1972 Bordeaux horizontal tasting
Tasted Friday, September 2, 2022 by pavel_p with 116 views
Introduction
It is well known that 1972 was a horrible Bordeaux vintage. A cold and wet start to the year was followed by frost in April. Loads of rain in May, then a short blips of summer and more rain during early fall resulting in a rainy harvest.
Still we cannot pick the year we are born, and hence over the years, I have tried quite a few 1972 Bordeaux, not great wines but mostly still surprisingly drinkable. Also until only a few years back these 72 First Growth were rather affordable, and we were joking that evening about who could have paid for such a wine dinner if born only 10 years later...
So this 50th birthday was the ultimate occasion to invite a few vinophile friends and try all the First Growth and a few more side-by-side.
I played around with the idea of throwing in a few 1972 Burgundies blind into these Bordeaux flights for fun but in the end decided on a separate 1972 Burgundy flight out of fear that the considerably better Burgundy vintage could destroy those Bdx and render them Bdx undrinkable. Finally it was only one Burgundy that shone clearly above all other reds that evening..
All bottles were in very good condition with top shoulder fills, stored upright for a few weeks and just slow ox'ed (recorked with neutral cork) for about 2 hours before the dinner. All wines held up well over the 3h dinner and nothing really fell apart.
Flight 1 - Champagne (2 Notes)
We started with two bottles of a solid NV Champagne from the restaurants wine list to warm up before getting serious...
Flight 2 - Burgundy (4 Notes)
Having had the Lamarche twice now, it has shown brilliantly on both occasions. Clearly WOTN for me, and that even though when I opened the bottle I was not sure it would be drinkable as it was showing somewhat musty and moldy on the nose, with none of the beautiful and aromatic red fruit that emerged latter.
Flight 3 - Bordeaux mixed (4 Notes)
Nothing really stood out in this first Bordeaux flight. The Margaux considerably thinner and this confirming the difficult 70s period for this estate, the Haut Brion showing most promise in terms of fruit concentration but this particular bottle did not really convince..
Flight 4 - Bordeaux Pauillac (4 Notes)
To be added
Closing
Really a fun evening with great company and interesting but not really great wines!
NV Henri Giraud Champagne Esprit Nature 90 Points
France, Champagne
Two bottles from restaurant wine list. Fairly rich yellow fruit, medium sweetness. Solid Champagne, would happily trade in some of the richness for a bit more delineation and minerality.
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NV Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bicentenaire 1772-1972 93 Points
France, Champagne
Our first "72" even though this is an NV and hence fruit would be from vintages around / before that year. Was not expecting anything here but I found this to be very good (even I did not see anybody else appreciating this). Golden color but still good freshness and even fine mousse providing a lift, deep fruit notes with orange peel, no oxidization whatsoever. Very impressive for an NV around the 50 year mark.
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