30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. Taste-off between the 1955 and 1961 vintages. The 1961 (rated 93 pts) was the clear winner. Alive and kicking, wonderfully mature, quite complex and with a fine structure. The 1955 (rated 87 pts) had not the same complexity, wasn’t as clean and was more power than elegance and substance and was slightly lactic. These Calon Segurs were a bit weaker and more inconsistent than their neighbouring Phelan Segurs from the same vintages (rated 91 and 93 pts) in the same flight.
TN: A bit of heat on the nose and not much well-delineated aromas. On the palate there is still a good fruit core, some herbs and mature Bdx aromas. The precision is ok but it is not overly complex - still, it is quite pleasant. The wine has a lot of tension and power but is slightly lactic and it gets acidic towards the finish.
Decanting: Not decanted, maybe this would have been better with a bit of air (but I doubt it).
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Grand 1961 vs 1955 vintage tasting (Fribourg): Big 1961 vs 1955 tastings including 10 direct match-ups and 11 individual wines from 1961. The tasting was conducted in flights of 4, single-blind and with no previous decant with all bottles opened 1h prior to start. The line-up was dominated by Bordeaux reds, but also included 5 Sauternes, 1 Champagne, 3 Burgundy reds and 1 Ribera del Duero. The following observations are worth mentioning: i) 1961 generally came across as a better vintage today than 1955, ii) the performance correlated with the 1855 classification, iii) The most outstanding wines were outside of the Bordeaux reds with Veuve Clicquot Rosé '61, Vega Sicilia Unico '61 (both 97) and La Tour Blanche '61 (96) worth mentioning, iv) Top-performing Bordeaux was Margaux (95) in 1961 and Mouton in 1955. List of wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: Espresso, smoke, mixed berries and a bit mineral is the first impression. Fresh palate with good tension but maybe lacking balance. Tannnin is not (or no longer) managed well. The '61 was in much better shape.
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Truly remarkable. From a parcel of old Calon-Ségur ex Christie’s from the Ben Ichinose collection. I chose this bottle first to taste as the least promising - lowest fill (mid shoulder), average vintage. But perfectly preserved old Bordeaux is full of amazing surprises. While brown at the meniscus, it’s a solid maroon for most of the glass. Instead of something excruciatingly coarse and rustic and totally tertiary as I feared it’s really lively and interesting. A very dark kernel of black currant and black berry fruit centers it brilliantly. The tannin is of course totally integrated yet provides ideal structure. It held well for an hour before warming up and giving its essence to the atmosphere. While objectively not a great wine, to experience it is a treasure.
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Firm, stoic and a bit stern, especially for the vintage, the wine was more interesting on the spicy, cassis, tobacco, cedar and cigar box nose, than on the rustic palate. Perhaps it was just this bottle, as with wines at 60 years of age, anything can happen.
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Drank at Bern's during a business dinner, so impressions more than notes.On opening, surprisingly youthful, then evolved in a fascinating way. At first, could have passed for the 2002 I've been drinking from 375, with a wonderfully complex nose and plenty of fruit. After an hour of decanting, it was dominated by mushrooms and earth, and I feared it was falling apart. But that was temporary, and the last glass was the best with fruit, earth and crushed stone. A treat to drink a bottle that was made when my wife and I were in diapers.
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Mature, definitely on the decline, but very tasty. Nice modest bouquet with decent finish and a lot of finese. Has a bit of liquid water in the middle, lacks concentration.
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3/21/2023 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 92 Points
Incredibly fresh with red currant, tobacco and graphite. Ethereal palate. Good but prefer 59.
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11/19/2021 - Kim Gerner wrote: 80 Points
25 Old Bordeaux grand cru classe - vertical (1920->) and horizontal semi blind wine tasting dinner (Copenhagen (Private)): A semi blind tasting of 25 right and left bank Grand cru Classé wines ranging from Mouton Rothschild to Chateau Cheval Blanc. 2/3 from 1920-1990 and the rest younger.
This wine: Garnet color. still notes of green pepper. medium+ acidity.
