This is a perfect example of a not so good vintage way back when turning into a masterpiece with 40 years in the bottle....oh brothers and sisters, in the realm of aristocracy, where refined tastes and exquisite experiences reign supreme, there exists a pinnacle of viniculture that encapsulates the very essence of luxury and indulgence. Enter the illustrious 1983 Château Gruaud Larose, a vintage that transcends time and transports connoisseurs to a realm of unparalleled sensory delight.
In the glass, it exudes a deep, garnet hue, hinting at the depth of character that lies within. Aromas of ripe blackcurrant, succulent plum, and delicate violet intertwine to create a bouquet of unparalleled complexity. With each swirl, new layers of fragrance emerge, enticing the senses and promising a journey of sensory delight.
On the palate, the wine unfurls with grace and elegance, coating the tongue with velvety textures and sumptuous flavors. Ripe blackberry, dark chocolate, and hints of cedar mingle harmoniously, creating a symphony of taste that dances across the palate. The wine's impeccable balance and seamless integration of tannins speak to its pedigree, leaving a lasting impression that lingers long after the final sip.
What sets the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose apart is not just its exceptional taste, but also its ability to evoke a sense of time and place. With each sip, one is transported to a bygone era, where the summer of '83 is alive with the promise of adventure and romance. It is a wine that tells a story, a narrative of passion and indulgence that unfolds with each passing moment.
As I reflect on my experience with the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose, I am reminded of the words of the poet: "Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read."
But beyond its extraordinary taste and impeccable craftsmanship, the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose evokes a nostalgia that transcends mere sensory pleasure. Like a cherished memory etched in the annals of time, it conjures visions of the summer of '83, a season imbued with the spirit of adventure and untamed passion.
I am reminded of a journey embarked upon in the rugged terrain of Alaska, where dusty roads wind their way through untamed wilderness, and the promise of adventure hangs thick in the air. It was there, amidst the wilderness, that I encountered a family from California, their spirits as vibrant as the crimson hues of the setting sun.
In the quaint town of Chicken, beneath the ethereal glow of the northern lights, fate conspired to intertwine our destinies in a moment of serendipitous enchantment. It was there, amidst laughter and camaraderie, that I found myself enraptured by the beauty of a young maiden whose allure surpassed even the finest vintage wine. Under the watchful gaze of the celestial heavens, we stole away to the banks of a tranquil river, where the symphony of nature provided the perfect backdrop for our clandestine rendezvous. As we shared stories and dreams beneath the canopy of stars, the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose became our companion, its velvety elixir igniting flames of passion that burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. In that fleeting moment of bliss, time stood still, and we were enveloped in a cocoon of euphoria, where the boundaries of reality faded into obscurity, and only the pulsating rhythm of our hearts remained. It was a night etched in the fabric of eternity, a testament to the transformative power of love and the intoxicating allure of forbidden desires.
Covered in blueberries from head to toe, we found vintage animal love that lasted but a few minutes but was savored like my grandmother's broth.
Though our paths diverged with the dawn's first light, and the sands of time swept us apart, the memory of that fateful encounter remains etched in the depths of my soul, a poignant reminder of a love that defied the constraints of time and space.
In the grand tapestry of life, where each thread weaves a story of its own, the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose stands as a testament to the enduring power of passion and the timeless allure of indulgence. With each sip, it beckons us to embark upon a journey of discovery, where the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur, and the promise of adventure awaits around every corner.
NOTE TO SELF: LITERALLY DRINK NOW POP AND POUR. 20 MINS IN THE GLASS READY AND DRINK LIKE A DAMN OPUS!
UPDATE: SECOND BOTTLE. OMG I AM IN LOVE. POP AND POUR. SOOOO GOOD.
Wine of the night, besting the brilliant 2005 Clinet. Perfect aged BDX, lovely aromatics, perfect balance of ripe red fruit, earthy notes, silky mouthfeel and enough acidity for lift.
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12x Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993: All wines tasted single blind. Not decanted. As anticipated, the 1983 vintage prevailed in our comparative tasting, scoring 8 to 2 wins against the 1993 vintage, with two ties. The structured, classic ’83s exhibited greater depth and harmony compared to the ‘93s, which tended to be simpler, sometimes slightly green and dry, or at their best, fresh and light. However, in both vintages, aside from a few notable labels, many wines were evidently beyond their peak. The standout was, unsurprisingly, the Margaux (94pts). Tasting the some of the same ’83s a second time a few days later with decanting showed a marked improvement, highlighting the need of aeration.
TN: The wine has muted nose, lacking in vibrancy. The palate is predominantly marked by the drying tannins. Some fresh dark fruit that struggles to shine through. This combination results in a less than compelling experience. The lack of balance and complexity leads to an overall unremarkable impression. 82pts (same as the 1993).
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Medium brown garnet. Some sediments. Bricking big time.
Some saddle-leather brett. Eucalyptus-like green undertone. Scents of licorice and tobacco leaf. Some remnant of mixed berry fruit with fig and olive. Very savory midpalate leads to a long finish with cured meat and forest floor. Fully integrated tannin.
This wine is in its glorious tertiary heaven. Yet, it retains good weight and intensity. Seamless and saturated tasting sensation from the beginning to its finish.
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Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993 face-off: Blurry aging notes of leather and maybe a whiff of truffles. Cherry fruit, slightly unripe, and dried leaves. Solid structure with slightly coarse tannin but ok balance.
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From a well stored bottle with a lower neck fill. Assortment of musky dark red fruits, humidor, smoked herbs, spices, tapenade, Pencil lead, damp earth, and leather, with hints of eucalyptus and flowers developing further with aeration. Lots going on in the nose. Full-bodied with dark cherry, plumbs, maduro cigar, and fine minerality. A long complex finish that really saturates the palate and lasts a minute. Everything I love about 80’s Bordeaux. This bottle is in a sweet spot of its maturity with juicy acidity and soft dusty tannins, and can probably hold at this level for another decade. What a beautiful bottle of wine and a very good vintage for Gruaud-Larose.
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From magnum. Everything you would expect from this wine: beautiful Cordier funk, classic mature profile of dark red fruits and tobacco/leather in spades. Classic mature Bordeaux. In magnum this wine is showing extremely well and can likely go for several more decades if desired.
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Tuesday night blinds: [Tasted Double Blind] This pours medium to dark garnet in the glass with light bricking. The nose just leaps from the glass with charcoal, animal fur, dried flowers, clay, dried black currants, violets, and plum. The palate is lovely entering on plums and cassis with medium minus tannin, and medium acid. The finish lingers impressively. I guessed this as a 1989 Pichon Lalande. I was surprised on reveal this didn’t have the elevated Brett levels you might expect from Gruaud Larose, but was lovely all the same. Another bottle in perfect condition with a high fill. I surmise this was always stored in a cold cellar without any conditions to allow brett to 'bloom' in the bottle. My last encounter with this wine, while lovely did show more funk than this.
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Jim & Michelene's 40th Anniversary Dinner (Jim and Michelene's Place, St. Paul, MN): Medium red color. PNP, drank a glass plus over an hour. Deeply earthy on the nose with all the dried wood I love, cassis and dark berries. The palate is full bodied, adding in a hint of boysenberry to the cassis and berries, leather, still some tannins and good acidity. Very good.
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Lunch at La T (La Trompette): Mid garnet. Gloriously mature nose, the full thoroughbred, stable, tack and all. Some mint too. Gentle, nuanced, harmonious and inviting. Lovely. ****
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Drinking really nicely and still quite tannic, a really nice tobacco finish, still some bright fruit. Nose is a bit faint but definitely a power wine with a lot of life left.
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This is a fully mature Gruaud Larose that has a gorgeous cigar box, cedar, black cherry and leather palate. Classic rustic st julien with just enough refinement and polish. The Codier era wines here are a throwback in the very best way.
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Ah 1983, common thought of as the year of margaux, but there were other châteaux that had a fair old shake of it. In this case I had the opportunity to try a lovely Gruaud-Larose in pristine condition as far as its fill level and cork are concerned.
Decanted 45 minutes
Nose: - smoke - cigar box - tar - musty leaves - not much bret funk
Palate: - Prunes - overripe blackberries - graphite/slate - decent acid and a bit of a watery mouth feel
89+
Definitely a good and affordable example of 40 year old bordeaux, but on the 18th green of its drinking window. Buy or drink to try for another year or so.
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Bricked on the edge. Very graphite and cigar box heavy with notes of vegetation. A leanness on the palate, green pepper, stewed berry, iron. Have had many of these and still showing depth.
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Candie's Big 4-0 (Spoon & Stable, Mpls, MN): Followed a glass over 2 hours plus. From 6L. There's a ton of old school character here, funky, saddle and saddle leather, deep dark fruits, but there is some taint lurking, it wavered in and out, but mostly it was there. Scored reserved.
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Candace's 6L served for her 40th at Spoon. This caused some descension between corked vs not. At first I felt it was corked but changed my mind after it sat in my glass for 30 minutes. I enjoyed both the very aromatic cigar box and the palate as did most my immediate table mates too? I think, the other table influenced by a couple respected palates felt it was indeed, corked. It was a snowy difficult night on the roads & a 45 minute plus drive for me so I settled for a very small pour of each of the 6 wines I tried tonight. In the home setting w/ light travel I would have had more of this. Classic old school ready to drink BDX.
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{Bought on release in 1985 or so; next to last bottle; fill to bottom neck and no leakage. Sound cork. Opened but not decanted half hour before pouring} Tasted in flight of 82 Canon and 82 Branaire-Ducru. Odd aromatics blew off over 5-10 minutes, then leathery, mostly red fruits, with increasing depth and length over next 1.5 hours. Some tobacco in there too. Still has some cut and acid, pretty resolved wine now. Would eat a meal with lots of protein with this wine now. One experienced Bordeaux taster in group said this was the first time he's had a mature Gruaud Larose. Group ranked the Canon, then Branaire, then the Gruaud in terms of preference, but this got 2 of 9 first place votes. (Canon and Branaire-Ducru were perhaps 90-92 point wines; I thought the B-D better than the Canon, which was clipped and short).
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Classic scent of Bordeaux - there is nothing quite like it. Old saddle leather and shoe polish with some herbal tones. Lighter in soft than expected and a tad short on the finish. This is probably past it’s prime but still a very pleasant wine
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39th Wedding Anniversary bottle always in my many cellars since release in 1986. Classics St Julien nose of leather & tobacco. Fruit very expressive raspberry & blackberry with just enough acidity to deliver a long palette refreshing finish. Required a ninety minute decant to fully reach its peak. I am always truly amazed at the staying power longevity of classified Bordeaux wines. I purchased this case upon release and have moved my cellars over seven different residences in three states. Other than the cork being too soft for a Coravin and an upper shoulder fill, this wine was a joy to drink.
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Color is light garnet with bricking. Nose was still reticent even after 1hr decant. Quite developed, aged, with wet earth, tobacco and some light cassis notes. Light body, tannins fully resolved, elegant, flavours of tobacco, red and blue berries, graphite fill the mouth. Savoury. Very good length.little bit of bitterness towards the end. Very nice aged wine. Definetely way past peak, but still has things to say. My wife thought it was too old. I think it was still enjoyable.
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Unfortunately, while checking inventory I noticed this bottle had a drip forming around the foil top. Touching the top of the foil caused the wine to flow out. Cork had contracted and fallen into the bottle. The foil seal was the only thing preventing the bottle from pouring out. Disappointed. Anyone ever experience anything like that?
Earthy nose with notes of old leather, red currants, and dark cherries. The tannins are quite soft at this point and the palate is surprisingly light overall. More leather, underwood, and red fruit notes and overall nice complexity. Long finish. Great wine!
