best-wine-millesime-1962
Nicolas Forestier

? Is 1962 a vintage close to your heart? Is it a year of birth, a year of marriage or some other symbol that makes you want to offer or drink a wine from that year? Let us decipher this vintage for you, to help you buy the bottle that best suits your needs.

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  • Vintage 1962 in BORDEAUX

The 1962 vintage had to pull out all the stops to keep up with the great 1961 vintage.

At the time, the 1962 vintage was said to be one of the most underrated in Bordeaux. Because, in addition to coming on the heels of an immense 1961 vintage, 62 was a very consensual year. The wines were supple and fruity, full-bodied and voluminous, with tannin but not too much. Everything to please the greatest number. And that's why many experts didn't think it would age well, finding it too "gentle". However, the great 1962s could be enjoyed perfectly well well into the 2000s. Nowadays, only a few specimens can still be enjoyed, but we agree that the wines are highly evolved.

In the vineyard, the 1962 vintage was a classic Bordeaux affair. Flowering on time, under sunny skies. A rather hot summer, with a few thunderstorms, but which didn't worry the winegrowers, followed by harvests of rather good quality, some of which took place in light rain, but again without too many difficulties. The result was grapes that were fairly ripe thanks to the blazing sun, but swollen with juice due to a few storms and seasonal rains. This was all it took to produce a very consensual, flattering vintage that was quickly accessible to the palate. All the Bordeaux vineyards produced good to very good quality wines in 1962. Whether on the left bank, with Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac or Saint-Julien of good quality. We still have in our cellars a Château La Lagune 1962A legendary Haut-Médoc, one of the great classics of the Bordeaux region.

On the Right Bank, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion are very opulent, very rich in flavor. We still have a few bottles of these appellations. And what could be better than Château Rouget 1962 to represent Pomerol and Château La Couspaude 1962 for Saint-Emilion.

White wines are not to be outdone in this vintage, and both Pessac-Léognan and Sauternes wines are of the highest quality. For the curious who would like to taste an old Pessac-Léognan, we still have a few bottles of Château La Louvière 1962The evolved Sauvignon aromas will prolong the finish. And for those with a sweet tooth, we have a few bottles of Rabaud Promis, a Sauternes Grand Cru Classé. Its very dark color augurs a sweet, syrupy wine. A superb discovery.

 

  • Vintage 1962 in BOURGOGNE

As with Bordeaux, the excellent quality of the 1962 vintage was overshadowed by its 1961 sister. However, the wines have little to envy the latter. From a viticultural point of view, the vintage went fairly well on the whole, with just the right amount of rain to allow the vines to develop properly. However, even though the summer was hot, the month of September was rained out at harvest time, which delayed the harvest by a few days, but without too much impact.

In the reds, the entire vineyard produces wines of excellent quality. Smooth, powerful and opulent. One estate produced fantastic wines in this vintage. The Domaine de La Romanée-Conti. From Richebourg and Grand Echézeaux to La Romanée-Conti. To complete the picture, the Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir wines are also very pretty, with Pommard and Volnay topping the list.

The 1962 vintage is even more favorable for white wines. It is considered by specialists to be one of the finest whites until the 1990s. It accompanied the 1966, 1969 and 1973 vintages, as well as the 1985 and 1986 duo. Even after 20 years, Chardonnays were still babies. Their freshness during tastings of the greatest wines surprised all tasters.

 

  • Vintage 1962 in VALLEE DU RHÔNE

For once, Rhone Valley wines will closely resemble those of their Bordeaux counterparts. The vegetative cycle will be respected on the whole, and, as in Bordeaux, some rain will make its appearance. As in Bordeaux, these rains will have the positive effect of adding volume to the grapes, which are already full of sugar. So the balance was there. If we were to split the difference, the northern wines would be propelled by their aromatic power and complexity. The wines of Côtes-Rôtie are powerful and robust, but the Hermitage appellation will have the upper hand in this 1962 vintage, for both red and white wines. In the Southern Rhône, the great classic Châteauneuf du Pape will have done the job. The greatest wines are both very powerful, with spices and black fruits, and at the same time very delicate, with a supple, delicate but very long finish. A sign of a great vintage.

 

  • Vintage 1962 in the rest of France

In ChampagneThe vintage will be more difficult than elsewhere. It took a lot of work, sorting and tasting, for the Champagne houses to come up with good juices. Climatic complications made the vineyards rather uneven. Be that as it may, the 1962 vintage is no longer available for tasting today, but it will have provided Champagne lovers with some fine emotions.

Not far from here, in Alsace1962 was a bumper year. Large harvests gave a lot of juice to the estates, which were able to rub their hands. These massive harvests nevertheless produced wines of good quality.

As for the Loire wines, they were perfectly balanced, spared the heavy rains which prevented dilution. The Cabernet Francs from Chinon and Bourgeuil were of the highest quality at the time.

 

The best French wine of 1962

 

? 99/100 Parker

Custody: 2015 - 2030
Tasted by Neal Martin in 2015: "Tasted at the La Romanée vertical at Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair. The 1962 La Romanée Grand Cru has an interesting history. This bottle actually comes from a barrel that was a wedding gift to Louis-Michel's parents, of which only three or four bottles remain. Its color is pale compared to coeval vintages, but this is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, the bouquet is teeming with pure, surprisingly lush maraschino and blood orange. Purity and definition are outstanding. The palate is exquisitely balanced with such freshness you'd think it came from a warmer climate. The tannins are filigree, with just a pinch of black pepper towards the finish that lingers long on the palate. It doesn't get much better than this.

 

 

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