1959 Wine

The 1959 vintage: post-war sunshine, region by region

The 1959 vintage holds a special place among the great years of the 20th century: a sun-drenched vintage born of a hot, dry summer that succeeded in almost every region. That generosity has a downside: wines with moderate acidity that matured early, most of which have now reached their peak. Bordeaux and Sauternes lead the way, Burgundy produced one of its legendary years, and Champagne enjoyed a richly vinous success; beyond them, a few long-lived rarities complete the picture. For today’s enthusiast, 1959 is above all a vintage to enjoy now.

Bordeaux 1959 — Ripe, full-bodied reds, led by the Médoc

For Bordeaux reds, 1959 was a great year. The summer heat brought the grapes to a degree of ripeness rare for the time, producing deep, full-bodied, velvety wines whose opulent texture made a lasting impression. The Médoc shows power and length, while Graves and the Right Bank appellations of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion bring roundness and fragrance. The vintage’s moderate acidity made the wines accessible fairly early; six decades on, the best reveal tertiary aromas of leather, blond tobacco, truffle and woodland undergrowth. The success was genuine but somewhat uneven, making the choice of estate and individual bottle crucial.

The year’s finest reds come from Gironde’s most prestigious estates. On the Left Bank, Château Haut-Brion in Graves and Château Montrose in Saint-Estèphe rank among the vintage’s finest, alongside Château Latour, a benchmark for consistency in ripe years. On the Right Bank, Vieux Château Certan and the great Pomerols continue this success with a silkier texture. These bottles are for discerning enthusiasts who consider the condition of each one as carefully as the estate’s reputation.

Sauternes and sweet wines 1959 — The pinnacle of the vintage

In Sauternes, 1959 was the decade’s finest success. The hot, dry summer, followed by favourable late-season weather, allowed botrytis to develop ideally. This ‘noble rot’ concentrates the grapes’ sugars and aromas. The result is exceptionally pure sweet wines, richly concentrated yet sustained by a freshness that has endured remarkably well. With notes of honey, candied apricot, citrus and wax, these wines are among the vintage’s most reliable for very long ageing.

In 1959, Château d'Yquem made one of its greatest wines of the century; it was also the year the estate launched its dry white wine, Ygrec, born of this very vintage. Alongside it, Château de Rayne Vigneau and the grands crus of Barsac continued this success. Beyond the most prestigious appellations, the neighbouring sweet wines of Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, Barsac and Monbazillac offer more accessible and equally reliable introductions to the mature sweet wines of 1959. To explore the heart of the vintage, the Sauternes appellation remains the natural starting point.

Burgundy 1959 — A legendary, rich and sun-drenched year

Burgundy shared in the generosity of 1959, making it one of the region’s legendary years. Ripe, concentrated grapes produced generous, warm and fragrant reds, as well as rich whites, though these were a little less consistent. As in Bordeaux, moderate acidity made the wines appealing fairly early on; the greatest have since developed a complex tertiary bouquet of woodland undergrowth, spice and candied fruit. Across both the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune, it is the grands crus that have best stood the test of time.

The year’s finest reds are concentrated among the grands crus of the Côte de Nuits, from Chambertin and Musigny to Richebourg. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti remains the benchmark for an exceptional 1959 Pinot Noir, provided its provenance is checked meticulously. The Clos de Vougeot appellation, a large grand cru on the Côte, offers another way to experience the richness of the Burgundy vintage.

Champagne 1959 — A richly vinous vintage

Champagne also benefited from the sunshine of 1959, one of its great vintages of the century. The exceptional ripeness of the grapes produced full-bodied, ripe and vinous wines, a world away from the taut Champagnes of cooler years. Six decades on, the rare bottles still showing well offer tertiary aromas of honey, dried fruit and coffee, carried by a gentler mousse. These are Champagnes for the table, best served less chilled than a young wine to let their complexity shine through.

The great houses marked the year with cuvées that have become legendary: 1959 was also the year Dom Pérignon produced its very first rosé, which remains one of the collectors’ bottles most sought after by enthusiasts. These very old bottles are above all a source of fascination and emotion: they need impeccable provenance and faultless storage to live up to their promise.

Jura and Piedmont 1959 — Rarities that defy time

Beyond France’s great wine regions, 1959 lives on in a handful of rare bottles that embody the charm of mature vintages. The Jura offers the most fascinating: vin jaune, made from Savagnin grapes and aged for several years beneath a veil of yeast, without topping up, before being bottled in a clavelin, the region’s distinctive squat 62-centilitre bottle. This oxidative ageing gives it a unique profile of walnut, curry and spice, and almost limitless longevity. In Piedmont, Nebbiolo produced a well-structured, classic Barolo in 1959, with notes of faded rose, tar and cherry.

The vin jaune of Château-Chalon, the Jura’s leading appellation for this style, is one of the most enduring wines there is: a 1959 bottle remains an unusually dependable prospect for drinking. The great Barolos of Piedmont, mellowed by time, round out this group of age-worthy wines to open without haste. These rarities offer a reliable and original introduction to mature wines, well beyond the familiar territory of Gironde.

Buy a 1959 wine from SoDivin

The 1959 vintage is for enthusiasts seeking the thrill of a great year at its peak: a mature, velvety Médoc, an outstanding Sauternes, a Burgundy grand cru, a Champagne for the table and, for the curious, the fascinating longevity of a Jura vin jaune. As these bottles have travelled through more than six decades, each is expertly assessed, checked for authenticity and provenance, then stored under controlled temperature and humidity conditions before dispatch. Same-day dispatch for orders confirmed before 2 pm, with careful, secure packaging. To compare vintages and refine your choice, consult the SoDivin Vintage Guide.