16 Mature Bordeaux Magnums 1945/47/55/59 (+Unico)
Tasted Sunday, July 17, 2022 by Cailles with 161 views
Introduction
Great annual Tasting of collector JR. All bottles with good provenance and fill levels.
Tasted Sunday, July 17, 2022 by Cailles with 161 views
Great annual Tasting of collector JR. All bottles with good provenance and fill levels.
1945 Château Nenin Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Three 1945s, all from magnum. Winner was the Gruaud Larose (94+ pts) which showed very classic with all telltale aromatics, an impeccable structure, good tension, just missing a touch of complexity. Still young-ish, this was like the little brother of the 1982. Next was the Margaux (92 pts) which showed so elegant and ethereal but lost its structural integrity some time ago. The Nenin (NR) was unfortunately corked but showed impressively powerful underneath.
TN: Corked. But the underneath the wine was incredibly powerful, intense and quite complex. Too bad is was corked. I got the feeling that this bottle could have had a chance to edge out the Margaux and Gruaud Larose 1945 magnums we had in the same flight.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1945 Château Margaux 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Three 1945s, all from magnum. Winner was the Gruaud Larose (94+ pts) which showed very classic with all telltale aromatics, an impeccable structure, good tension, just missing a touch of complexity. Still young-ish, this was like the little brother of the 1982. Next was the Margaux (92 pts) which showed so elegant and ethereal but lost its structural integrity some time ago. The Nenin (NR) was unfortunately corked but showed impressively powerful underneath.
TN: Medium+ expressive nose with ripe dark berries, herbs and some spices, some cola and faint tobacco nose. Pleasant nose but not exceptional at first but getting better and more expressive by the minute. On the palate this is soft and round, missing tension. The structure is gone. The aromatics are fine with tobacco and some truffles, some crushed rocks and wet earth. All in all quite pleasant and improving with time in the glass but not more than 91/92 pts as this bottle clearly lacked power, tension and verve.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1945 Château Gruaud Larose 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Three 1945s, all from magnum. Winner was the Gruaud Larose (94+ pts) which showed very classic with all telltale aromatics, an impeccable structure, good tension, just missing a touch of complexity. Still young-ish, this was like the little brother of the 1982. Next was the Margaux (92 pts) which showed so elegant and ethereal but lost its structural integrity some time ago. The Nenin (NR) was unfortunately corked but showed impressively powerful underneath.
TN: Very classic Gruaud nose with tobacco, wet forest floor, minerality, and ripe dark berries. With time more expressive and intense. On the palate the wine seems a few decades younger. Ripe dark berries, minerality, wet forest floor, tobacco. Good tension with silky tannins, high but well integrated acidity, good creaminess. Good balance and medium length. This remains a bit muscular, very classic Bordeaux, very classic Gruaud, reminiscent of the 1982 just with a bit less over everything. Lovely. For a higher score the complexity would have to be higher and the finish a bit more impressive.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1947 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Three 1947s, all from magnum. Clear winner was the Cos d‘Estournel (95+ pts). Full of life, complex, seductive and sensual. The most complete wine. The bouquet was easily on a 97+ pts level, the palate showed a touch less layered, but still, this was superb. Beychevelle (92 pts) and Pichon Lalande (91 pts) were a few steps behind. The Beychevelle had more substance but was missing a bit of elegance. The PLL, of course, had all that elegance but not enough aromatic pressure and complexity. Still, all three 1947s were successes.
TN: On the nose ripe dark fruit, crushed stone and some tobacco and wet earth in the background. The palate showed dark berries, some dark red fruit, herbs and minerality. Some additional faint coffee and malty notes. All in all, quite nice but the aromatic intensity and precision on the nose and palate were subpar. The highlight is clearly the structural frame. Very fine, silky tannins, good medium+ acidity, good tension. Highly elegant and light, superb balance with the right amount of creaminess.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1947 Château Beychevelle 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Three 1947s, all from magnum. Clear winner was the Cos d‘Estournel (95+ pts). Full of life, complex, seductive and sensual. The most complete wine. The bouquet was easily on a 97 pts level, the palate showed a touch less layered, but still, this was superb. Beychevelle (92 pts) and Pichon Lalande (91 pts) were a few steps behind. The Beychevelle had more substance but was missing a bit of elegance. The PLL, of course, had all that elegance but not enough aromatic pressure and complexity. Still, all three 1947s were successes.