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Coravined a couple of glasses from this bottle with StefanAkiko on sept 17 and we both marked it as flawed then. When I now open it it's a completely different beast. Lovely mature bdx with leather, stable etc.
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Some olde sheite SS + ME (Umeå): Upon plop: (Coravin) Light red with clear bricking. A horse and a cow definitely walked by. Beautiful brett, barnyard, Bdx earth, sumi ink and autumn. An etheral lift. Iron and blood. Gun powder. On the palate: this is an exceptionally amazing wine! Balanced, complex and in a very good place. Sporting cherries, medium acidity, nail polish, loads of leather, sumi ink, outstanding purity in an exceptional wine.
2nd glass: Added aroma: Leverbiff och leverbiff. Panfried leek. On the palate: god damn it… Ground liver patties. Maksapihvi. (Dog supply.) I was really looking forward to this second glass, but no longer drinkable to sensitive me.
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Bought this at auction some years ago and had it in the cellar, so through it in with a bunch of big-boys in a blind tasting that included the 2000 Pavie, 2003 Montrose, etc., and I thought for sure it was the '96 Pichon Lalande I knew was in it, but this wine surprised all, and many had it in their top 5 out of 12 wines tasted. Excellent balance, great nose, and primarily cigar box, currant and a little pencil lead. Extremely pleased how well this showed, and it did not taste like a 38-year-old wine.
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Detailed, elegant but ever so slightly fading. A top notch bottle from a traditional vintner that normally would be a lot more rustique. My last bottle.
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Slipping past its prime, the wine is rustic, stoic and focused on its secondary, tobacco, earth, tobacco leaf, cigar box and bright red currant nose, which is more fun than its crisp, light weight, earthy, red berry palate. There is no reason to hold this any longer.
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I used to call these the long 82's. As a matter of fact, I think that Gruaud had a 3 year cinderella vintage that started in 81 and ended with the 83. These were old school, masculine wines with gnarly funk and flavor and pushed the Bordeaux dial as far as you can take it.
Now, sadly, I see that the 83 is getting old and fading and has lost all the sweetness it used to have and is in need of much love and appreciation before she gets hauled off to the bottle graveyard. You can expect lots of cedar, earthy whiffs of blood and lots of chocolate and brewed coffee with the ongoing core of red flower potpourri hidden in the middle, but you really have to know it to look for it.
Its sad that we are both getting old and I don't know which is worse, seeing the 83 die, or watching myself wilt. Lets all drink to today and yesterday...DRINK
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38 years old and still remarkably a delight to drink. Purchased upon release and in my six different cellars over four different states. High fill and an intact cork for a wine of this age. Remarkably this wine held up superbly. Typical St Julien with cedar, tobacco, leather & earth nose; light raspberry fruit balanced acidity with very pronounced finish. Obviously, in the decline stage; however, as long as the cork stays strong this wine might make 50 years and still drink respectfully.
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For J’s birthday at the Flitch. Gently decanted before serving. Very similar to last bottle in 2017 - soft Cabernet fruit towards the redder end of the spectrum, leafy development, mellow leather and tobacco, with a comforting background of embers. This was very elegant but is on a slight downwards slope ***1/2+
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Always fun to taste aged Bordeaux. It’s very mellowed out at this point, but still lots of funk on the nose and sweet floral flavors. A very light wine.
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Wow, it's been six years (already!) since my last one, iirc. This bottle was, I believe, from the same cellar as the previous bottle, and if I ignore any chance for bottle variation (I don't, but this is an example), then while this is ageing beautifully, it's also losing a small something in the process. Perhaps this is true of nearly every wine, to one degree or another. Trade-offs, and all. It's lovely, and hard to find any actual fault here, but the exuberance of the fruit, if this is perfectly representative of all outstanding bottles, is on the backside of its preferred curve. That said, I'd recommend drinking sooner than later, even if this has many years ahead of it. 12,0% abv. In its current state, this is easily recommended
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Cork came out totally clean - although very damp. And th funk and mustiness upon opening was overpowering. But with about two hours in the decanter everything settled and this was a great wine - pretty much all tertiary at this point but a decent finish and paired brilliantly with grilled sausage and bell peppers. Yum.
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Classic Bordeaux brett barnyard funk on the nose. We're tasting after 20 minutes decanting. Beyond the funk, there's some cinnamon bark conspiring as part of an earthy/green peppers/mushroom forest floor medley. Very low tannins, extremely smooth, and finishes over ~20-30 seconds.
Light fruit, and surprising acidity still holding it together.
After 3-4 hours, this wine had lost its fight against the air, and it had softened beyond what I prefer. Probably past its peak.
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Fully tertiary, perhaps just off its long peak, but still sensational. Smoke, leather, cranberries, cedar, bell pepper, and mint highlight it’s lovely bouquet. Quite intense on the palate with high acids, some savory fruit, a surprisingly layered and silky mid-palate, and some lingering grip and woody tannin. Shines with food as it’s grip and lemony acids complement the red meat. Has a wonderful element of smoke and capsicum that I prize in claret. Really really good. 93-94 pts.
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Plenty of Cordier funk, a noticeable cracked green pepper element, cedar, old library books, red currant fruit -- very classic. Fully mature, resolved, but with plenty of smokey, savory, fruit on the palate. Delicious.
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I just love the slightly dirty, earthy and bell peppery aromas on this wine. Still has good richness of fruit with fully resolved structure. Should hold for years but not getting any better.
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Just beautiful. Cork was quite stained but was removed intact, fairly easily, with an ah-so. Classic Saint-Julien nose with cedar, pencil lead, red fruit; more of the same on the palate, with some really pleasant floral notes as well. Glad to have one more left, and I don't think there's any hurry to drink it.
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Bought on release for $18.62. Have moved twice since Then. Very low shoulder fill and depressed cork. When i took off the foil to cork actually fell into the bottle on its own. Presumed dead. What a surprise. It was a perfect old wine. Color was completely bricked and all the flavors were blended into their tertiary relatives. Drank it over an hour without a decant. 2 bottles left.
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Bottle was in great shape. Left in decanter for 1 hour after opening. Nose of earthy fragrance. First sip was flat but opened up with lots of fruity essence, raspberries and sour strawberries come to mind. A surprising bright red hue in glass, with lovely fruit, interesting for a wine of this age.
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The bottle had a good high shoulder fill. Cork came into pieces. Decanted for 2hrs. Still medium to deep garnet color, not showing age. The nose first was too much oaky, then started to show off slightly discreet and elegant notes of leather, pencil lead, wet earth, ripe red berries... Almost sweet in the mouth, with flavour of red currant, sweet red cherries, tea leaves, earthy, nice and complex with a good sweet mature saint julien finish. Very nice bottle. This is my 3rd bottle from a 12btl case and they all have been very consistent.
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From half bottle with a great fill and cork... cast from an old school mold, leaning light and bright. A smoky bouquet with baked earth and dried cherries and a touch of fresh herbs. The palate builds with air, giving loads of graphite, terrific midpalate intensity with enough midpalate sweetness for balance, and a long bright, ferric finish still marked with hard, dry, black-tea tannins. Terrific, austere, minerally, bright.
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Decanted for almost 2 hours. The nose continued to grow and harmonize over the next two hours and was holding fast, perhaps even still improving, as we finished the bottle. There is a core of floral aroma (someone said white flowers that smell purple, like jasmine), and it's pungent and beautiful. Around that there are layers of animale and blood and soil. Whatever fruit remains is of the tiny currant variety and it's not part of what is apparent on the nose of this wine. On the palate there is surprisingly high acidity, it's really very prominent, but it doesn't take the wine out of balance. There are layers of dark fruit amidst the floral and feral aromas that follow through from the nose. This is a delicious wine, one that expresses a real sense of soil, and a wine that has a lot of pleasure to give.
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Champagne, Riesling, and Bordeaux with Skippy (Chicago, IL): I didn't like this bottle anywhere as much as the bottle I had last year. The nose showed too much of the Cordier funk (which is far too close to TCA for my comfort), and the palate had a fairly dirty character as well. Lean and structured and a little meagre in the fruit department. I can understand the allure, but I'm impervious to this (lack of) charm.
Another exceptional showing from this lot. A base neck fill and a cork still in very good shape, and this needed about an hour in the decanter to really hit fifth gear. Lots of dark cherry and blackcurrant fruit here with savoury earthy, leathery, tobacco, and faintly rusty/iron-like notes all coming together. Still shows a touch of grainy tannin on the back end, but the flavours are fully mature and this is a fantastic wine that's right in my wheelhouse for older Bordeaux.
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Had head to head with a Talbot same vintage. The gru showed a bit more hard edge and green notes. Still some berry note. Lighter finish. Still holding on.
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Had for Christmas Eve dinner. Decanted about 1 hr while making chicken parm, cork fell through bottle, good amount of sediment. Brooklynguy had a great tasting note that I agreeed with, especially the leafy earthy minerality. Pleasure to have such a great bottle, and think this still has plenty of life in it.
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Another beautiful bottle - I love the balance between the pure and perfectly ripe dark fruit, and the leafy earthy mineral aspect. In perfect balance, it's just a truly lovely wine.
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So very 1980s Gruaud in its unapologetically masculine style and, luckily, with only a small amount of Brett. Seamless now, this shows off a blackberry compote, sous-bois, leather, mushroom nose with light Brett. Meaty and strapping on the palate. At or just past its apogee, these are great drinking now. 91-2.
Decanted 90 minutes ahead, lots of sediment, good color. Maybe a touch of brett in the nose, not uncommon on the oldies we open, but it didn't come through to the taste. I'm pleasantly surprised at how good it is, it's already better than the '82 that was a disappointing 88-89. It's still developing and we haven't had the food yet, I will update this in two hours. OK, upgraded my rating to 93 and my wife's to 94. What a delight, glad I have four more! It is, however, time to drink it, it will not get better from here and will inevitably decline before long.
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Opened and left to rest. A bit fragile for decanting so prob best one shoudl leave this standing for a day before (closed) to let the sediment set below. Another pretty wine from the understated 1983 vintage (83 Cheval Blanc is among the best we have tried and Pichon Lalande and of course Ch. Marguax are superb) and this wine deserves a 92 for that ( in all fairness is a 91) and we rated this 92 5 years ago when we went to an 83 horizontal. Another testament to the great classic wines Cordier made in the 80s & 90s. Very classic, well matured definitely past its peak but still very healthy and a joy for lovers of mature bdx. The nose is soft, beyond secondary, light herby edge. On the palate is well round and lacked the harsh edge we came across 5yrs ago so probably a better bottle this time round. Very good still and well deserved 92.
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Not quite on the level of my last bottle, which showed a little cleaner (with less leathery funk), but this is still very impressive. There's a core of intense black fruit accented with earth, graphite, and cedar, and a lot of leathery Cordier funk that actually becomes more intense with air. Impressive power and richness on the palate - this feels like a wine that still has many years ahead of it, with the fruit very rich and some grainy tannin on the back end initially that softened with an hour in the decanter.
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Salil does Chicago 4; 4/6/2018-4/7/2018 (Chicago, IL): A very robust and preternaturally young Bordeaux. The nose shows lots of leather (or, I suppose, what people call Cordier funk) as well as some really potent black fruit. This just got better and better with air. Recently I had the 1986, which I found too stern and unyielding, but this wine doesn't have any problems with that. There's much more generous fruit on this, which helps with dealing with the big tannic structure. This is a wine that still has ages to go, though it's certainly in amazing shape already.
