing to spend lots of bucks for the perfect wine cellar.

Still, wasn't it fun to pop that cork? Something you will never forget.

Tell us more about how you came about acquiring that bottle. Must have been acquired near your wedding day.

 

[davewaz]

I tried a bottle from the early 80's and it too was a great dissapointment. With wine that old if it's not stored perfectly your out of luck. But hey at least you have your own tasty wine to enjoy.