TN: The wine jumped out of the glass with intense dark ripe fruit, some brett notes, black truffles, wet earth and crushed rocks. Quite enchanting. With time the nose lost a bit of its initial strength but was still on a good level. On the palate this shows much lighter with fine red berries, some brighter dark berries, some brett notes, some tertiary aromas. With time more coffee and malty notes. The tannins show still one or the other edge but are of good wuality, the acidity, however, is quite high and not perfectly integrated (I was surprised how much acidity all 3 1947s showed, given the hot year), and hence the balance was not perfect. Nevertheless, this was a quite great.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1947 Château Cos d'Estournel 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Three 1947s, all from magnum. Clear winner was the Cos d‘Estournel (95+ pts). Full of life, complex, seductive and sensual. The most complete wine. The bouquet was easily on a 97 pts level, the palate showed a touch less layered, but still, this was superb. Beychevelle (92 pts) and Pichon Lalande (91 pts) were a few steps behind. The Beychevelle had more substance but was missing a bit of elegance. The PLL, of course, had all that elegance but not enough aromatic pressure and complexity. Still, all three 1947s were successes.
TN: One of the best, most expressive noses of the tasting. Dark, sweet chocolate nose, superb fruit sweetness paired with earthy aromas and minerality. With time even some cool blue (!) forest fruit. Then suddendly some coffee and burnt sugar notes. Always changeling and revealing new nuances. On the palate this shows a bit less complex and less precise but with a fine sweetness, good fruit core and some tertiary notes and less intense but still apparent sensual chocolate and coffee notes. The structure is impeccable, lots of tension, silky tannins, good acidic frame, creamy, light and elegant. Nice, sweet and fairly long finish.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1959 Château Beychevelle 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Three 1959s, all from magnum. Winner was a fabulous Ausone (94+ pts), a wine of massive proportions with a lot of substance and yet no weight. Not decanted, however, the wine was a bit closed. It would have been interesting to follow the wine over a few hours to see how it unfurls as it got better by the minute. Next was the Beychevelle (93 pts), a step up from the 1947 in the previous flight, with a seductive sweetness and good tension, missing a bit of complexity. The Gaffeliere Naudes (87 pts) has seen better days and had some unwanted chemical notes and with time an overly bitter herbal note dominating the wine. Still, in the best moments and with some fruit, this was still enjoyable
TN: FIne, elegant nose with dark red berries, some tobacco, crushed rocks, some blue fruit. At first very delicate, with time more and more powerful and intense. On the palate this shows round and balanced with fine tannins, delicate acidity but overall good tension and a creamy texture. Not very complex but with a beautiful sweetness, herbal notes, earthy notes, some blue and red fruit. Quite complete from start to finish and so delicate.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1959 Château La Gaffelière Naudes 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Three 1959s, all from magnum. Winner was a fabulous Ausone (94+ pts), a wine of massive proportions with a lot of substance and yet no weight. Not decanted, however, the wine was a bit closed. It would have been interesting to follow the wine over a few hours to see how it unfurls as it got better by the minute. Next was the Beychevelle (93 pts), a step up from the 1947 in the previous flight, with a seductive sweetness and good tension, missing a bit of complexity. The Gaffeliere Naudes (87 pts) has seen better days and had some unwanted chemical notes and with time an overly bitter herbal note dominating the wine. Still, in the best moments and with some fruit, this was still enjoyable.
TN: Rather muted nose, not showing much more than some chemical notes. With time this gets better with lots of herbal and earthy notes dominating. Towards the end, however, the herbal notes turn bitter and dominate too much. On the palate a step up with dark fruits, chocolate, crushed rocks, some faint tobacco notes and again a strong herbal component, which with some time becomes too strong. Round, balanced. The tannins are not of the highest quality but still good., medium, well-integrated acidity. Overall, no winner here but in the best moments still good.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1959 Château Ausone 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Three 1959s, all from magnum. Winner was a fabulous Ausone (94+ pts), a wine of massive proportions with a lot of substance and yet no weight. Not decanted, however, the wine was a bit closed. It would have been interesting to follow the wine over a few hours to see how it unfurls as it got better by the minute. Next was the Beychevelle (93 pts), a step up from the 1947 in the previous flight, with a seductive sweetness and good tension, missing a bit of complexity. The Gaffeliere Naudes (87 pts) has seen better days and had some unwanted chemical notes and with time an overly bitter herbal note dominating the wine. Still, in the best moments and with some fruit, this was still enjoyable.
TN: Dark and dense nose but a bit closed and muted but you feel a substance the other two 1959s dont have. With time the nose gets more expressive with dark fruit, dark red berries and some beautiful sweetness. Better and better with some malty notes kicking in. On the palate this shows the same substance with lots of dark red fruit, some meaty notes, herbs, wet earth, some faint hints of caramel. With time the sweetness and caramel notes get a bit more pronounced, and some malty notes show up. The structure is impeccable with soft, silky tannins, medium high and well-integrated acidity, superb creaminess, absolutely no weight. The wine is intense and massive but at the same time so delicate. In the 15+ minutes in the glass the wine constantly improved from a 92-ish experience up to 95 pts in the best moments, hence the potential is exciting. Others were a bit more excited than I am.