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Had with Easter dinner (Lapin a la Moutarde Cafe Des Federations) Beautiful mature Bordeaux from a difficult vintage. Cedar and tobacco immediately on opening. Bright, pure and perfectly balanced. Strong underlying red fruit transformed into an elegant fully mature wine. At its peak but, if good provenance and well stored, it will hold at its peak for a few more years.
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Absolutely classic old Bordeaux, drinking at peak. There is no one thing that stands out about this wine but everything is in perfect balance. It's not super powerful or structured, but there's a sweetness of fruit coupled with just the right amount of acidity. Slightly herbaceous on the nose but the good kind. Can't imagine this getting any better from here.
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Brilliant wine. This is in a wonderful place right now, drinking near peak. Stunning aromatics showcasing remarkably deep, vibrant red fruit, cedar, tobacco, graphite, and more savoury Cordier funk and earthiness, and a palate presence that conveys a sense of power and finesse. There's lots of richness and intensity here, and a hint of tannin on the back end suggesting this isn't going downhill any time soon. What an outstanding bottle, and I'm glad to have a few more.
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Fill into the neck, decanted and served immediately, and followed over the next two hours. It took about 15-20 minutes to really open up and then stayed pretty consistent throughout. The ripe red fruit was still strong along with a very slight tannic backbone. Tertiary elements have developed, rounding this into a very delicious wine. The funk that older Gruaud exhibits was also present but it was tame and helped to add complexity to the wine. This is at peak now.
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Fill was to within 1/2" of capsule,color was browning, but fruit,pencil shavings, old leather still prominent. Cork was wet and difficult to remove, but wine was still silky on the palate after decanting. My last bottle...sad
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Another fine bottle. Stewed cherry, green veg and spice on the nose. Palate shows tertiary elements of iron, leather, lead pencil and stewed vegetable. Rustic and old school.
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Decanted off the sediment about 90 minutes before drinking. A wonderful bottle that shows the richness of fruit, the articulation of terroir, and the great balance that is possible in the 1983 vintage. This wine sang - lovely mix of fruit and soil, great texture and structure, pungent minerality on the nose and the palate and throughout the finish. Absolutely lovely wine.
Worried at first that it was over the hill but after an hour in decanter really started singing. Fully mature but probably will hold 5-10 years more in a cool cellar - but why wait? Pungent nose of pencil shavings, great length and depth. Beautiful.
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Really nice wine w/fill nearly to bottom of capsule. Quite a bit of fruit still evident on nose , along with leather, cedar/graphite. Very well integrated tannins, plenty of silky fruit on the palate. This is a beautiful 34 year old classic Bordeaux. I now wish that I had not shared this find of 9 bottles from an exceptional private cellar. I believe I have one left.
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My fifth bottle. Still Alive, showing a more pronounced nose and palate of green pepper, lead pencil, granite and gravel. Very tertiary at this parade as expected.
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Bordeaux Birthday Dinner with 1978 Chateau Margaux, 1982 La Tour Haut Brion, and 1983 Chateau Gruaud Larose, my favorite of the dinner, floral nose of saddle leather, black cherry fruit, black berry, hints of iron and cigar box, same on the palate, big body, big, intense fruit, mouth filling fruit, elegant, lovely and rich fruit very tasty, will easily last another seven years but why wait, and a long, long, flavorful finish.
Mid garnet with noticeable bricking. Double decanted gently just before serving. Soft and attractive profile of mellow cherry and cabernet fruit, aged leather, cigar and ember with some meaty and earthy notes developing over time. Slightly past peak now, but still very enjoyable ***1/2+
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Classic brick color. Nose of massive mushroom, green vegetables, truffle off the pop. Palate is lean and a bit one sided. But nonetheless showing mellow stewed berry, green vegetables, mellow funk, hints of iron. Still rocking and enjoyable. Yet not overall complex.
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Drank alongside an 83 Trotanoy. While I preferred the style of the Trotanoy, this Gruaud exceeded expectations. I don't think it's even hit its peak yet. A much better value than the 82 Gruaud at this point. Drink now or hold for another 3 to 5 years. Decant for three to four hours. It really mellowed into a smooth Bordeaux three hours into it.
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Hazy garnet tawney. Aromas of dried fig, soil, blood, toast. Flavors of menthol, pipe resin, blue and red fruit, cooked green bell pepper. High alcohol, and pronounced acid. Tannins very soft. Near the end of the bottle the tannins showed a bit. Overall an amazing bottle. Loved it.
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fill almost into neck, still tannic, good bottles should easiliy survive a decade and more. This bottle was flawed with a strong banyard smell, fading over night and initially I had hoped this bottle may come back.
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Another fantastic bottle of this. Perfectly mature, even tertiary with all of the rough edges pretty much gone now. Lots of complex, earthy, cedary Bordeauxness here. The fruit is quite bright for claret, with top notes of cranberries mixed in with sweeter black cherries. Indeed, the fruit is still intact in a lovely secondary role, but I wouldn't push it too much longer. Man, was Cordier on fire between 1982-1988 or what?
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This is a wine of remarkable depth. Tannins are integrated with good balanced. Overall, for a wine of more than 30 years of age this is very silky and fully mature that still has a certain "grip" holding it together. What a treat!
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Pure and mature old school bdx. Crimson color, nose of perfumed spice box, green peppers, dusty cherry fruit. Plate is smooth and toothsome, steer fruit, cedar, green forest and macerated fruit. Smooth and easy drinking.
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Château Gruaud-Larose Vertical (Knightsbridge and Abigail's): This is a true 'wow' wine with profound complexity, character and intensity. Outperformed more heralded vintages in the vertical, including 1982. Stunning, full nose has intoxicating depth and layers -- dried plum, cigar, tar, earth, green herb and bell pepper. The palate is similarly impressive with medium body, lively fruit and stunning depth. Ashy plum fruit and complex flavors that echo the nose. Tannins are fine and smooth. Long, lingering finish. A wine to snatch up if you can.
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Charity Auction Tasting for Brigid Collins Family Support Center: I've liked the '83, and the fact that it can be found for reasonable prices in the shadow of the '82. This was no exception. Decanted for about four hours. Nice truffle, cedar and cherry. I could use a little bump in density to reach exceptional, but still a great wine with a few year left. This won't get any better, and is probably on the tail end of it's drinking window.
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clearly on it's decline, but gracefully so. wise and mellow. light- the acid and tannin are long since past, but the earth is ever present and it has a length unsurpassed. a nice braised carrot thing going on along with the expected strength of leather and pepper. incredible this held up as well in spite of spending it's last ten years upright in a cupboard!
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Pure St Julian. Light brick color, showing its age. Nose of dusty earth, pure cherry, and mushroom and truffle. Palate is soft and elegant. With pure silky berry fruit, flowery earth, touches of iron, and sweet sweet fruit on the finish. Perfect maturity.
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My first note of which many will come first bottle out of the auction lot. Classic old-school Bord. quite velvety and feminine. Classic elements of earth, evergreen sweet, mushrooms, truffle, and forest floor. Very little, if any tannin left.
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Deep, dark garnet in color with slight clearing at the edges. Forward, attractive & fragrant nose of mature, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries, & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of tobacco & cedar, floral notes of violets, earthy/dusty, leather, gravel, rust, herbs, spices, minerals & hints of mint in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, mature & complex, ripe fruit flavors of sweet dark cherries, blackberries & plums with earthy/dusty, cocoa & coffee, herbs, minerals & a hint of oak. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present and appears to be at its peak of development. I wouldn't expect any further development from further aging. A classic old school Bordeaux.
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lucky to get another two bottles last year. great wine and another good bottle. pnp only slightly better after decant, smoother, chocolate. mature but no signs of age, still a bit of a tannic mouthfeel, in a great condition. 94+
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I did't try this until the after-party in my room, and then I was very impressed indeed. Again, this was not a lighter bodied wine next to more famous years; if anything, it had more fruit than the '86 G-L if not quite the depth. Funky and round, with a great earthy core of old school fruit, I thought this terrific. Maybe a little chunky around the middle, but I am not bitchin'. 100% mature and ready to go.
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Housewarming BYO: Pop and pour. Big dark fruit, very youtful, powerful, some bonfire and tobacco. Complex and intense wine. Should definitely have been decanted, and would probably then have merited an even higher score.
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I can't believe the youth of this pristine bottle acquired from owner of wine since release. Lots of good bret on the nose at start, but wild and tart. Settled down to be a very elegant, earthy, floral bordeaux with an antiqued cedar backbone. One again, the old furniture and roasted coffee notes make me fall in love with vintage Bordeaux all over again. I love the 1982, its one of my favorite wines ever, and this 83 swings in and out of the 82 feel...seems like the 82 vintage was a long one that lasted 2 years for GL.
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Bummer, these are getting tired. At least *my* bottles purchased second hand are getting tired. I'm guessing original-owner bottles that have been well stored will be in great shape for another decade. Great funk on the nose, lovely and pretty on the palate but almost in an un-GL way. Still perfectly pleasant and always a favorite! Drink up
We all were very impressed by this. Dark fruit, leather, sweet tobacco on the very fragrant nose. Lovely freshness and while it did not have the depth of the 89 it was delicious.
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Another great bottle, unfortunately my last. Fragrant with cedar notes, silky but bold. Pretty much the same as last notes. Others said it was funky, but for me, not too much. Love this wine!
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Drunk at the Koala Bar - I have always been a fan of this wine. Partly because I was fortunate enough to acquire two very well stored cases and I have been making my way through them over the last few years. It is surprisingly robust for an "off vintage" and when paired against the '82 holds it's own admirably.
fruit almost gone, with lots of cedar. Off-bottle relative to other bottles i've had in recent memory. Still good, but not the 'wow' i've come to expect. Zero brett though.
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Château Gruaud-Larose 1928 - 2011: Tobacco, fine complexity, spice with some herbal notes, minerals; fresh with wonderful balance, very long and complex, elegant for a Gruaud - very different animal than the 82.
Faded garnet in color. No fruit left on the nose, but buckets of lovely damp earth aromas. A little beef jus and a touch of coffee. Lacks a little complexity compared to the '82, but still most enticing if you like the tertiary stuff (which I do). Lovely sweet palate and decent length, but tannins have gone so lacking significantly in structure. Drink up.
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At home with steak. Decanted 1hr (but needed more, surprisingly). Initially nose pleasant but muffled combination of clay, barnyard and dark fruits, and palate leathery fruit. Evolved though into a lovely mature claret, leather, dark red fruit and a touch of tobacco on the nose with velvety palate, leathery and increasingly savoury. Not as good as last bottle but very enjoyable. ***1/2-**** (previous bottle was ****1/2)
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Cedar closet, old leather, dried cherries, cranberry tartness. Resolved, good acidity that fans out and saturates, tasty but a bit dried out compared to the other wines tonight.
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Add this evening's bottle to a string of early 80's GL's that have left me with a smile on my face. The aromatics start off with a combination of aged classic Bordeaux fruit as well as a distinct old world funk, a combination of old leather book covers with cigars about to be smoked in the library by the fireplace. the number 2 pencil shavings are also here, giving a whiff of cedar & graphite, classic St Julian. The robe is still fairly plush for a 29 year old bottle and the finish was surprisingly long and wide. My kind of Bordeaux and another over achieving old GL.
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Medium ruby, slight fading to brown rim; bright. Aged tobacco, soil, a mixture of cassis and plum fruits, some leather; classy nose that draws you in with interest and even some intrigue. Medium-bodied, and lively, with a gentle, seamless entry that wastes no time fanning out on the mid and back palates with layers of red and black fruits; a touch of savory. Impressive depth, breadth and character at the moment, with several good years still in front of it. The great care that went into cellaring this pristine bottle really paid off. Brilliant stuff. highly recommended
Aerated and decanted for sediment prior to serving non-blind.
