1959 Gevrey Chambertin - Côte de Nuits

The 1959 was a Gevrey Chambertin from la Reine Pédauque.With the level well below the vintage label, some 9 or 10 cm below the cork, I guessed this to be a challenge from the start. The cork twisted round in the neck when I tried to open the bottle, then started to come up and just the last ½ cm broke off and fell into the wine. So you see you don’t have to feel bad when you have trouble opening your older wines, it happens to all of us. The color was very dark maroon, and with the first aromas of a maderized wine coming up from the glass, the lower level threatened to be an issue. Later on luckily some coffee and dark chocolate managed to come through. Drinking it confirmed a bit what I smelled before, it was rather oxidized but luckily not completely gone, somewhat lacking backbone perhaps but after the first acidity had softened, out came warm and softer tones, so not too shabby for a wine that at first glance I would have classified as undrinkable.