So I don't know about you, but I don't get invited to those tastings where rare old wines are poured. I have in recent years tasted a few from the mid seventies and while those were great, I have always dreamt of those really old wines I often read about.
Ok, so cut to 30-35 years ago. I went to a neighborhood tag sale with my father. He stumbled upon a wine collector of sorts. The space he was moving to was apparently limited and he had to sell some of his collection. The only one of the bottles I remember anything about was this old Spanish red. It turned out to be from my uncle's birth year and the bottle was laid down for some future dinner/birthday celebration. Sadly my aunt (my mother's sister) and my favorite uncle went through a rather bitter divorce and that bottle just sat waiting in the cellar. Every so often, my dad would mention it and always doubted whether it was even still good anymore and he just let it sit longer and longer. Somehow, a sealed bottle of potentially really old vinegar was much more attractive than an open bottle of vinegar.
Well, my father just turned 76. I had my folks, my sister and her husband and kids over for dinner. Paella and quail were on the menu. My folks were bringing a few bottles from the cellar to enjoy. Mom apparently stumbled upon that bottle - Siglo Majestad 1941 - and decided the time was now. There was no changing her mind and I have to admit, I had been quite curious about that wine for decades.
It was time to get dinner going. I figured the paella would take me a full hour out on the grill, so logic said to open the wine before I started to cook. I cut the foil to discover a seemingly perfect cork. Could it still be good? I then proceeded to have more problems removing a cork than ever before. Ok, perhaps there was a reason is bottle wanted to remain sealed? But, there was no turning back. I managed to extract it many in pieces and decanted the wine. It was not vinegar, but there was a definite funk, which I hoped and prayed would blow off and I headed out to the grill. An hour later, the paella was done and I headed straight to the decanter to inspect. Someone already drinking? Yes and the birthday boy was enjoying! I poured myself a glass immediately and took a deep nose. The funk was gone and there was fruit! My lord, 71 years and 3 moves of the wine cellar later and this wine was alive and well!! The flavor profile was outside of my normal vocabulary, so I'll spare the lame attempts to describe the the wine in any real terms. The fruit had faded and was a bit raisiny and there were those "other" flavors, but the wine was not only drinkable, but quite enjoyable. I can't seam to find much of anything out about the wine other than the producer is still there... No idea if, back at the start of WWII, this was a special,wine or just something decent. Either way, it was a true delight to drink something so old and different and truly from an another era.
Live To Eat, Love To Drink!
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