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A real beauty tonight. Stood bottle for months. Ripped the cork straight out, dumped in decanter and served. I was initially concerned because it immediately smelled perfect (which for me, with old stinky Bdx, usually means it tastes lousy! The more barnyard the nose, the better the palate for me!). Lo and behold, the first few minutes were very awkward, with a ton of funk in the aftertaste. After just ten mins, this dissipated and the wine just continually improved.
Thereafter, very consistent w/my Dec 2013 TN. Lovely hint of spice. Medium-long, lush finish. Tons of structure. Delightful!
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Decanted briefly for sediment. Mature, very spicy nose, old Cabernet notes of leather, rust, tobacco, and dusty basement floor. Tangy cranberry and red currant fruit on the palate. Polished, mature Cabernet. Past peak but still on a good plateau. Drink now.
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A little hint of browning on rim, but overall comes across as fairly fresh. Deep sweet cassis fruit that broadens over the evening, with tobacco and smoked meat overtones. I’ve had pretty bretty bottles of this before, but this is fairly clean in terms of 80s Cordier- just a tiny hint of barnhyard/funk. A bit of tannin remaining, good acids, good finish. B+/A-
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Cork slightly recessed with slight leakage; possibly exposed to heat in past; manura and earthy cedar; a bit musty; good structure; a bit tannic but nice integration with some sweet blackberry.
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A Week in Osoyoos; 7/5/2014-7/11/2014 (Osoyoos, BC): No formal notes. Beautiful and classic nose. Lighter weight on the palate with fairly resolved structure. Drinking perfectly now but will easily cruise for 5-10 years. A nicely mature old school Bordeaux. Excellent.
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Pretty dark still with just a little discolouration. Nose not too evolved either, still very pure and rich red and black fruit notes, cassis, but also herbal, cedar, tobacco and tea leaves, sweet spices. On the palate broad and fresh, still good grip but open and just lovely with a nice spiciness to it. Great acidity and length. Outstanding. Drinking very well but no rush. 93-95
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'83 forever in the shadows of '82 or is it? This displayed a classic left bank claret. Chiseled, well structured, and quite concentrated in the mouth. Still a lot of tannin but mostly resolved. This is all about leather, graphite, maduro tobacco than it is about the fruit. There is some dried cherry and cassis but this is all about classic/masculine flavors.
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Tough, powerful, extremely typical left-bank Bdx. Barnyard, gravel, roots, cellar, cedar and after a while some lovely perfumed Asian Spices. Deep and complex. Long. Still powerful, majestic, tough and full palate. Ultra-Classic. Pencilshavings, mature barnyard, Tobacco, cigarre. Compact, tight and very long. Splendid finish. In the Company of four PC-83 this wine was impossible to separate from PC. Stood the ground splendidly. Actually some of us guessed that this was Latour! No wonder many mentioned Gruaud-Larose as a super-second during the 80's.
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Difficult cork; light tar and blackberry; a bit watery and some sour tannins; good texture with nice silkiness; earthy and nicely complex; decent finish.
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- Garnet color with medium forming legs and aromas of cherry. It's balanced with a medium/full body. Polished texture with a long finish - Fabulous 30 year Bordeaux, decanted an hour before meal, and evolved over the next hour beautifully. Great nose, slight tannins at the start, with hints of leather, and tar. After 90 minutes became as smooth and rich as any 83 I have tasted. Easily 94-95pts. One bottle left to judge for further development.
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Odds and ends in Munich (Munich, Käfer's): Nose of old leather, initially quite forbidding but getting better with air. Palate smoky, sweet, malt, quite fleshy. Good.
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This was an excellent bottle even though the fill was below the neck. Classic scents of cedar, red fruit, praline, and leather. Silky palate, same taste as the nose, gorgeous length from the the first sip that that just floats with silky fruit to the elegant finish. Paired with a 1983 Buehler Cabernet. This was clearly the better wine though the Buehler was quite good.
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Nose: Wet hay, still some red fruit, mossy, mint Color: Cloudy, brown edges Attack: Sour cherry, anise Mid: Sour cherry, touch of apricot Finish: A bit thin, woody notes. Losing life, slightly past prime but still kicking
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My first bottle from this vintner, and in seemingly perfect shape. Cork came out 2/3 soaked but in one perfect piece. Very dense nose of dark fruits, just like many other great 1983's I've tasted. After 2 hour decant, it is incredibly elegant with leather and cinnamon/cloves. Tannins mostly resolved with a long finish. Personally I preffered Leoville Poyferre and St Pierre from this vintage, but this was undeniably a great bottle. Those both had more presence of fruit on the palette.
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I couldn't resist buying more of this at auction. Thus, provenance unknown but, the first couple bottles from this case have shown fine. Fr 750ml, VTS fill. Stood bottle for days, then decanted for about an hour and served alongside the '82 GL (same prep). The characteristics of each remain very similar. Interestingly, each of these two bottles showed a bit of tasty spice, a trait I had not previously experienced. Overall, consistent with previous note: "the 83 simply lacked both the length of finish of the 82 and a tiny bit of its 'Je ne sais quoi.' Dark crimson color, slight miniscus - looked terrific. Lovely tobacco and wet stone nose. Sweet cassis on the attack, nicely integrated palate overall. Medium-long finish. Drinking very nicely today. Little reason to delay opening. 92-93 pts."
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One of the few times I lost a cork into the bottle so I was worried about how it would fare up for our Thanksgiving dinner. As it turned out there were no problems at all. The color was a deep garnet, the nose was full and the wine was delicious. Full-bodied, fruity and well-balanced. Unlike the previous reviewer I've opted to keep my last remaining bottle for another 5 years or so.
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1983 Bordeaux Blind (Berkeley): Group's #3; my #7; 2 first; 2 second; 5 third; 2 last. Great nose of meat, leather, and cedar. Unfortunately, the palate was rather simple with red fruits and pepper. Medium-bodied, with decent fruit and acidity, and a medium finish.
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30th Birthday - Bordeaux Wine (1983) (Le Sommelier, Copenhagen): Super intense nose with black currant and iron but also a little petroleum. Juicy dark plum palate with an almost young profile. Lovely structure and a medium-long aftertaste. Also showing some tertiary notes of animal-cage and wet hay. A lovely wine!
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Bottle in good condition, cork saturated all the way through. Much lighter than I would have expected. Still plenty of fruit, this is a fantastic value at roughly $80!
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Leather, pralines, floral, plum & black currant on the nose. Same on the palate, with some depth and richness, and a long finish showing some complexity. Very nice wine. I don't think this will improve but will certainly drink well for some time.
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This was a classic example of mature GL with that typical "funk" that Cordier wines exibit. While this won't improve with any additional age, it held together well over the three hours it was consumed. When you still buy wines like this for $70 at auction that can be drunk now I have to question the value buying new releases that cost more
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Remarkable - better than an 82 drunk recently. Almost Burgundian nose, so much curranty red/black fruit, very aromatic. Soft, then classic St Julien earthy/cedary, of course fully mature, some tannings hanging in there but a great 83, delicious now and in no great hurry...
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A nicely matured Bordeaux. Bouquet of red and black raspberry, cedar, cigar box and a pronounced mushroom aroma. Still good fruit in balance with tannins and alcohol. Medium weight on palate with a lingering finish. Must be getting towards the end of its run but it was very enjoyable this evening.
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Super Tasting 5 of 6 - Chris does 1983 Bordeaux (Dundas, Ontario): Tasted blind In a word…..stunning Flowers, mushroom, spice, beef blood, minerals, black currants, cassis and pencil lead…very pretty nose. The palate is so floral….cherry, spice, minerals, tea leaves, black currants, and flowers are so prominent…the wine is smokey and elegant. Finish is super long and complex with waves of flavours. Awesome wine.
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Tasting Dinner Series (5 of 6); 1983 Bordeaux Horizontal and Trickery (Chris' House): Served blind. Deep garnet with a light brick at the rim. On the nose, blackberry, cassis, dried tobacco, grass clippings, dried herbs, beef blood, roast beef, spent coffee grinds, earth, spice, incense, florals, a touch of sewage and tar. On the palate, this seems quite youthful and alive, with impeccable balance of acidity, and a touch of fine grained tannin on the long finish. Shocked on reveal, as the quality of this wine had me thinking it was a first growth. Exceptional wine.
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Super Tasting 5 of 6 (1983 Bordeaux w/cali ringers, Hosted by Me): Wow! Big winner here. Nice classic stink, which I find reminiscent of modelling clay. Really beefy, leathery and rustic. Finish is very long with a smoky, tarry note and a mostly resolved palate. Still enough fruit here to keep this in balance. Really great.
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Classic Cordier aromatics; so fragrant and compelling to smell with leathery and earthy funk coming together with fresh red and dark fruits and developed cedary and tobacco elements. This is drinking superbly right now, the fruit's still quite rich and very fresh on the palate, but augmented by layers of more savoury mature flavours and the balance is impeccable with the tannins mostly integrated and a very polished, silken texture. Fantastic.
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Fr 750ml, VTS fill. Stood bottle for days, then PnP'd alongside the '82 GL. I chuckled that the characteristics of each were nearly identical. Yet the 83 simply lacked both the length of finish of the 82 and a tiny bit of Je ne sais quoi. Dark crimson color, slight miniscus - looked terrific. Lovely tobacco and wet stone nose. Sweet cassis on the attack, nicely integrated palate overall. Medium-long finish. Drinking very nicely today, yet little reason to delay opening my final bottle. 92-93 pts.
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A Week Respite in the United Arab Emirates; 4/8/2013-4/14/2013 (Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates): This bottle was hand carried from our cellar in Omaha by our friends Brent and Stephanie. The cork, which came out intact and only saturated 2/3 the way up, seemed in remarkable shape. Although there was very little funk, I elected to decant in a stainless steel water pitcher (only thing I could find) for one hour; just to let it stretch its legs just a bit. Damp forest floor, some mushrooms, old leather, currants, tobbaco, and cocoa on the nose. Sweet cherries on the attack...surprisingly sweet! Then mulberries, black cherries, espresso (american-style), cocoa, leather...at least a 30 second finish. Tannic still...but not burly and I can only imagine they have softened with time. Nice acidity. Really, this was an outstanding wine that's drinking very nicely right now. For those that still have some, I would encourage you to drink them now while they are so enjoyable. A really nice treat for Holly's 30th birthday (early).
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Gruaud Larose has always been one of my favorites even in vintages like 1984 producing a wine drinking well. The 1983 is in the progressed stage of maturity but still lots of meat on the bone. Tannins have completely integrated into the classic Gruaud taste. Dark brick red colours in the glass, lots of sandy depot. This wine has done well with 30 years now. It will not get better and, hard to tell will sure stay for the next couple of years or even a decade or more from now.
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Deep garnet, paler at the rim. Mature left bank nose, gentle aromas of cedar, herb and muted blackcurrant fruit. Good acidity and shape onthe atatck and through the mid-palate with flavours similar to the nose, joined by old leather and the damp smell of autumn. Gentle, harmonious, not profound or exciting but really very nice and classic mature claret. Bare ****
Night of the titans (Onda Mezzanine, Oslo): (Blind) Klar, mørksvart rød med hint av oransje. Lys menisk. Dyp, parfymert nese av mørksvarte kirsebær, friske solbær, jord, blyant og mild vaniljesødme. Tett, kjølig, frisk og tørr, men saftig frukt. Flott syre! Nydelig friskhet. Tørre, men lette tanniner i avslutningen. Elegant. 94+ P
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Anti Bag in Box Dinner: Served blind. Some development on the color; graphite and minerals on the nose, deep fruit, lots of cedar. At least I was the West side, guessed Paulliac or St. Julien. A truly underrated vintage of Gruaud, and side-by-side it has often outperformed the 82. Perfect specimen.
