Community Tasting Note
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Jay Hack wrote: 91 points
August 27, 2013 - My recollection is that in about 1977, Frank Prial wrote an article in the New York Times about various second and third tier Bordeaux that would substitute well for first growths. I do not remember all of them, but I believe that two were Figeac and La Gaffeliere. He also recommended Gloria and du Tertre, but I am not sure if it was in the same article. I went out and bought a half case of 1971 Figeac, possibly from Zachys or the Sokolin that used to be on Madison Ave. This was the last one. We were sitting around the back yard waiting for the rest of the crew to show up for dinner so I decided to see how this was doing. Opened with a Durand - cork was fully saturated and on its death bed, but it came out perfectly. Poured directly from the bottle. Color was light with a bit more red brick that I had hoped, and I was afraid it was badly maderized. However, there was only a tyiny bit of that dflavor as part of the profile. Color was light and the nose was cherry fruit. The palate opened up after about 10 minutes of air to reveal some very nice red fruit withy just a tiny bit of Bordeaux bandaid in the background. No left bank "Cordier" dirt and leather. Quite smooth and enjoyable. This wine is past its peak, but not yet on a violent downhill slide.
1971 was not known as a particularly good year in Bordeaux. Actually, the entire decade of the 70s, when I started collecting, did not bathe itself in glory. 1970 and 71 were supposed to be OK, 72 was blah, 73 was bleh, 74 was eh (but I got a case of Haut Brion for $6 a bottle) and 75 was supposed to be great, but Frank Prial definitely missed on that one. I have had some good 1970s Bordeaux over the years, but not something I would seek out, nor something I would have stocked up on if I had it to do over again. BUT I did like this bottle quite a lot.2 people found this helpful 3,967 views
1 Comment
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Jito72 commented:
7/7/14, 11:14 AM - Great wrote! I really enjoy it! specially the facts and the mentioned price of a haut brion for just $6/bottle :)