1978 Château Haut-Brion
Community Tasting Note
jamscreator wrote:
Friday, November 6, 2009 - I have been waiting for over a year to drink this wine and I'm doing it the way I like best - all for myself!
Upon opening, there was a definite 'funk' about the cork and a lot of wine about 3/4 up the cork, but no seapage. This bottle was actually in very good condition and had an upper shoulder fill. Decanted properly by candlelight into a Riedel decanter for 4 hours. Poured a glass into a Riedel Bordeaux glass and let it sit out. The color at first was auburn red with some gold hue, which made me nervous as I do not have much experience with wine of this age. I could hardly stand the excitement of drinking this first growth wine and as it was being poured into the decanter there was a lovely clarity about her. A lot of swirling went into the first glass and I was very pleasantly surprised how much the purple color came back after some oxygen got to her. The nose still had plenty of fruit, all of it dark and in check. There was a surprising sweetness with the first few sips, and the palate presented wonderful herbacious earthiness, mushroom, and a polished saddle leather. In the mouth this wine still had a lot of life but the hands of time had reduced it little from what it likely was 10 years ago. The finish in the throat was flittering but still very fine. This wine is surely near the end of its life at a peak drinking period. I am going to enjoy drinking this entire bottle...........by myself. Cheers! (Sorry for the rambling note).
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