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1983 Guarad LaRose Dark rich deep sweet black fruit nose w/black smokey appeal. Chewy dark spicy flavors nice depth of dry fruits and sexy texture. Long with sweet black edgy profile. Still shows a bit of lively tannins. Enough stuffing to keep on trucking for another decade. 95
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1983 Red Bordeaux Horizontal with Richard Brazier (Handford Wines, London): Another classic old school bordeaux. Balanced and well made. Quite secondary on the nose and a touch less open than the talbot. A touch on the harsh side, dry feel on the palate with firm tannins. Good experience 92 and drinks well now
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James turns 30 years old (Trenchermen, Chicago IL): Nose: Classic Gruaud funk is noticeable right from the get go along with tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, leather, and spice box tones. There's really good complexity and depth to it.
Taste: There are very nice tannins still persisting with a real silky medium feel and medium acidity. Well balanced with very good depth and wonderful tones of leather, cedar, dark red fruits, meaty tones, and some funky tones as well.
Overall: This was everything one would want from a Cordier Gruaud. Very well balanced with great depth and a real sense of class to it. This was a real treat on the night.
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Dette var en bedre flaske en den forrige. Litt over bn fill, korken kom ut i to deler og var ca en cm gjennomtrukket. Definitivt moden og antagelig over toppen, men deilig nå med sin silkemyke sjarme, sømløs, lær, svak tobakk osv. Ble konsumert til entrecote av kalv med enkelt tilbehør, igjen ikke uventet en god match!Min siste flaske og kommer jeg over flere til gunstig pris så kjøper jeg gjerne.
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En litt dårlig flaske med topp sholder fill og gjennomtrukket kork. Stram og relativt gjerrig både på duft og smak. God, men mangler litt frukt. Fungerte bra sammen med en saftig entrecote.
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This is a perfect example of fabulous Bordeaux. This wine was decanted about 15 minutes prior to pouring. Color- dark opaque red, with no significant amber ring. First nose, leather and cedar box; second nose, roasted vanilla, blackberries, licorice and China ink. On the palate, big body, mouthful, with notes of pepper, spice and ripe fruits with long long long finish! Wow, even better that the 1983 Margaux and the 1982 Petrus! Pairing dish was Pork cheeks with Bordeaux wine reduction. This one goes in the books!
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Colour very good - no rim. This has been my first bottle and I could imagine it was more attractive some years ago allthough it is still fairly good but laks some pep. Don t hope this to get more delicious. A good gift for someone to be born in 1983.
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colour very good - no rim. This has been my first bottle and I could imagine it was mor attractive some years ago. It is still fairly good but laks some pep. don t hope this to get more delicious. A good gift for someone to be born in 1983.
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Opened a bottle of my favorite wine with a Montecristo #2 after a Kobe Beef Burger at Boon Fly Cafe. Lots of earth, cedar, leather, and hints of tobacco on the nose, more of the same on the palate, dark red color with no signs of brick. I have been lucky to consume two cases of this wine in the last thirty years. It always brings back memories of lunch with Georges Pauli at Chateau Cantermerle. To me this wine is showing its age but still will live on for ten to twenty years.
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Bordeaux Søskenparsmaking (Moss, Norway): Rødbrun med oransje kant. Nese av skogbunn, lær, hint av plommer og kokte jordbær. Noe vegetalt preg. Varm inngang. Bløt, bløt frukt. Tett. Ganske bra syre, som bærer vinen godt. Fin lengde.
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At first a little muted on the nose, but opened up quite fast. Great mouthfeel, with quite some power attacking the palate. The wine with the most intensity this far. Long.
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Sunken cork, about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. I pulled the cork out, carefully; it crumbled and broke into two pieces (I needed to use the Durand to get the last piece out). When I poured the wine, it was lighter red/orange at the core and fully orange/brown at the rim. It smelt dried out, with balsamic notes, some pepper and not much else. On the palate, it was very light, offered little fruit, and was drying and sour on the finish. Safe to assume this bottle was damaged at some point as this was not a representative bottle. Bummer.
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A little barnyard on opening. That blew off to leave the mature fruit, medium body, with some acid and tannins to frame the fruit. The finish is medium. Mature.... I will drink my last bottle soon. Delicious!
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Wineberserkers Eat Duck (Peking Duck House (Midtown), NYC): Bricked deep blood, but hard to read as I got the sediments. Textbook GL nose, tar, bell pepper, cedar cigar box, plum; immensely full of character. This nose is nothing short of spectacular. Palate on the plane of "Being There" resolved, yet hanging around and will be for a long time. Fruit is there but thinning; drying very slowly. Medium bodied at this stage. Fantastic length. And all that just on the sediments!
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Wonderful Gruaud nose, funk and smoke like crazy on this bottle. Great meaty flavors. Finish was a bit shortish, but overall this wine was really nice.
Fifth time I've had this wine over the last four or so years. Other than one corked bottle, all others have been great. Plenty of life left in this one.
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dark red core, bricking at rim. Nice earthy nose without any bretty merde, medium body, has developed nice complexity, medium long finish. Excellent but not in the same league with the wines in Flight 2 or 4. This bottle has a little history: it was the last of a batch of wines I inherited from my father in 1991. I kept holding it and holding it until I realized if I held it too long it would lose its magic without anyone enjoying it. Not a proper legacy, so I brought it to a BWE event where it was administered appropriate last rites. It kept getting better the more I thought about this, so my rating is far from objective.
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A bit more on the tart side both at start and at finish than the last bottle. Subtle nose, deep color, structured and complex. Would emphasize it needs time after opening, this bottle needed two hours to integrate all flavors.
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Popped and poured - HUGE mistake. I am writing this note at 7 am in the morning after discovering that one glass was left in the bottle (it was served last at 7 people - 8 bottles dinner). For the love of Bacchus, decant this baby! I am sipping it 12 hours after opening, 12 hours spend in the bottle on the kitchen counter and this is just divine! I don't care what will happen for the rest of the day, my morning today is just perfect, even after doing dishes since 4 am in the nude! Andy, you are not the only one who loves doing that! :) Very balanced, very and gracefully aged, long finish and this one is a keeper or for instant gratification.
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Dark ruby color, light at the rim. Nose of cassis and cedar. Medium bodied and refined on the palate, nice fruit in the forefront developing depth and complexity, still robust tannins balancing fruit and providing structure. Great finish of length, a completely enjoyable wine.
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(A) Excellent wine. Perfect booming funkiness on the nose. Soft purple color with orange rim. Multi-layered, with a sweet liquor-like finish. Smooth, balanced, integrated. Not sure there is a reason to hold it longer, but it certainly didn't seem to have lost anything at all.
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Dark plum in color with bricking at the rim. Nose jumps of sweet cassis, tobacco, and cedar. Medium bodied and refined on the palate with berries at the forefront leading to a very nice finish. After 30 min the finish was dominated with a bloody animal meat aftertaste which I enjoyed. 93pts
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Pristine bottle. I loved the nose, a little barnyardy (even if others thought it was showing a lot of brett), still showing plenty of dark fruit. Violets. Beautiful balance and elegance on the palate, resolved tannins.
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Double decanted 2 hours prior. Definitely switch gears from the burgs. Quite bretty on the nose, but still with some floral, leather and tobacco notes. Lacked depth on the palate as compared to the PLL. Not a great GL but if served on it’s own, would be enjoyable. Time to drink up however IMO.
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(Old note) fully mature nose with old-school aromas: damp cellar, barnyard, cow manure, roots, animal and Cordier style poo. Quite austere, determined palate. Old school. Black currant gives freshness. Cedar, sadle, tobacco. Better taste than nose. Long finish with liquorice notes. Tasted blind this was identified as Gruaud-Larose early 80's. Solid performance.
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Plenty of the expected funk, and as normal some are turned off and it doesn't bother the rest of us. Blackcurrant, forest floor, barnyard, long and deep. A-/B+
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1980s Bordeaux; 6/18/2010-6/20/2010: No mistaking this one, with the Cordier funk in full force (it blew off quickly). Zesty flavors of creosote, cinder, smoke with complex fruit, a little hulking (oxymoron?), and again, bigger/richer than I was expected for an ’83. Mature and delicious.
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Leo's Blind Tasting Group - March '10 edition (Braeburn, NYC): Superb aromatics and a flavour profile with layers of leather, sandalwood, cedar, tobacco/herbal notes and still-bright red fruits, such finesse and balance with a polished, silky texture, tannins feel resolved and integrated and the savoury, leathery finish just stays with you.
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One of the best Gruaud Larose I ever had. Young ruby red color, the wine is in the perfect shape at the moment. Will be enjoyable for many years to come.
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Graphite, cherry and earth nose. The palate is so elegant and clean, showing cherry, raspberry and pencil shavings. Clean, toasted integrated oak. Beautiful.
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From Magnum. Opened, but not decanted 2+ hours prior to pour. In my cellar 20+ years since shortly after release as $26.81 price tag on bottle will attest. Still surprisingly youthful to the eye. Red cherry on the rim and black cherry to the core. A beautiful nose. Not one that fills the room, but evident each time you bring the glass to your lips. No Gruaud funk, but cherry and lilac leaning to the floral side. Lovely sweet integrated palate of cassis, blackberry, lead pencil and rose. A beauty. Goodbye old friend.
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Clear family resemblance with the '85 enjoyed right before this. Some green tobacco and light red cherry. More raw in the tannic structure. Medium bodied. Mature. Enjoyable.
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A great bdx nose with black currant fruit, pine, black pepper and a hint of green bush. The nose seems a little dusty with a little some cigarbox. Classic black currant flavour with a little lead pencil and some green tones. Impressively fresh with a fabulous elegance. Does however seem a little more intense on the nose than on the palate. Overall a good wine!
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Full nose of currants, blackberry leaf, bell pepper, earthy. Mature, drinking well, fine and complex, good cabernet fruit, chambord, tannins resolved, nice finish.
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Deep ruby color, no bricking. Cork in perfect condition. Deep, powerful nose of dark soil, maybe dried fruit, all very dark, but also some nice perfume and sweet flowers hiding in there. Muscular on palate. Strong and solid, not terribly complex or subtle. More mineshaft than pepper. Opened very gradually over 90 minutes or so, could have used more time to breathe. Was remarkably food-tolerant, unlike many old Bordeaux. Overall, this was quite enjoyable, very well balanced, mature but not at all tarnished by age, could certainly last quite a bit longer.
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This is a bottle that spent its first decade in my dad's basement at temps in the 60s before finding its way to my temp controlled cellar. The fill is within 1/2" of the cork, which is wet and soft but comes out intact. The wine has a dark red core, lightening to rim. but with no bricking. Nose is shy at first, with some currant and earth, medium body, and a bit plain on the palate at first. As it warms up a little more fruit comes forward, but it takes a good hour to really start opening up. When it does, the nose starts showing cassis, dark cherries, and a nice complex mix of road tar, smoke, and forest floor. The wine spreads out on the palate, becoming medium to full bodied, with nice fruit and complexity following through from the nose. Balance is excellent, and finish shows persistent cassis and now darker fruits, smoke, road tar and forest floor with a little tannin still present. Still getting better after another hour with some additional sweet complexity starting to show up. Neither the color, nose nor the palate show any signs of the wine tiring out. This is excellent, and should continue to drink well for another 5 years if stored well.
