Very interesting bottle that needed a lot of time (and would have benefited from some more to be honest). Initially closed off, but developing a complex aroma of young wood, thai basil and metal. Impressively smooth and well balanced on the palate.
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A great bottle here. In fact, Pierre said it's the best bottle of '45 he's ever tasted. Really open and decadent with flavors of dark minerals, haunting black forest and leathers along with notes of charcoal and black spices on the finish. Almost falling apart but hanging on just enough here to be something very special. Intimate dinner for 8 with Pierre Lurton in the rotunda on the roof at Nomad, NYC.
By far, the most interesting bottle I have ever owned and drank. I am still not quite sure what to make of this bottle. I shared it with two friends who are more knowledgeable than me in wine, and we were not able to come to a conclusion on the authenticity of the bottle. The fill was in the neck (essentially impossible), with a relatively young, hard cork that was compressed and small, but half-soaked. It read "Chateau Cheval Blanc." There was abundant sediment, and the wine was mature and delicious. Definitely could have been a 40's wine if it wasn't the real thing. The bottle was another story -- a friend identified that the bottle had no "seam", meaning it is one continuous piece of glass. He mentioned that this style of bottle was definitely pre-1940's. One hypothesis might be that since the wine is a war-year bottle, maybe they re-used an older bottle? The label seemed authentic, a Dutch negociant bottling. So what to make of this bottle? I suppose that the story, the wine, the company, and the discussions only make it more memorable.
The wine itself was exactly what is described as '45 Cheval Blanc -- a little bricking and oxidation around the edges, but still a stunning violent hue throughout. Forest floor, vegetables, and a mushroom farm feel that combined with little remaining fruit and tannins to make a remarkably balanced and tasty wine. The complex flavors linger -- both on the palate, and in my mind...
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Østkantsmaking: Topp skulder. Noe skyet, rødbrun med 1 mm klar menisk. Aldeles nydelig nese av julekrydder, søte røde bær (med nesten kokosaktig sødme), brent paprika, skogbunn og tørket kjøtt. Bløt, silkemyk og dyp frukt med elegant fremtoning, I motsetning til de 3 foregående i 45 flighten har denne masser av frukt. Saftig og med fin sødme. Flott balanse gjennom smakskurven. God lengde. 95/96 P
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Seven Decades of Right Bank Wines (Trondheim, Norway (my house)): Fill: on join. Brilliant bricking red, light, long brim; very complex nose, forest floor, some beef juice, very fresh; very intense wine, long, complex, but the taste does not quite live up to the fantastic nose (to merit a perfect score), elegant, floral, and grows in the glass. Tannins still present. All in all, a wonderful bottle.
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The Pavie Prince gives this wine 100 points. Superlative wine in all contexts. Company was amazing as well Bottle was top shoulder filled and foil wrapper completely intact with some evidence of oxidation on visual inspection
I am typing this note as Led Zeppelins' "Since I have been loving you" is playing in the distance. Nothing could be more appropo. This bottle has transfixed me and the person I gave it to for some time. I got a long note about this wine from its original owner because it was the source of some worry for her. When I was fortunate to recieve my wine as a gift from a a special lady I opened many of the older cases I got and this bottle for me always looked the coolest because it was stained in a very famous fire in LA. The wine was felt by its owner to be damaged. I had this one bottle removed fromt he case and sent to the chateau circa 2000 to be checked and recorked. It was sent back with a small note. The bottle was in perfect condition and the cork was prisitine and needed no work. 9 yrs later and many moves under my ownership I decided to give this bottle to a family member to open and drink. I had the bottle engraved with 24 kt gold to commemorated the occasion. Interestingly, the bottle was so old engraving it was very hard to do because the glass of the forties was so unstable.
The wine was presented to Steve and I opened it personally because of my own concerns with the cork. The cork came out without any issues. Not bad for a 64 yr old masterpiece. I poured the contents directly into a massive Reidel decanter and aerated the wine. The aroma was intoxicatingly good. So powerful, yet so earthy and leathery initially. I remember looking at the wine in color and thinking I have never seen a wine this dark. It was darker than the darkest Malbec. The initial aroma was robust and harsh but as the wine sat it changed and became explosive for me. We let it sit while we killed an 83 Margaux first. That wine was superb in its own right but this one for me took me to heights I have been too few times in my wine life before.
After a few days I realized I had to make room in my top five wines of all time. Mind you this rarely happens. This wine was that good. I think the company with me, who taste her, will agree. It was a wine that will make you remember her.
