Grape & Grain | Taste test of 1966 Bordeaux shows the risks and rewards of letting good wine age

Just the decanting was an art in itself. Olivier Bernard, owner of Domaine de Chevalier and our host for the evening, carefully prised the 50-year-old corks loose from the bottle. Slowly, he turned them over in his hand, then sniffed at them with something approaching first suspicion then approval. Well, in all but one case; a 1966 Pape Clement was discarded.The level of the wine barely reached the shoulders of the bottle, which meant that the oxidised smell came as no surprise. The rest of the wines – 10 in total, all Bordeaux in both red and white – were set carefully to one side, ready to be drunk over supper.

This was an unusual evening, to say the least. Tasting so many 50-year-old wines in one sitting is an incredible way to bring home the idea that wine is a slice of time and place. And that there is something magic about the soils, grape variety and climate in Bordeaux that means even white wines can go the distance when the conditions are right.

The 1966 vintage in Bordeaux wasn’t the best of the decade (that accolade would go to 1961) but it was good, and although the tannins when young were a little tough and tight, you will be happy to hear that 50 years has been more than enough to soften them up.