March 24, 2024 - It was Jim's BD wine and we felt lucky to share this 50 YO wines together.
August 28, 2023 - Cloudy appearance. Still drinking ok with notes of dried red fruits, spices, toast and charr wood. Medium acidity and medium tannin. Tannin is fine. Will not improve further. And it’s declining for this bottle.
October 23, 2022 - Ullage 6cm below cork. Dark red black. Viscous. Totally oxidised. Like a vinegar made from port.
October 20, 2020 - Beautiful 46 year old wine, just at a perfect place right now. Well resolved tannins, lovely brett flavors with characteristic graphite and tobacco. But next to a 47 and a 95 HB!!!
August 18, 2018 - The wine looks garnet colored. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, forest floor, toast and cedar.
March 7, 2018 - Now, before I start writing my tasting notes, here’s a quick prep course on Haut-Brion. Y´all need it, because only experts scream like school girls when they get to drink one of these gems. Château Haut-Brion is a French wine, rated a First Growth, produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. Basically, five wineries were chosen by Napoleon III to be the crème de la crème of France in 1855. Besides HB, you should be very excited to taste Yquem, Latour, Lafite, Margaux or Mouton Rothschild (which came in 1973). You might expect that I´ll write about a 100-point religious-changing experience, but unfortunately, a terrible vintage took its toll on the quality of this bottle. Closed down on the nose even after 15-20 minutes in the glass with some notes of red licorice, dried plum and clay dust. Tragically hollow on the palate with just the acidity hanging on a thin string. Soft texture all the way into the finish, but the structure is missing out big time. A wine well past its peak and a shame for my HB first timer.
August 2, 2017 - 3cm ullage.
Very dark mature red.
Reticent nose with prominent oak, vanilla, coconut, mushroom, charcuterie.
Palate initially very closed, following 2 hours slow ox given a 2 hour decant. This was still surprisingly youthful with prominent oak and plush, velvety tannins. Very closed initially, but after 3 hours quite complex, if understated, with cassis, dark cherries, cherry liqueur, cola, anise, Christmas cake and Asian spice. The acidity was very fresh and vibrant and there was nothing tertiary, but in spite of the freshness and reasonable complexity not a lot of depth or intensity. Still very good in terms of being 43 years old and from a poorly rated vintage. Provenance was that it had been stored since release in quite a cold cellar in Champagne.
May 14, 2016 - A private dinner (Restaurant MOS, Amsterdam, NL): Mature and smoky nose, vestiges of fruit, warm and earthy, metallic note; light palate but certainly not anaemic, has a certain roundness and charm, slightly metallic but still integrated acidity, still coherent, good length. A modest wine but very impressive for a 42 year old wine from a terrible vintage and as such a wonderful surprise.
August 1, 2015 - In view of visiting the Château next month, I uncorked this 1974 vintage.
Purchased from estate, wine has always been kept in excellent condition.
- Bottle in pristine condition, level approx. 2 cm under the cork
- Cork - came out in one piece ( uncommon for elder vintages )
- Colour - still some red to be find, though some (rust) brown at the edges.
- Nose - black pepper, wet soil ( foliage ), smoky, roasted coffee
- Flavour - very light at first taste, opens up in mouth, peppery, cookies, etc.
- Taste - very tertiary, nice round flavour, needed some time in bottle to open up.
Conclusion - very little knowledge on the 1974 vintage, but this one scores high in my book.
I have tasted many 70-ties bottles and it ranks up with my Cheval Blanc 73 and Latour 79.
Have to say, it can be enjoyed now, but confident a well stored bottle will last another 10 years.
Mathijs
May 17, 2015 - Dark sweet earthy black dusty big rich espresso aromas. Rich ripe dark flavors fat, a tad soft, quite pleasurable and surprisingly rich. A little flabby in middle but comes across almost velvety. Rich finish of dusty earthy tobacco and leather. Really outperformed my expectations, but would still be drinking this up.