The wine made me forget the train of thought i was on. It seemed to control all my brain in using the perceptions of smell and taste to describe it. The first taste was dominated by leathery smooth cassis, berry fruit with earthen tones. I remember thinking it was almost like port in silkiness and sweetness. The tannins were perfectly muted for its age. The complexity was obvious and required me to write down my thoughts right after I got home. I remember feeling my mouth was full of a large body godess of juice infused wit spices, mustard, raisin, prune and raspbery. I got crushed gravel, grass, citrus and mocha in th emid palate. The ending of this beauty was toe curling for me. Very long and complex yet light on her feet as she dazzled me with elegance, balance, structure, and unforgettably in every way. Silky smooth and very long. This had a perfect coda for me. The only bad part of this bottle was that we ran out. Absolutely stunning wine with amazing complexity and depth of fruit. A real pleasure to to taste and share on an amazing day of quan. My heart was drenched in this wine. We finished the night with a 95 D'yquem that was also great but my heart is still lusting for one more taste of her again.
reposted from facebook wine notes. photo of bottle uploaded
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Birthday Bash with Lynch Bages (1985, 1995) and 1945 (Big Surprise!) (Highlands Bar and Grill (Birmingham)): What a suprise! Bought this 2 years ago from WineCommune, label was a reproduction and blurred, something like 1945 Lynch Bages; Amsterdam wed&Zoon. When this bottle was opened, the cork was long and intact, and branded with Berry Bros & Rudd; Chateau Cheval Blanc! I believe the cork and not the facsimile label..definitely not a Lynch Bages, but indeed a lovely elegant bottle of wine!. Wonderful round fruit, bit of a volatility that blew off quickly, just grew and grew in the glass. Great balance, and long finish, very impressive!!
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1/8/2021 - tinybubbles wrote: flawed
Challenging cork. Oxidized. Berry Bros bottling.
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6/29/2020 - LWI wrote: flawed
Allegedly a P. Janoueix bottling. Unclear, mahogany color; mint, Christmas spices, cough syrup. Like a faded Chinato. Fake.
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6/1/2019 - G_H wrote: 92 Points
Cheval Blanc Vertical ‘Chez Elke’ (Hotel Hohenzollern, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler): Eschenauer negociant bottle. Some forest floor notes, Italian hard cheese, some iron. Reminded us of the 1959 but with less power and length.
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6/1/2019 - hartmarco Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very interesting bottle that needed a lot of time (and would have benefited from some more to be honest). Initially closed off, but developing a complex aroma of young wood, thai basil and metal. Impressively smooth and well balanced on the palate.
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3/26/2019 - nywine68 wrote: 99 Points
An Evening of Vinous Merriment and Majesty Among Friends (Craft, New York): The fruit is amazingly young and fresh for a wine this age, just incredible. Sweet ripe raspberries with a long, long complex finish. This is so delicious and just impossible to put down.
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3/25/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
A great bottle here. In fact, Pierre said it's the best bottle of '45 he's ever tasted. Really open and decadent with flavors of dark minerals, haunting black forest and leathers along with notes of charcoal and black spices on the finish. Almost falling apart but hanging on just enough here to be something very special. Intimate dinner for 8 with Pierre Lurton in the rotunda on the roof at Nomad, NYC.
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5/22/2015 - MauriceE wrote: flawed
Alas, cork fell into the bottle during transport.
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6/30/2013 - CManthei wrote: 95 Points
By far, the most interesting bottle I have ever owned and drank. I am still not quite sure what to make of this bottle. I shared it with two friends who are more knowledgeable than me in wine, and we were not able to come to a conclusion on the authenticity of the bottle. The fill was in the neck (essentially impossible), with a relatively young, hard cork that was compressed and small, but half-soaked. It read "Chateau Cheval Blanc." There was abundant sediment, and the wine was mature and delicious. Definitely could have been a 40's wine if it wasn't the real thing. The bottle was another story -- a friend identified that the bottle had no "seam", meaning it is one continuous piece of glass. He mentioned that this style of bottle was definitely pre-1940's. One hypothesis might be that since the wine is a war-year bottle, maybe they re-used an older bottle? The label seemed authentic, a Dutch negociant bottling. So what to make of this bottle? I suppose that the story, the wine, the company, and the discussions only make it more memorable.
The wine itself was exactly what is described as '45 Cheval Blanc -- a little bricking and oxidation around the edges, but still a stunning violent hue throughout. Forest floor, vegetables, and a mushroom farm feel that combined with little remaining fruit and tannins to make a remarkably balanced and tasty wine. The complex flavors linger -- both on the palate, and in my mind...