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Open about 1 hour prior drinking. Beautiful ruby color, no sign of fading. Great bottle with the aroma of minerals, meaty, coffee, blueberries. Full, dense with espresso like in mouth , a little low acidity but compensated by black fruits. Sweet fine tannin with very good stable finish. This wine stood up all night
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Coffee, toasty wood and dark cherry fruit on the nose. Sweet, raisined dark cherry fruit on the attack and then a mid palate of more coffee, cedarwood and cigar box. Elegant Fully resolved, drink up over the next couple of years.
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My WOTN. Cordier funk was too much for one person, but a pleasant accent for me. Cassis fruit, cigarbox, and cow pasture. Good length, holds up well over entire evening. What mature St Julien should be. A-/B+
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Fourth time I've had this wine, one bottle corked, this one consistent with the other two good bottles.
I love this wine, great earth and funk on the nose, dark fruit and earth on the palate, with a long and enjoyable finish. I think this wine still has some life left, hopefully I'll be able to snatch up a few more at auction over the next couple of years.
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Raisined, aged and sweetened blackcurrant, eucalyptus, toasty wood and graphite on the nose. On the palate more minty and sweet dried fruit, the mid palate shows more mushroomy and earthy evolved tastes. Delineated, focussed, good acidity and fine balance. Meaty, but arresting and requires attention. Medium, liquorice finish.
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Opened without decanting and let air for a couple of hours. This was in a great spot. Nice earthy mellow nose, a hint of green pepper and ripe dark earth, menthol and tobacco. Nice meaty black licorice fruit on the palate. Still a litlte bit of the fruiit of its youth left, but with all secondary tannins on the finish just an elegant old claret.
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A little funky on opening, this blew off progressively while drinking. Still plenty of colour. The nose developed blackcurrant and classic cedarwood notes, some lead and vaguely violet notes. The attack is all bright blackcurrant, this recedes into more tobacco notes and latterly eucalyptus on the medium finish. Very elegant, and correct, a lovely freshness with the fruit. Medium to full body.
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get that Cordier funk right away. When I remark, someone says "what brett?" while Paul is pushing away his glass saying too much brett. Ah, the variabilities of brett sensitivity. This amount (and strain) of brett doesn't bother me at all. It's more cow pasture than bandaid, more animal than sewage. The fruit is rich and dark, the wine structured and virile. Cassis, tobacco, barnyard, and spice. A-
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Initially a bit musty on the nose, but that blew off to reveal intoxicating aromas of blackcurrant and cedar. On the palate, one finds a delicate, velvety wine with fully resolved tannins and well judged acidity. Drink now.
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Typical Gruaud Larose with a pronounced musty, meaty, barnyard nose. Brick color, medium bodied with tannins almost gone. Mostly plum flavors remaining with perhaps a hint of licorice. Not as complex but a bit more elegant than some other 80's vintages of Gruaud -- overall a good example of a classic, aged bordeaux.
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2nd Time I've had this wine recently, consistent notes on both bottles. Overall an excellent wine, although this one died off a bit quicker than the previous bottle.
Earth/dirt on the nose. Fruit and earth on the palate with a very nice finish.
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A little bit of cedar and cassis on the nose. Fruit is fading quickly and tannins are completely gone but this is still a pleasant drink. Wouldn't hold for too much longer, though.
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Drunk with slow braised lamb shanks, went really well..very dark wine, surprisinglyso, opened about 5 hours before dinner and the nose was realy coming around...asphalt, dark fruits, eucalyptus, in the mouth it was thick and full, was developed but still vibrant, good combination of black fruits and meaty barnyard flavors, it continued to evolve well with dinner and i wanted to see what it might be like the next day but by the time dinner finished it was all gone
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Such a pleasant drink now, the 83 and 89 Gruauds are quite similar, the 83 a bit more opulent, while the 89 feels more youthful and has a longer life ahead. This bottle has the typical Gruaud twang to it, leather, tobacco and black fruit, the wine has reached its plateau and is very smooth with only very mild tannins. It is not the most complex Gruaud, but it makes up for it in elegance. Classic mature claret!
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Roasted meats and roasted green pepper on the nose. A faint whiff of creamy oak (or is it the fruit?) emerges with a swirl. Wow, this definitely reminds me of the first GL I tried (’96). It is a big, meaty wine, softened by age. There is a creamy fruit note of cassis & blackberry, minerals, char-grilled green pepper and red meat/pork, gunpowder green tea, and spicy saucisson (dry sausages). Lingering woodsmoke and cassis on the finish, which is somewhat drying.
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Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #4 (Sammamish, WA): Tapenade, menthol, a hint of tobacco, a black personality, lots of mineral. Pauillac? This reminds me a lot of the 1986 Talbot wth that classic Cordier funk, a definite thick stew of horse. There was enough green stuff going on that I also thought this might be a St. Estephe, possibly Cos. Still a grippy wine, lacking the depth and complexity of the rest of the flight but still pretty darned awesome.
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Initial funky nose blew off after 15 mins or so and was replaced by a malange of dark fruits with spice and cedar notes. Medium bodied with softening, but still present, tannins. Good balance nice finish.
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(1st growth tasting). My 3rd place, group WOTN! Full black/red color. Full aroma of red fruit and sour 'age' and a hint of stewed tomatoes. Full tannic black fruit with black licorice on the palate. Long finish. Opened up and score improved substantially with time in glass.
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A heavy green tobacco note with chocolate and plummy Merlot notes. Light-medium bodied and, while note a showstopper, classy and refined. Mature, though in no way in decline. Really enjoyable wine.
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Tasting four 1983 Bordeaux, second place. Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of mint, opened nicely,more of the same on the palate, rich, creamy, earthy taste, intense medium finish. Tasted many times, similar notes.
Cut garnet colour with a little bricking at the rim. Most clarety nose so far in tasting, but does have a touch of the sappy about it. Somewhat stinky / meaty character but some subtle black cherry fruit and a little pencil lead. Smooth, well integrated palate, good concentration of fruit, plenty of structure from acid and tannin, filled in with cherry and plum fruit as well as secondary notes of smoke and liquorice. Good length and a nice refreshing quality. Sturdy drinking Claret, has some life left if not much likelihood of improvement. B (CECWINE)
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Fill to within 1/2" of cork, cork is moist and soft. Color dark red, slight lightening at rim but no bricking. Full nose of sweet currant and cherry fruits, game, leather, good hint of earthiness and a bit of forest floor, nicely complex. Medium body, g
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dark red, slight lightening at edge, sweet fruits, leather, tar, and mild Cordier funk on nose, still plenty of fruit with good complexity, finishes with tannins coming to fore, but after about an hour this smooths out
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NobleRottersSydney - Bordeaux night (Darling Mills, Glebe): Brick red, with orangey/brown hue at the rim. Pungent charcoal-like nose with smoky characters and cedary notes. Very much an aged bouquet. On the palate a bit resiny, but with a long even balanced finish. Just medium bodied.
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dark red, bit of orange at rime, nice ripe mature complex nose with cassis, berry, tar, less funk than usual for Cordier, ripe mature fruit and sweet notes on the palate, still well balanced with acid and tannin, nice medium finish
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9 Bordeaux Tasted (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Gorgeous, rich, fruity, nose tobacco, dust, meat and more, same on the palate, big body, very tasty, great legs in the glass, small fine tannins on the long finish. My #1 of 9, Group #2.
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dark deep red, muted nose of berry, cassis, bit of funk, very tight at first with significant tannins, really opened up about 3 hours later to show rich earthy/fruity nose with fair amount of funk, good palate feel & complexity but not as developed as the
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9 Bordeaux 1981, 1982, 1983 Pichon Lalande, La Lagune, Gruaud Larose smelled too woody and earthy on the nose for everyone, nice, ripe fruit in the mouth but medium body, barky finish. Group #9 and same for me.
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4/10/2024 - BellevuePhil Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is a perfect example of a not so good vintage way back when turning into a masterpiece with 40 years in the bottle....oh brothers and sisters, in the realm of aristocracy, where refined tastes and exquisite experiences reign supreme, there exists a pinnacle of viniculture that encapsulates the very essence of luxury and indulgence. Enter the illustrious 1983 Château Gruaud Larose, a vintage that transcends time and transports connoisseurs to a realm of unparalleled sensory delight.
In the glass, it exudes a deep, garnet hue, hinting at the depth of character that lies within. Aromas of ripe blackcurrant, succulent plum, and delicate violet intertwine to create a bouquet of unparalleled complexity. With each swirl, new layers of fragrance emerge, enticing the senses and promising a journey of sensory delight.
On the palate, the wine unfurls with grace and elegance, coating the tongue with velvety textures and sumptuous flavors. Ripe blackberry, dark chocolate, and hints of cedar mingle harmoniously, creating a symphony of taste that dances across the palate. The wine's impeccable balance and seamless integration of tannins speak to its pedigree, leaving a lasting impression that lingers long after the final sip.
What sets the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose apart is not just its exceptional taste, but also its ability to evoke a sense of time and place. With each sip, one is transported to a bygone era, where the summer of '83 is alive with the promise of adventure and romance. It is a wine that tells a story, a narrative of passion and indulgence that unfolds with each passing moment.
As I reflect on my experience with the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose, I am reminded of the words of the poet: "Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read."
But beyond its extraordinary taste and impeccable craftsmanship, the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose evokes a nostalgia that transcends mere sensory pleasure. Like a cherished memory etched in the annals of time, it conjures visions of the summer of '83, a season imbued with the spirit of adventure and untamed passion.
I am reminded of a journey embarked upon in the rugged terrain of Alaska, where dusty roads wind their way through untamed wilderness, and the promise of adventure hangs thick in the air. It was there, amidst the wilderness, that I encountered a family from California, their spirits as vibrant as the crimson hues of the setting sun.
In the quaint town of Chicken, beneath the ethereal glow of the northern lights, fate conspired to intertwine our destinies in a moment of serendipitous enchantment. It was there, amidst laughter and camaraderie, that I found myself enraptured by the beauty of a young maiden whose allure surpassed even the finest vintage wine.
Under the watchful gaze of the celestial heavens, we stole away to the banks of a tranquil river, where the symphony of nature provided the perfect backdrop for our clandestine rendezvous. As we shared stories and dreams beneath the canopy of stars, the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose became our companion, its velvety elixir igniting flames of passion that burned with the intensity of a thousand suns.
In that fleeting moment of bliss, time stood still, and we were enveloped in a cocoon of euphoria, where the boundaries of reality faded into obscurity, and only the pulsating rhythm of our hearts remained. It was a night etched in the fabric of eternity, a testament to the transformative power of love and the intoxicating allure of forbidden desires.
Covered in blueberries from head to toe, we found vintage animal love that lasted but a few minutes but was savored like my grandmother's broth.
Though our paths diverged with the dawn's first light, and the sands of time swept us apart, the memory of that fateful encounter remains etched in the depths of my soul, a poignant reminder of a love that defied the constraints of time and space.
In the grand tapestry of life, where each thread weaves a story of its own, the 1983 Château Gruaud Larose stands as a testament to the enduring power of passion and the timeless allure of indulgence. With each sip, it beckons us to embark upon a journey of discovery, where the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur, and the promise of adventure awaits around every corner.
NOTE TO SELF: LITERALLY DRINK NOW POP AND POUR. 20 MINS IN THE GLASS READY AND DRINK LIKE A DAMN OPUS!
UPDATE: SECOND BOTTLE. OMG I AM IN LOVE. POP AND POUR. SOOOO GOOD.
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3/16/2024 - Maphill01 wrote:
Wine of the night, besting the brilliant 2005 Clinet. Perfect aged BDX, lovely aromatics, perfect balance of ripe red fruit, earthy notes, silky mouthfeel and enough acidity for lift.
