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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.9 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 12 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by iainlo@gmail.com on 10/28/2021 & rated 90 points: Drank at friends 60th birthday. Level was into shoulder and cork dropped into bottle as i was screwing in the Durant. So i was expecting the worst. poured immediately and colour was light with amber rim, as expected for a sixty year old. The nose was delightful, still discernible fruits. On the palate, it was light to medium bodied, very smooth with good balance and complexity. But clearly on a very graceful decline. Enjoyable but this wine is past its prime and needs drinking up (1137 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 10/17/2021 & rated 92 points: 30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. This was a very pleasant, fully mature wine with a nice fruit core and good balance as the highlight. It has certainly not the precision or complexity to play in the league of the very best wines in the vintage.
TN: Not very expressive nose full of minerality and some fruit. With time some unpleasant more oxidative notes. Better on the palate the wine is super fresh and elegant with fine, molten tannins, a good acidity which is probably a bit too pronounced towards the finish and a fine creamy texture. Not overly complex but with fine, ripe fruit, minerality, herbs, leather and a touch of coffee. Ok precision and good balance.
Decanting: Not decanted. Doesn‘t need any decanting. (1868 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 9/20/2021 & rated 93 points: Grand 1961 vs 1955 vintage tasting (Fribourg): Big 1961 vs 1955 tastings including 10 direct match-ups and 11 individual wines from 1961. The tasting was conducted in flights of 4, single-blind and with no previous decant with all bottles opened 1h prior to start. The line-up was dominated by Bordeaux reds, but also included 5 Sauternes, 1 Champagne, 3 Burgundy reds and 1 Ribera del Duero. The following observations are worth mentioning: i) 1961 generally came across as a better vintage today than 1955, ii) the performance correlated with the 1855 classification, iii) The most outstanding wines were outside of the Bordeaux reds with Veuve Clicquot Rosé '61, Vega Sicilia Unico '61 (both 97) and La Tour Blanche '61 (96) worth mentioning, iv) Top-performing Bordeaux was Margaux (95) in 1961 and Mouton in 1955. List of wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Fine and elegant showing espresso, a bouquet of red, blue and dark berries as well as smoke. Soft palate with a velvety texture, but maybe no longer the firmest structure. Probably best to drink up at this stage to capture some of the beauty before it's faded away. (1681 views) | | | Tasted by ireneng5 on 10/22/2019 & rated 93 points: A little thin as one would expect from a wine this age but surprising good nose. Lovely lovely wine. So smooth and ripe with great fruit flavours. (1860 views) | | | Tasted by RockinCabs on 5/10/2018 flawed bottle: Sadly this bottle was maderized. Also an Acker bottle.
Still a hint of a good wine underneath, but pruney and not drinkable. Too bad as I have greatly enjoyed this in the past. (2746 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 3/14/2017: Madeira... an Acker bottle. (3443 views) | | | Tasted by LWI on 3/6/2015 & rated 89 points: MS fill, surprisingly lively. (4187 views) | | | Tasted by rossi.wine on 6/21/2014 & rated 93 points: Quite dark still. Pruney fruit on the nose, spicy, round, herbal. On the palate acidic and fresh, just slightly drying, really long and complex. A wonderful bottle. (4637 views) | | | Tasted by johnh1001 on 12/7/2013 & rated 87 points: Thin, a bit tired. Faded fruit, earth and smoke. Short finish. (4248 views) | | | Tasted by ricknat1 on 10/26/2013: bottle was ok, but the wine was unremarkable (3726 views) | | | Tasted by mbwineguy on 5/9/2013 & rated 95 points: From magnum which had been upright for over 2 days. Cork was in solid shape and came out in 2 distinct pieces. Opened and drank over 6 hours. I had no preconceived notions about how this would show. I was hoping it would be good and not a disaster. WOW! WOW! WOW! This was great. Displayed a balance which was unexpected for a 2nd wine, even from a celebrated vintage. Moderate bricking on the edges, and as it developed in the glass a subtle orange rind finish. On the palate there was a clean and precise finish of moderate length. (3171 views) | | | Tasted by RockinCabs on 3/14/2011 & rated 95 points: A Trip to Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa, FL): Color: Gorgeous deep purple w/amethyst color at the rim. Nose: Cassis, blackberry, spring fresh flowers, leather and a whiff of pipe tobacco. Palate: sweet cassis and blackberry with gorgeous secondary flavors. Tannins still left in this one. Floral elements are quite prominent. Finish: whoa, frilly long and persistent. (3608 views) |
| Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Pauillac Read more detailed information about Pauillac Looking full onto the river from the earliest days, with an important port activity, traces of which go back to ancient times (shipment of bronze as long ago as 2000 B.C.), Pauillac's life has always been intimately linked to the history of wine. Although port activities were at the root of its prosperity, Pauillac had to wait until the eighteenth century when Bordeaux ceased to hold its privileged position to become a wine port. The town then became the natural outlet for the wine production of neighbouring cantons before reaching its zenith in a period when the vineyards were exceptionally prosperous.
The characteristic of the Pauillac terroir is its exceptional relief: the many undulating ridges make it unique morphologically speaking. Highly favourable conditions facilitate the dissection of the layer of gravel. This thin, Garonne gravel from whose very poverty springs great richness, has an extremely effective natural drainage.
With their velvet red colour with a hint of amber, the wines from the Pauillac appellation, full-bodied and rich in tannin, are vigorous. Powerful when young, their aromas of red fruits (black-currant, raspberry) or flowers (violets, roses, irises) melt with the passing of time into a bouquet which is long in the mouth.
Rich and complex, the wines of Pauillac deserve to be laid down for a little longer.
Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936)
In order to have the right to the Pauillac appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Pauillac and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |
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