Decanting: Double decanted 2+ hours before the tasting.
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1955 Château Margaux 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Three 1955s, all from magnum. Clear winner and red WOTN was the Cheval Blanc (97+ pts). Incredible complex, ever changing, a beautiful fruit core, sensual Cheval caramel and toasty components, all embedded in a flawless structure. Second place for Haut Brion (93 pts). Not the best bottle with the smoke/cured meat notes being too dominating. Still, the substance and tension of this wine are impressive. Lastly, 1955 isn‘t a particularly strong year for Margaux (91 pts) and although this bottle was better than my last, which was dead, this bottle had not enough complexity, precision, not elegance to fully convince.
TN: Intense, dark but slightly dusty, not well-delinated nose. On the palate this powerful, with medium quality tannins with some edges, a high acidity which lends a lot of freshness, a touch creaminess and an overall ok balanced (a touch too much acidity). There is dark fruit, lors of iron minerality, herbs, some smoke, some caramel notes. This is quite pleasant and powerful but probably misses a bit of elegance and a higher complexity.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1955 Château Cheval Blanc 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Three 1955s, all from magnum. Clear winner and red WOTN was the Cheval Blanc (97+ pts). Incredible complex, ever changing, a beautiful fruit core, sensual Cheval caramel and toasty components, all embedded in a flawless structure. Second place for Haut Brion (93 pts). Not the best bottle with the smoke/cured meat notes being too dominating. Still, the substance and tension of this wine are impressive. Lastly, 1955 isn‘t a particularly strong year for Margaux (91 pts) and although this bottle was better than my last, which was dead, this bottle had not enough complexity, precision, not elegance to fully convince.
TN: Dark, dense nose. With time the nose opens up and becomes very complex with ripe dark fruit, darker red berries,smoke, wet earth, some meaty hints. On the palate a clear step up. The wine displays lots of chocolate, dark fruit some red berries, caramel, hints of burnt sugar, some herbs. Even some blue fruit. Spicy and some meat hints, wet earth. Ever so slightly changing and evolving. Highly complex and very well defined. The tannins are silky, the acidity is medium and keeps the wine light. Super balance and so strong from start to the quite long finish. Quite complete and if the nose would have been even better this could have been a 98-10 pts wine.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1955 Château Haut-Brion 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Three 1955s, all from magnum. Clear winner and red WOTN was the Cheval Blanc (97+ pts). Incredible complex, ever changing, a beautiful fruit core, sensual Cheval caramel and toasty components, all embedded in a flawless structure. Second place for Haut Brion (93 pts). Not the best bottle with the smoke/cured meat notes being too dominating. Still, the substance and tension of this wine are impressive. Lastly, 1955 isn‘t a particularly strong year for Margaux (91 pts) and although this bottle was better than my last, which was dead, this bottle had not enough complexity, precision, not elegance to fully convince.
TN: Dark and heavily smokey nose. On the palate this has the same aromatics with loads of smoke and cured meat, tar and dark berries only in the background.You can sense that the wine has much more in store but it‘s all too dominated by the heavy smokey note. Hence, the wine is intense, precise but not as complex as the Cheval 1955 in the next glass. The structural frame is impeccable with ultra fine tannins, medium acidity, creamy texture, light yet powerful. Probably not the best bottle of HB 1955, still a good wine, although clearly more intellectually than hedonistically appealing, missing a fruit core/sweetness to be balanced enough.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1968 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Flawed
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Double blind flight with three random magnums produced a completely unexpected winner. While the Vega Sicila Unico was corked, the Palmer 1945 (91 pts) was a bit past its peak. An intoxicating aroma profile dominated by malty notes and black tea on the positive side, a crumbling structural frame and some faint unwanted soy notes which sadly got more pronounced with time on the negative side. First place for the Swiss Merlot Vinattieri from 1986 (95 pts). Elegance, a beautiful fruit core, minty freshness - a seamless experience from start to finish.
TN: Badly corked.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1986 Vinattieri Ticinesi Merlot Vinattieri 95 Points
Switzerland, Ticino
Double blind flight with three random magnums produced a completely unexpected winner. While the Vega Sicila Unico was corked, the Palmer 1945 (91 pts) was a bit past its peak. An intoxicating aroma profile dominated by malty notes and black tea on the positive side, a crumbling structural frame and some faint unwanted soy notes which sadly got more pronounced with time on the negative side. First place for the Swiss Merlot Vinattieri from 1986 (95 pts). Elegance, a beautiful fruit core, minty freshness - a seamless experience from start to finish.
