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Back 2022 - wines (and whiskies) for the Big Anniversaries - '92, '82, '72, '62, '52, '42

Published on 21 January, 2022

©Linden Wilkie, 21 Jan 2022

The really great thing about enjoying wines made in your year of birth is that there will be one of two outcomes – either the wine will be good, and you can marvel at it, or it will be bad, and you can marvel at yourself, and how well preserved you are in comparison.

The ones that really register of course are the ones ending a zero. I had just such a birthday this past weekend, and at a BYO ‘Vintage Pairs’ style “lunch” I came face to face with a pair of other 1972s that belonged to the former category, and made me smile.

Are you hitting a big “x0” birthday or anniversary this year? We have a few things tucked away at The Fine Wine Experience that might help you mark the occasion.

If it’s your 80th coming up, we have 1942 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. I’ve not tried this wine, but this is known to be a good vintage at The Domaine, from a period of… management challenges. At The Fine Wine Experience DRC Richebourg vertical in 2010, the 1942 Richebourg was a star wine – sapid, lively, spicy.

For a 70th, how about 1952 Krug? I’ve not tried this either, but Champagne expert Richard Juhlin rated it 96/100 in 1998, gives the 1952 a 4-star rating – ‘balanced wines with good longevity’. 1959 Krug at a 1959 dinner in 2019 demonstrated to me the amazing staying power of this top marque too.

1962 is a year in which I like the fresh-styled clarets and elegantly defined Sauternes, but Burgundy is where things shine in that year, especially for the reds. 1962 Domaine de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes seems a good choice.

If, like me, you are a child of 1972, you I’m sure know already that Bordeaux had a dismal year. If any could make a go of it it would be 1972 Château Latour, but again its in Burgundy where things are good, good fruit, crisp, with a bit of grip. We have 1972 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, a wine that has shown its class, a favourite too at The Fine Wine Experience Burghound Symposium vertical of La Tâche in Beijing in 2019.

Those celebrating 40th birthdays or anniversaries this year have an easier time. It was one of the great Bordeaux vintages, and we have a very good selection. The first growths are all there – 1982 LafiteLatourMargauxMouton and Haut-Brion, as well as La Mission Haut-BrionPetrus, and one of my personal favourite ‘82s – 1982 Pichon Comtesse de Lalande. It’s a year where it’s actually hard to pick between them, it comes down to the bottle (or large format!). Outside the limelight I would not overlook 1982 Beychevelle, especially as we have it in magnum. Likewise, 1982 Ausone in magnum. But the greatness of 1982 – unfairly for us others! – is that it extends to Champagne (wow! – 1982 Krug Collection also in magnum!, as well as 1982 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses), the Rhône (1982 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle is one of my favourite vintages for this label), and Piedmont (1982 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva). At the very very top in Burgundy, it is superb, especially for the whites – like 1982 Ramonet Montrachet (which was jaw-dropping when I had it a couple of years ago), and 1982 Richebourg and 1982 Cros Parantoux from Henri Jayer are top class. In short – 1982 – we have you covered, and do reach out if you would like some advice.

30th this year? There are some prime choices here for you too, though much like ’72, ’62, ’52, and ’42, it requires some careful choices. 1992 Musigny Blanc from Vogüé is very special, especially in magnum. This came right toward the end of the very old vine period, before they pulled up the vines to replant. You would be well placed with 1992 Leroy Romanée-St-Vivant, or 1992 Rousseau Chambertin or Clos de Bèze. I’m a fan of Guigal’s La Las and find they show well in challenging years, which 1992 was in the Northern Rhône. I would pick up that bottle of 1992 Guigal Côte-Rôtie ‘La Mouline’ if ’92 is your year. Finally, 1992 Screaming Eagle from a top Napa vintage, was also the inaugural year for this iconic wine.

As someone born in a tricky vintage, it was fairly early on that I cottoned on to idea of vintage-dated whisky after a visit to Glenfarclas in 2006.I opened my 1972 Glenfarclas on my 35th birthday in January 2007, but then the bottle lasted long in the drinks cabinet after that, allowing for a warming echo of the occasion for months afterwards. So, might we tempt you with a bottle of 1952 Macallan Fine & Rare1972 Bowmore 27 Years1982 Kawasaki Ichiro’s Choice Single Grain1992 Balvenie DCS Compendium ‘Chapter 4’ 26 Year Old, or 1992 Yamazaki ‘The Owner’s Cask’?