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2/14/2024 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Do you still hang in there. Classic claret, irony notes, clay, hints of pepper. Notes of cedar and tobacco. Milky
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1/14/2024 - InVinjeVeritas wrote: 94 Points
Excellent, classic claret. Probably a little bit past peak, but highly enjoyable.
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12/28/2023 - Cailles wrote: 82 Points
12x Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993: All wines tasted single blind. Not decanted. As anticipated, the 1983 vintage prevailed in our comparative tasting, scoring 8 to 2 wins against the 1993 vintage, with two ties. The structured, classic ’83s exhibited greater depth and harmony compared to the ‘93s, which tended to be simpler, sometimes slightly green and dry, or at their best, fresh and light. However, in both vintages, aside from a few notable labels, many wines were evidently beyond their peak. The standout was, unsurprisingly, the Margaux (94pts). Tasting the some of the same ’83s a second time a few days later with decanting showed a marked improvement, highlighting the need of aeration.
TN: The wine has muted nose, lacking in vibrancy. The palate is predominantly marked by the drying tannins. Some fresh dark fruit that struggles to shine through. This combination results in a less than compelling experience. The lack of balance and complexity leads to an overall unremarkable impression. 82pts (same as the 1993).
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12/22/2023 - Ruminator Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium brown garnet. Some sediments. Bricking big time.
Some saddle-leather brett. Eucalyptus-like green undertone. Scents of licorice and tobacco leaf. Some remnant of mixed berry fruit with fig and olive. Very savory midpalate leads to a long finish with cured meat and forest floor. Fully integrated tannin.
This wine is in its glorious tertiary heaven. Yet, it retains good weight and intensity. Seamless and saturated tasting sensation from the beginning to its finish.
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12/21/2023 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
Nose: 92; Palate: 90-91; Tasted Blind; My #2, Group's #3
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11/20/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993 face-off: Blurry aging notes of leather and maybe a whiff of truffles. Cherry fruit, slightly unripe, and dried leaves. Solid structure with slightly coarse tannin but ok balance.
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10/29/2023 - SirFred Likes this wine: 94 Points
From a well stored bottle with a lower neck fill. Assortment of musky dark red fruits, humidor, smoked herbs, spices, tapenade, Pencil lead, damp earth, and leather, with hints of eucalyptus and flowers developing further with aeration. Lots going on in the nose. Full-bodied with dark cherry, plumbs, maduro cigar, and fine minerality. A long complex finish that really saturates the palate and lasts a minute. Everything I love about 80’s Bordeaux. This bottle is in a sweet spot of its maturity with juicy acidity and soft dusty tannins, and can probably hold at this level for another decade. What a beautiful bottle of wine and a very good vintage for Gruaud-Larose.
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10/27/2023 - godx wrote: 93 Points
From magnum. Everything you would expect from this wine: beautiful Cordier funk, classic mature profile of dark red fruits and tobacco/leather in spades. Classic mature Bordeaux. In magnum this wine is showing extremely well and can likely go for several more decades if desired.
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10/24/2023 - Wine Canuck wrote: 96 Points
Tuesday night blinds: [Tasted Double Blind] This pours medium to dark garnet in the glass with light bricking. The nose just leaps from the glass with charcoal, animal fur, dried flowers, clay, dried black currants, violets, and plum. The palate is lovely entering on plums and cassis with medium minus tannin, and medium acid. The finish lingers impressively. I guessed this as a 1989 Pichon Lalande. I was surprised on reveal this didn’t have the elevated Brett levels you might expect from Gruaud Larose, but was lovely all the same. Another bottle in perfect condition with a high fill. I surmise this was always stored in a cold cellar without any conditions to allow brett to 'bloom' in the bottle. My last encounter with this wine, while lovely did show more funk than this.
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10/12/2023 - rocknroller wrote: 93 Points
Jim & Michelene's 40th Anniversary Dinner (Jim and Michelene's Place, St. Paul, MN): Medium red color. PNP, drank a glass plus over an hour. Deeply earthy on the nose with all the dried wood I love, cassis and dark berries. The palate is full bodied, adding in a hint of boysenberry to the cassis and berries, leather, still some tannins and good acidity. Very good.
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7/23/2023 - Dukes88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
No formal notes, still full of life. Dark fruit/plum hidden behind notes of leather, cigar, earth. Very nice acidity and tannins.
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7/7/2023 - SimonG wrote: 92 Points
Lunch at La T (La Trompette): Mid garnet. Gloriously mature nose, the full thoroughbred, stable, tack and all. Some mint too. Gentle, nuanced, harmonious and inviting. Lovely. ****
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5/5/2023 - Windacre in the Slope Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking really nicely and still quite tannic, a really nice tobacco finish, still some bright fruit. Nose is a bit faint but definitely a power wine with a lot of life left.
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4/28/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
This is a fully mature Gruaud Larose that has a gorgeous cigar box, cedar, black cherry and leather palate. Classic rustic st julien with just enough refinement and polish. The Codier era wines here are a throwback in the very best way.
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4/21/2023 - VinDeVie_1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Ah 1983, common thought of as the year of margaux, but there were other châteaux that had a fair old shake of it. In this case I had the opportunity to try a lovely Gruaud-Larose in pristine condition as far as its fill level and cork are concerned.
Decanted 45 minutes
Nose:
- smoke
- cigar box
- tar
- musty leaves
- not much bret funk
Palate:
- Prunes
- overripe blackberries
- graphite/slate
- decent acid and a bit of a watery mouth feel
89+
Definitely a good and affordable example of 40 year old bordeaux, but on the 18th green of its drinking window. Buy or drink to try for another year or so.
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4/9/2023 - T.E.D. wrote: 92 Points
Bricked on the edge. Very graphite and cigar box heavy with notes of vegetation. A leanness on the palate, green pepper, stewed berry, iron. Have had many of these and still showing depth.
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3/11/2023 - rocknroller wrote:
Candie's Big 4-0 (Spoon & Stable, Mpls, MN): Followed a glass over 2 hours plus. From 6L. There's a ton of old school character here, funky, saddle and saddle leather, deep dark fruits, but there is some taint lurking, it wavered in and out, but mostly it was there. Scored reserved.
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3/11/2023 - chablis28 wrote: 93 Points
Candace's 6L served for her 40th at Spoon. This caused some descension between corked vs not. At first I felt it was corked but changed my mind after it sat in my glass for 30 minutes. I enjoyed both the very aromatic cigar box and the palate as did most my immediate table mates too? I think, the other table influenced by a couple respected palates felt it was indeed, corked. It was a snowy difficult night on the roads & a 45 minute plus drive for me so I settled for a very small pour of each of the 6 wines I tried tonight. In the home setting w/ light travel I would have had more of this. Classic old school ready to drink BDX.
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2/26/2023 - avel0001 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very nice tobacco and leather notes coming from the ageing but some fruit left. Found the wine still going strong.
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2/22/2023 - Musigny1955 Likes this wine: 91 Points
{Bought on release in 1985 or so; next to last bottle; fill to bottom neck and no leakage. Sound cork. Opened but not decanted half hour before pouring} Tasted in flight of 82 Canon and 82 Branaire-Ducru. Odd aromatics blew off over 5-10 minutes, then leathery, mostly red fruits, with increasing depth and length over next 1.5 hours. Some tobacco in there too. Still has some cut and acid, pretty resolved wine now. Would eat a meal with lots of protein with this wine now. One experienced Bordeaux taster in group said this was the first time he's had a mature Gruaud Larose. Group ranked the Canon, then Branaire, then the Gruaud in terms of preference, but this got 2 of 9 first place votes. (Canon and Branaire-Ducru were perhaps 90-92 point wines; I thought the B-D better than the Canon, which was clipped and short).
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2/12/2023 - aif Likes this wine: 90 Points
Classic scent of Bordeaux - there is nothing quite like it. Old saddle leather and shoe polish with some herbal tones. Lighter in soft than expected and a tad short on the finish. This is probably past it’s prime but still a very pleasant wine
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4/30/2022 - smoothjazz wrote: 92 Points
39th Wedding Anniversary bottle always in my many cellars since release in 1986. Classics St Julien nose of leather & tobacco. Fruit very expressive raspberry & blackberry with just enough acidity to deliver a long palette refreshing finish. Required a ninety minute decant to fully reach its peak. I am always truly amazed at the staying power longevity of classified Bordeaux wines. I purchased this case upon release and have moved my cellars over seven different residences in three states. Other than the cork being too soft for a Coravin and an upper shoulder fill, this wine was a joy to drink.
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1/13/2022 - Chekib m. Likes this wine: 90 Points
Color is light garnet with bricking.
Nose was still reticent even after 1hr decant. Quite developed, aged, with wet earth, tobacco and some light cassis notes.
Light body, tannins fully resolved, elegant, flavours of tobacco, red and blue berries, graphite fill the mouth. Savoury. Very good length.little bit of bitterness towards the end. Very nice aged wine.
Definetely way past peak, but still has things to say.
My wife thought it was too old. I think it was still enjoyable.
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12/16/2021 - jarfman wrote: flawed
Unfortunately, while checking inventory I noticed this bottle had a drip forming around the foil top. Touching the top of the foil caused the wine to flow out. Cork had contracted and fallen into the bottle. The foil seal was the only thing preventing the bottle from pouring out. Disappointed. Anyone ever experience anything like that?
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11/8/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Earthy nose with notes of old leather, red currants, and dark cherries. The tannins are quite soft at this point and the palate is surprisingly light overall. More leather, underwood, and red fruit notes and overall nice complexity. Long finish. Great wine!
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11/1/2021 - Zorg wrote: 92 Points
Coravined a couple of glasses from this bottle with StefanAkiko on sept 17 and we both marked it as flawed then. When I now open it it's a completely different beast. Lovely mature bdx with leather, stable etc.
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9/17/2021 - StefanAkiko wrote: flawed
Some olde sheite SS + ME (Umeå): Upon plop: (Coravin)
Light red with clear bricking.
A horse and a cow definitely walked by. Beautiful brett, barnyard, Bdx earth, sumi ink and autumn. An etheral lift. Iron and blood. Gun powder.
On the palate: this is an exceptionally amazing wine! Balanced, complex and in a very good place. Sporting cherries, medium acidity, nail polish, loads of leather, sumi ink, outstanding purity in an exceptional wine.
2nd glass:
Added aroma: Leverbiff och leverbiff. Panfried leek.
On the palate: god damn it… Ground liver patties. Maksapihvi. (Dog supply.)
I was really looking forward to this second glass, but no longer drinkable to sensitive me.
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8/28/2021 - Kdubs Likes this wine: 93 Points
Bought this at auction some years ago and had it in the cellar, so through it in with a bunch of big-boys in a blind tasting that included the 2000 Pavie, 2003 Montrose, etc., and I thought for sure it was the '96 Pichon Lalande I knew was in it, but this wine surprised all, and many had it in their top 5 out of 12 wines tasted. Excellent balance, great nose, and primarily cigar box, currant and a little pencil lead. Extremely pleased how well this showed, and it did not taste like a 38-year-old wine.
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8/22/2021 - Tom Henriksveen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Detailed, elegant but ever so slightly fading. A top notch bottle from a traditional vintner that normally would be a lot more rustique. My last bottle.
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8/20/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 88 Points
Slipping past its prime, the wine is rustic, stoic and focused on its secondary, tobacco, earth, tobacco leaf, cigar box and bright red currant nose, which is more fun than its crisp, light weight, earthy, red berry palate. There is no reason to hold this any longer.
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7/6/2021 - Purple Tooth wrote: 92 Points
I used to call these the long 82's. As a matter of fact, I think that Gruaud had a 3 year cinderella vintage that started in 81 and ended with the 83. These were old school, masculine wines with gnarly funk and flavor and pushed the Bordeaux dial as far as you can take it.
