1956 Rivesaltes Ambre

Bottled recently, like all of the Verdaguers' wines of its genre (here, to be exact, in 2008), their 1956 Rivesaltes Ambre delivers a blast of high-toned dried and distilled pit fruits allied to smoldering smokiness that made my nasal hairs stand to attention. Behind that come flooding creme caramel, date, sultana, and espresso roast, which then inform a palate of persistently high-toned inner-mouth volatility and brightness, but at the same time textural creaminess such as I don't usually find in an ancient Rivesaltes. This should have fascinating applications at table though, of course, it will perform superbly solo as well. And you don't need to worry about this wine falling apart for months after you open it - or for many years in your cellar (provided the cork holds up). If fame depended solely on quality, Jean-Hubert Verdaguer ought to be famous for his trove of ancient Rivesaltes. His younger Rivesaltes can be outstanding, too (see for example the 1996 about which I wrote in issue 184) - I just don't happen to have tasted any new examples of those in the past three years. Nor - on the basis of recent experience (though I have still not visited him) - ought Verdaguer's dry wines to be overlooked, either. A Connie and Patrick Allen Selection, United Estates Wine Imports, Worthington, OH; tel. (614) 543 1427