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9/7/2012 - -E- wrote: 95 Points
Østkantsmaking: Topp skulder. Noe skyet, rødbrun med 1 mm klar menisk. Aldeles nydelig nese av julekrydder, søte røde bær (med nesten kokosaktig sødme), brent paprika, skogbunn og tørket kjøtt. Bløt, silkemyk og dyp frukt med elegant fremtoning, I motsetning til de 3 foregående i 45 flighten har denne masser av frukt. Saftig og med fin sødme. Flott balanse gjennom smakskurven. God lengde. 95/96 P
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9/7/2012 - LWI wrote: 98 Points
Seven Decades of Right Bank Wines (Trondheim, Norway (my house)): Fill: on join. Brilliant bricking red, light, long brim; very complex nose, forest floor, some beef juice, very fresh; very intense wine, long, complex, but the taste does not quite live up to the fantastic nose (to merit a perfect score), elegant, floral, and grows in the glass. Tannins still present. All in all, a wonderful bottle.
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2/14/2009 - Pavie Princess wrote: 100 Points
The Pavie Prince gives this wine 100 points. Superlative wine in all contexts. Company was amazing as well Bottle was top shoulder filled and foil wrapper completely intact with some evidence of oxidation on visual inspection
I am typing this note as Led Zeppelins' "Since I have been loving you" is playing in the distance. Nothing could be more appropo. This bottle has transfixed me and the person I gave it to for some time. I got a long note about this wine from its original owner because it was the source of some worry for her. When I was fortunate to recieve my wine as a gift from a a special lady I opened many of the older cases I got and this bottle for me always looked the coolest because it was stained in a very famous fire in LA. The wine was felt by its owner to be damaged. I had this one bottle removed fromt he case and sent to the chateau circa 2000 to be checked and recorked. It was sent back with a small note. The bottle was in perfect condition and the cork was prisitine and needed no work. 9 yrs later and many moves under my ownership I decided to give this bottle to a family member to open and drink. I had the bottle engraved with 24 kt gold to commemorated the occasion. Interestingly, the bottle was so old engraving it was very hard to do because the glass of the forties was so unstable.
The wine was presented to Steve and I opened it personally because of my own concerns with the cork. The cork came out without any issues. Not bad for a 64 yr old masterpiece. I poured the contents directly into a massive Reidel decanter and aerated the wine. The aroma was intoxicatingly good. So powerful, yet so earthy and leathery initially. I remember looking at the wine in color and thinking I have never seen a wine this dark. It was darker than the darkest Malbec. The initial aroma was robust and harsh but as the wine sat it changed and became explosive for me. We let it sit while we killed an 83 Margaux first. That wine was superb in its own right but this one for me took me to heights I have been too few times in my wine life before.
After a few days I realized I had to make room in my top five wines of all time. Mind you this rarely happens. This wine was that good. I think the company with me, who taste her, will agree. It was a wine that will make you remember her.
The wine made me forget the train of thought i was on. It seemed to control all my brain in using the perceptions of smell and taste to describe it. The first taste was dominated by leathery smooth cassis, berry fruit with earthen tones. I remember thinking it was almost like port in silkiness and sweetness. The tannins were perfectly muted for its age. The complexity was obvious and required me to write down my thoughts right after I got home. I remember feeling my mouth was full of a large body godess of juice infused wit spices, mustard, raisin, prune and raspbery. I got crushed gravel, grass, citrus and mocha in th emid palate. The ending of this beauty was toe curling for me. Very long and complex yet light on her feet as she dazzled me with elegance, balance, structure, and unforgettably in every way. Silky smooth and very long. This had a perfect coda for me. The only bad part of this bottle was that we ran out. Absolutely stunning wine with amazing complexity and depth of fruit. A real pleasure to to taste and share on an amazing day of quan. My heart was drenched in this wine. We finished the night with a 95 D'yquem that was also great but my heart is still lusting for one more taste of her again.
reposted from facebook wine notes. photo of bottle uploaded
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1/11/2008 - SimonK wrote: 86 Points
Bodeaux Raritäten Probe Day 1 1864-1949 (Haus der Harmonie, Bochum, Germany): Ruby colour with slight rims
Dark Cherry on the Nose
Sour Raspberry on the Palate
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3/4/2006 - 1800kidney wrote: 94 Points
Birthday Bash with Lynch Bages (1985, 1995) and 1945 (Big Surprise!) (Highlands Bar and Grill (Birmingham)): What a suprise! Bought this 2 years ago from WineCommune, label was a reproduction and blurred, something like 1945 Lynch Bages; Amsterdam wed&Zoon. When this bottle was opened, the cork was long and intact, and branded with Berry Bros & Rudd; Chateau Cheval Blanc! I believe the cork and not the facsimile label..definitely not a Lynch Bages, but indeed a lovely elegant bottle of wine!. Wonderful round fruit, bit of a volatility that blew off quickly, just grew and grew in the glass. Great balance, and long finish, very impressive!!
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