TN: Intense, expressive, fresh nose. Ripe dark berries, minty notes, some crushed rocks. With time some caramel notes. Very precise. On the palate, this drinks wonderfully. So elegant and light, so round and etheral, this has nice creaminess, lots of power and aromatic intensity. Ripe cassis fruit, mint notes, minerality, some wet earth. Not the highest complexity but what is there is hyper precise. Quite complete and a big surprise when revealed. We guessed Bordeaux blend but likely not from Bordeaux but weren’t really able to pinpoint the region (Italy, California?).
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1945 Château Palmer 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Double blind flight with three random magnums produced a completely unexpected winner. While the Vega Sicila Unico was corked, the Palmer 1945 (91 pts) was a bit past its peak. An intoxicating aroma profile dominated by malty notes and black tea on the positive side, a crumbling structural frame and some faint unwanted soy notes which sadly got more pronounced with time on the negative side. First place for the Swiss Merlot Vinattieri from 1986 (95 pts). Elegance, a beautiful fruit core, minty freshness - a seamless experience from start to finish.
TN: Very intoxicating nose, loads of malty notes, lots of nutty notes, dark fruit, a strong herbal component (Ricola), tons of black tea. So intense, quite extreme but I liked it (more than others). With time more soy sauce notes come out and taint the experience a bit. On the palate the same aromas are there with additional layers of brighter red fruit and minerality. The tannins are almost gone, the wine misses a touch of tension. Acidity dominates a bit. Still, the experience in its best moments is on a 94 pts level, with time the wine crumbled (last sips clearly below 90 pts).
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1949 Château Coutet Barsac 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Three Sauternes (Barsacs), all from magnum. Clear winner and overall WOTN was a magical Climens from 1929 (98+ pts) which had it all: unbelievably complex, ever changing aroma profile with loads of sensual tertiary notes, high precision, sweetness and freshness in perfect harmony, as well as a light and airy structure and feel. The Climens 1953 (94 pts) showed at best like a 20 year old wine. Hardly any tertiary notes and lots of freshness. Impeccably structured, airy, but of course, not remotely as complex as the 1929. Could become a great Climens, though. The Coutet 1949 (89 pts) showed fairly complex and precise but instead of beautiful saffron botrytis it had some chemical notes.
TN: Medium expressive nose with some chemical notes, wet paper and underneath some quince. On the palate the wine is intense with nice fruit core of citrus, apple and quince. Sadly, also more bit chemical botrytis notes instead beautiful saffron ones. Even with more air and swirling that never changed. The acidity is high and keeps the wine light and cuts through the sweetness but is not perfectly integrated. 89/90 pts.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1953 Château Climens 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Three Sauternes (Barsacs), all from magnum. Clear winner and overall WOTN was a magical Climens from 1929 (98+ pts) which had it all: unbelievably complex, ever changing aroma profile with loads of sensual tertiary notes, high precision, sweetness and freshness in perfect harmony, as well as a light and airy structure and feel. The Climens 1953 (94 pts) showed at best like a 20 year old wine. Hardly any tertiary notes and lots of freshness. Impeccably structured, airy, but of course, not remotely as complex as the 1929. Could become a great Climens, though. The Coutet 1949 (89 pts) showed fairly complex and precise but instead of beautiful saffron Botrytis it had some chemical notes.
TN: The nose is fairly closed, even with more air. On the palate this is much better, so soft and sweet, light and quite airy. Notes of pineapple, fresh apple, citrus, orange, some herbs and some saffron. The structure is impeccable, so light and fresh and airy. Once the tertiary complexity kicks in, this could become a great wine. 94/95 pts today.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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1929 Château Climens 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Three Sauternes (Barsacs), all from magnum. Clear winner and overall WOTN was a magical Climens from 1929 (98+ pts) which had it all: unbelievably complex, ever changing aroma profile with loads of sensual tertiary notes, high precision, sweetness and freshness in perfect harmony, as well as a light and airy structure and feel. The Climens 1953 (94 pts) showed at best like a 20 year old wine. Hardly any tertiary notes and lots of freshness. Impeccably structured, airy, but of course, not remotely as complex as the 1929. Could become a great Climens, though. The Coutet 1949 (89 pts) showed fairly complex and precise but instead of beautiful saffron Botrytis it had some chemical notes.
TN: Very dark colored. Wow, super expressive, extremly intense, complex nose with so much coffee, toffee and malty notes. So much nutty aromas. Additional some herbal notes, black tea. Same amazing aromas, same intensity on the palate. Underneath all the teritary complexity fresh citrus, orange peel and quince aromas came forward. If I would criticize one aspect, the wine could have had more of these fruit components to create the perfect aromatic mélange. New aromas with every sniff and sip. Very complex, highly precise, despite all the sweetness and intensity it remains fresh as a daisy with an ethereal lightness and airiness only the very best Sauternes in the very best vintages achieve. Long and expanding finish. Wow. This is an amazing wine and one of the best Sauternes I’ve ever had. 98/99 pts.
Decanting: Double decanted 3+ hours before the tasting.
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