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10/17/2021 - Cailles wrote: 87 Points
30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. Taste-off between the 1955 and 1961 vintages. The 1961 (rated 93 pts) was the clear winner. Alive and kicking, wonderfully mature, quite complex and with a fine structure. The 1955 (rated 87 pts) had not the same complexity, wasn’t as clean and was more power than elegance and substance and was slightly lactic. These Calon Segurs were a bit weaker and more inconsistent than their neighbouring Phelan Segurs from the same vintages (rated 91 and 93 pts) in the same flight.
TN: A bit of heat on the nose and not much well-delineated aromas. On the palate there is still a good fruit core, some herbs and mature Bdx aromas. The precision is ok but it is not overly complex - still, it is quite pleasant. The wine has a lot of tension and power but is slightly lactic and it gets acidic towards the finish.
Decanting: Not decanted, maybe this would have been better with a bit of air (but I doubt it).
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9/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 92 Points
Grand 1961 vs 1955 vintage tasting (Fribourg): Big 1961 vs 1955 tastings including 10 direct match-ups and 11 individual wines from 1961. The tasting was conducted in flights of 4, single-blind and with no previous decant with all bottles opened 1h prior to start. The line-up was dominated by Bordeaux reds, but also included 5 Sauternes, 1 Champagne, 3 Burgundy reds and 1 Ribera del Duero. The following observations are worth mentioning: i) 1961 generally came across as a better vintage today than 1955, ii) the performance correlated with the 1855 classification, iii) The most outstanding wines were outside of the Bordeaux reds with Veuve Clicquot Rosé '61, Vega Sicilia Unico '61 (both 97) and La Tour Blanche '61 (96) worth mentioning, iv) Top-performing Bordeaux was Margaux (95) in 1961 and Mouton in 1955. List of wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Espresso, smoke, mixed berries and a bit mineral is the first impression. Fresh palate with good tension but maybe lacking balance. Tannnin is not (or no longer) managed well. The '61 was in much better shape.
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7/24/2021 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Truly remarkable. From a parcel of old Calon-Ségur ex Christie’s from the Ben Ichinose collection. I chose this bottle first to taste as the least promising - lowest fill (mid shoulder), average vintage. But perfectly preserved old Bordeaux is full of amazing surprises. While brown at the meniscus, it’s a solid maroon for most of the glass. Instead of something excruciatingly coarse and rustic and totally tertiary as I feared it’s really lively and interesting. A very dark kernel of black currant and black berry fruit centers it brilliantly. The tannin is of course totally integrated yet provides ideal structure. It held well for an hour before warming up and giving its essence to the atmosphere. While objectively not a great wine, to experience it is a treasure.
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3/6/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 89 Points
Firm, stoic and a bit stern, especially for the vintage, the wine was more interesting on the spicy, cassis, tobacco, cedar and cigar box nose, than on the rustic palate. Perhaps it was just this bottle, as with wines at 60 years of age, anything can happen.
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8/8/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Small Post-Tasting Chablis Dinner...Then More Wine with Friends (GT Fish & Oyster - Chicago IL): Popped and poured. Black fruit well balanced with earthy, mushroom aromas and shiny of liqueur. Slightly more mushroomy flavors with good balance. Moderate depth and intensity, but lots of character and enough basic pleasure.
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3/13/2011 - Ibetian wrote: 94 Points
Drank at Bern's during a business dinner, so impressions more than notes.On opening, surprisingly youthful, then evolved in a fascinating way. At first, could have passed for the 2002 I've been drinking from 375, with a wonderfully complex nose and plenty of fruit. After an hour of decanting, it was dominated by mushrooms and earth, and I feared it was falling apart. But that was temporary, and the last glass was the best with fruit, earth and crushed stone. A treat to drink a bottle that was made when my wife and I were in diapers.
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2/10/2002 - JeffJo wrote: 88 Points
Mature, definitely on the decline, but very tasty. Nice modest bouquet with decent finish and a lot of finese. Has a bit of liquid water in the middle, lacks concentration.
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