Last bottle of this (that's happening more and more these days), and its been a pleasure drinking each and every one. This bottle was great - showing its age definitely, but still very enjoyable.
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Tasting Group Dinner - Bordeaux at Heidi's (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Breathtaking stuff. Deep, stunningly youthful brilliant maroon. Fantastically expressive nose that unfolds with waves of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, caramel, brown sugar, leather, graphite, smoke, tea, earth, and a zillion other flavors. Concentrated and intense, yet elegant and ethereally smooth on the mouth. The texture is like silk. Surprisingly, this improved steadily as it saw air, and came across as more youthful than the 62. One of the best wines I have ever had, and easily my WOTN. I would have guessed this was a 15-25 year old wine, not 87 years. This was a Vandermeulen bottle that Brad acquired from Acker, so we were all pretty confident that this was the real deal.
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Wednesdays at Heidi's: This was a Vandermeulen bottling courtesy of Brad England. It was double decanted just prior to leaving for the restaurant and then vacuum sealed. The color was a deep brick/rust red -- stunning for a wine of this age. It was darker than the 62 and almost as dark as the 86. The nose was nuanced and compelling -- featuring ripe red and black fruits, smoke, tobacco and much more. The taste was another step up in intensity delivering an enthralling blend of red fruit, blueberry, raspberry, carmel, brown sugar and more. Mouthcoating. Expansive. Oh so silky smooth. Amazingly youthful. Perfect finish. It's hard not to let the 86 year old label sway your experience, but this was truely a thrilling wine.
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This incredibly, complex Bordeaux nose offered so many aromas, I’d have an easier time trying to count the holes in Albert Hall before I could name them all. But, the fireworks did not end with an amazing nose. The Port like syrupy texture of the wine gliding over your palate was surreal. The decadent wine continued gaining in the glass for several hours. This was positively riveting. Unfortunately, I will never be able to see what my 90 Cheval Blanc will taste like at 85, but I will never forget tasting this wine!
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The Grand Finale with Leve at the French Laundry (Yountville, Napa Valley, CA): This was a Vandermeulen bottling. When first poured I was worried that this was madeirized, as it mostly smelled of caramel. However, the wine had a miraculous transformation in the glass, getting darker and darker the longer it aired. The nose shows roasted coffee, caramel, balsamic and that ubiquitous 'Asian spice'. On the palate this was initially quite sweet and seemed a little simple. However, after a few minutes in the glass it started to explode with a huge palate, drenched in nut oil, toffee, amazing weight and power, liqueur like in the mid-palate and then finishing out, amazingly, with Port-like intensity. Now I finally know what Parker means when he described the similar character of the 1947 Cheval Blanc. At one point, I noticed a fascinating thing: the candlelight in the restaurant was shining through my glass in just the right way such that you could see the viscosity of the legs illuminated on the tablecloth. This stuff was thick and it made me declare that in its youth this wine MUST have topped 14%. The table laughed at me, but 3 days later I read the Parker review and saw that in fact he had stated the same thing, hah! Anyway, this was really and truly one of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted, and it gave me my first true glimpse into what Bordeaux can really turn into with enough time.
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1/21/2015 - BradE wrote:
Last bottle of this (that's happening more and more these days), and its been a pleasure drinking each and every one. This bottle was great - showing its age definitely, but still very enjoyable.
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1/3/2008 - BradE wrote:
Consistant with previous tastings. A great bottle of wine, and a pleasure to drink.
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1/2/2008 - Siggy wrote: 99 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Bordeaux at Heidi's (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Breathtaking stuff. Deep, stunningly youthful brilliant maroon. Fantastically expressive nose that unfolds with waves of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, caramel, brown sugar, leather, graphite, smoke, tea, earth, and a zillion other flavors. Concentrated and intense, yet elegant and ethereally smooth on the mouth. The texture is like silk. Surprisingly, this improved steadily as it saw air, and came across as more youthful than the 62. One of the best wines I have ever had, and easily my WOTN. I would have guessed this was a 15-25 year old wine, not 87 years. This was a Vandermeulen bottle that Brad acquired from Acker, so we were all pretty confident that this was the real deal.
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1/2/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 99 Points
Wednesdays at Heidi's: This was a Vandermeulen bottling courtesy of Brad England. It was double decanted just prior to leaving for the restaurant and then vacuum sealed. The color was a deep brick/rust red -- stunning for a wine of this age. It was darker than the 62 and almost as dark as the 86. The nose was nuanced and compelling -- featuring ripe red and black fruits, smoke, tobacco and much more. The taste was another step up in intensity delivering an enthralling blend of red fruit, blueberry, raspberry, carmel, brown sugar and more. Mouthcoating. Expansive. Oh so silky smooth. Amazingly youthful. Perfect finish. It's hard not to let the 86 year old label sway your experience, but this was truely a thrilling wine.
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3/15/2006 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
This incredibly, complex Bordeaux nose offered so many aromas, I’d have an easier time trying to count the holes in Albert Hall before I could name them all. But, the fireworks did not end with an amazing nose. The Port like syrupy texture of the wine gliding over your palate was surreal. The decadent wine continued gaining in the glass for several hours. This was positively riveting. Unfortunately, I will never be able to see what my 90 Cheval Blanc will taste like at 85, but I will never forget tasting this wine!
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2/20/2006 - Eric wrote:
The Grand Finale with Leve at the French Laundry (Yountville, Napa Valley, CA): This was a Vandermeulen bottling. When first poured I was worried that this was madeirized, as it mostly smelled of caramel. However, the wine had a miraculous transformation in the glass, getting darker and darker the longer it aired. The nose shows roasted coffee, caramel, balsamic and that ubiquitous 'Asian spice'. On the palate this was initially quite sweet and seemed a little simple. However, after a few minutes in the glass it started to explode with a huge palate, drenched in nut oil, toffee, amazing weight and power, liqueur like in the mid-palate and then finishing out, amazingly, with Port-like intensity. Now I finally know what Parker means when he described the similar character of the 1947 Cheval Blanc. At one point, I noticed a fascinating thing: the candlelight in the restaurant was shining through my glass in just the right way such that you could see the viscosity of the legs illuminated on the tablecloth. This stuff was thick and it made me declare that in its youth this wine MUST have topped 14%. The table laughed at me, but 3 days later I read the Parker review and saw that in fact he had stated the same thing, hah! Anyway, this was really and truly one of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted, and it gave me my first true glimpse into what Bordeaux can really turn into with enough time.
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