Now, sadly, I see that the 83 is getting old and fading and has lost all the sweetness it used to have and is in need of much love and appreciation before she gets hauled off to the bottle graveyard. You can expect lots of cedar, earthy whiffs of blood and lots of chocolate and brewed coffee with the ongoing core of red flower potpourri hidden in the middle, but you really have to know it to look for it.
Its sad that we are both getting old and I don't know which is worse, seeing the 83 die, or watching myself wilt. Lets all drink to today and yesterday...DRINK
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6/27/2021 - smoothjazz wrote: 91 Points
38 years old and still remarkably a delight to drink. Purchased upon release and in my six different cellars over four different states. High fill and an intact cork for a wine of this age. Remarkably this wine held up superbly. Typical St Julien with cedar, tobacco, leather & earth nose; light raspberry fruit balanced acidity with very pronounced finish. Obviously, in the decline stage; however, as long as the cork stays strong this wine might make 50 years and still drink respectfully.
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1/2/2021 - MAOC wrote:
For J’s birthday at the Flitch. Gently decanted before serving. Very similar to last bottle in 2017 - soft Cabernet fruit towards the redder end of the spectrum, leafy development, mellow leather and tobacco, with a comforting background of embers. This was very elegant but is on a slight downwards slope ***1/2+
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11/13/2020 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 91 Points
Always fun to taste aged Bordeaux. It’s very mellowed out at this point, but still lots of funk on the nose and sweet floral flavors. A very light wine.
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10/26/2020 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Wow, it's been six years (already!) since my last one, iirc. This bottle was, I believe, from the same cellar as the previous bottle, and if I ignore any chance for bottle variation (I don't, but this is an example), then while this is ageing beautifully, it's also losing a small something in the process. Perhaps this is true of nearly every wine, to one degree or another. Trade-offs, and all. It's lovely, and hard to find any actual fault here, but the exuberance of the fruit, if this is perfectly representative of all outstanding bottles, is on the backside of its preferred curve. That said, I'd recommend drinking sooner than later, even if this has many years ahead of it. 12,0% abv. In its current state, this is easily recommended
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8/31/2020 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
Nose: A- Palate: B++/A- Tasted Bling.
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8/23/2020 - wstromb404 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cork came out totally clean - although very damp. And th funk and mustiness upon opening was overpowering. But with about two hours in the decanter everything settled and this was a great wine - pretty much all tertiary at this point but a decent finish and paired brilliantly with grilled sausage and bell peppers. Yum.
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7/13/2020 - jvphoto wrote:
A bit of brett - just began to smell more like sweaty horse saddle.
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6/9/2020 - AaronMaxwell wrote: 92 Points
"OMG, that is so funky!"
Classic Bordeaux brett barnyard funk on the nose. We're tasting after 20 minutes decanting. Beyond the funk, there's some cinnamon bark conspiring as part of an earthy/green peppers/mushroom forest floor medley. Very low tannins, extremely smooth, and finishes over ~20-30 seconds.
Light fruit, and surprising acidity still holding it together.
After 3-4 hours, this wine had lost its fight against the air, and it had softened beyond what I prefer. Probably past its peak.
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5/31/2020 - blanquito wrote:
Fully tertiary, perhaps just off its long peak, but still sensational. Smoke, leather, cranberries, cedar, bell pepper, and mint highlight it’s lovely bouquet. Quite intense on the palate with high acids, some savory fruit, a surprisingly layered and silky mid-palate, and some lingering grip and woody tannin. Shines with food as it’s grip and lemony acids complement the red meat. Has a wonderful element of smoke and capsicum that I prize in claret. Really really good. 93-94 pts.
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5/8/2020 - coremill wrote: 90 Points
Plenty of Cordier funk, a noticeable cracked green pepper element, cedar, old library books, red currant fruit -- very classic. Fully mature, resolved, but with plenty of smokey, savory, fruit on the palate. Delicious.
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2/28/2020 - Nanda wrote:
I just love the slightly dirty, earthy and bell peppery aromas on this wine. Still has good richness of fruit with fully resolved structure. Should hold for years but not getting any better.
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2/28/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Wines Tasted at HDH Auction; 2/28/2020-2/29/2020 (Spiaggia - Chicago IL): Small glass, brief note. A little tired, a little more dirty. OK overall.
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1/23/2020 - Chateaunole-du-Pape wrote: 94 Points
Just beautiful. Cork was quite stained but was removed intact, fairly easily, with an ah-so. Classic Saint-Julien nose with cedar, pencil lead, red fruit; more of the same on the palate, with some really pleasant floral notes as well. Glad to have one more left, and I don't think there's any hurry to drink it.
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12/26/2019 - Skip4wine wrote: 92 Points
Bought on release for $18.62. Have moved twice since
Then. Very low shoulder fill and depressed cork. When i took off the foil to cork actually fell into the bottle on its own. Presumed dead. What a surprise. It was a perfect old wine. Color was completely bricked and all the flavors were blended into their tertiary relatives. Drank it over an hour without a decant. 2 bottles left.
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10/28/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 86 Points
Highly autumnal - more leather and fallen leaves than fruit now - exacerbated by bett. Even more decay on the palate. Dirty, bretty finish.
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10/28/2019 - BellaVitaWines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bottle was in great shape. Left in decanter for 1 hour after opening. Nose of earthy fragrance. First sip was flat but opened up with lots of fruity essence, raspberries and sour strawberries come to mind. A surprising bright red hue in glass, with lovely fruit, interesting for a wine of this age.
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10/11/2019 - Chekib m. Likes this wine: 93 Points
The bottle had a good high shoulder fill.
Cork came into pieces.
Decanted for 2hrs.
Still medium to deep garnet color, not showing age.
The nose first was too much oaky, then started to show off slightly discreet and elegant notes of leather, pencil lead, wet earth, ripe red berries...
Almost sweet in the mouth, with flavour of red currant, sweet red cherries, tea leaves, earthy, nice and complex with a good sweet mature saint julien finish.
Very nice bottle.
This is my 3rd bottle from a 12btl case and they all have been very consistent.
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9/21/2019 - blanquito wrote:
From half bottle with a great fill and cork... cast from an old school mold, leaning light and bright. A smoky bouquet with baked earth and dried cherries and a touch of fresh herbs. The palate builds with air, giving loads of graphite, terrific midpalate intensity with enough midpalate sweetness for balance, and a long bright, ferric finish still marked with hard, dry, black-tea tannins. Terrific, austere, minerally, bright.
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8/5/2019 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
Interesting, dominanted by teriatry components. Fruit fading. Last from a case.
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7/30/2019 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
Decanted for almost 2 hours. The nose continued to grow and harmonize over the next two hours and was holding fast, perhaps even still improving, as we finished the bottle. There is a core of floral aroma (someone said white flowers that smell purple, like jasmine), and it's pungent and beautiful. Around that there are layers of animale and blood and soil. Whatever fruit remains is of the tiny currant variety and it's not part of what is apparent on the nose of this wine. On the palate there is surprisingly high acidity, it's really very prominent, but it doesn't take the wine out of balance. There are layers of dark fruit amidst the floral and feral aromas that follow through from the nose. This is a delicious wine, one that expresses a real sense of soil, and a wine that has a lot of pleasure to give.
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6/24/2019 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
Champagne, Riesling, and Bordeaux with Skippy (Chicago, IL): I didn't like this bottle anywhere as much as the bottle I had last year. The nose showed too much of the Cordier funk (which is far too close to TCA for my comfort), and the palate had a fairly dirty character as well. Lean and structured and a little meagre in the fruit department. I can understand the allure, but I'm impervious to this (lack of) charm.
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5/10/2019 - europat55 wrote: 93 Points
My 9th experience with this wine and it continues to deliver, bottle after bottle!
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3/5/2019 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 91 Points
This bottle was different from than the one I drank about a year ago. Still nice and fully mature but a little clumsy.
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2/22/2019 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Another exceptional showing from this lot. A base neck fill and a cork still in very good shape, and this needed about an hour in the decanter to really hit fifth gear. Lots of dark cherry and blackcurrant fruit here with savoury earthy, leathery, tobacco, and faintly rusty/iron-like notes all coming together. Still shows a touch of grainy tannin on the back end, but the flavours are fully mature and this is a fantastic wine that's right in my wheelhouse for older Bordeaux.
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1/20/2019 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Had head to head with a Talbot same vintage. The gru showed a bit more hard edge and green notes. Still some berry note. Lighter finish. Still holding on.
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12/24/2018 - sean7711 wrote: 93 Points
Had for Christmas Eve dinner. Decanted about 1 hr while making chicken parm, cork fell through bottle, good amount of sediment. Brooklynguy had a great tasting note that I agreeed with, especially the leafy earthy minerality. Pleasure to have such a great bottle, and think this still has plenty of life in it.
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9/2/2018 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
Another beautiful bottle - I love the balance between the pure and perfectly ripe dark fruit, and the leafy earthy mineral aspect. In perfect balance, it's just a truly lovely wine.
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8/26/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
So very 1980s Gruaud in its unapologetically masculine style and, luckily, with only a small amount of Brett. Seamless now, this shows off a blackberry compote, sous-bois, leather, mushroom nose with light Brett. Meaty and strapping on the palate. At or just past its apogee, these are great drinking now. 91-2.
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6/22/2018 - seijaro Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 90 minutes ahead, lots of sediment, good color. Maybe a touch of brett in the nose, not uncommon on the oldies we open, but it didn't come through to the taste. I'm pleasantly surprised at how good it is, it's already better than the '82 that was a disappointing 88-89. It's still developing and we haven't had the food yet, I will update this in two hours.
OK, upgraded my rating to 93 and my wife's to 94. What a delight, glad I have four more! It is, however, time to drink it, it will not get better from here and will inevitably decline before long.
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6/10/2018 - FransS wrote: 81 Points
Always a punishment for me with its rubbery, très fumé bouquet; the acidity is a bit aggressive, sticky taste.
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4/21/2018 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Opened and left to rest. A bit fragile for decanting so prob best one shoudl leave this standing for a day before (closed) to let the sediment set below.
Another pretty wine from the understated 1983 vintage (83 Cheval Blanc is among the best we have tried and Pichon Lalande and of course Ch. Marguax are superb) and this wine deserves a 92 for that ( in all fairness is a 91) and we rated this 92 5 years ago when we went to an 83 horizontal. Another testament to the great classic wines Cordier made in the 80s & 90s.
Very classic, well matured definitely past its peak but still very healthy and a joy for lovers of mature bdx. The nose is soft, beyond secondary, light herby edge. On the palate is well round and lacked the harsh edge we came across 5yrs ago so probably a better bottle this time round. Very good still and well deserved 92.
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4/6/2018 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Not quite on the level of my last bottle, which showed a little cleaner (with less leathery funk), but this is still very impressive. There's a core of intense black fruit accented with earth, graphite, and cedar, and a lot of leathery Cordier funk that actually becomes more intense with air. Impressive power and richness on the palate - this feels like a wine that still has many years ahead of it, with the fruit very rich and some grainy tannin on the back end initially that softened with an hour in the decanter.
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4/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Salil does Chicago 4; 4/6/2018-4/7/2018 (Chicago, IL): A very robust and preternaturally young Bordeaux. The nose shows lots of leather (or, I suppose, what people call Cordier funk) as well as some really potent black fruit. This just got better and better with air. Recently I had the 1986, which I found too stern and unyielding, but this wine doesn't have any problems with that. There's much more generous fruit on this, which helps with dealing with the big tannic structure. This is a wine that still has ages to go, though it's certainly in amazing shape already.
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4/1/2018 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Had with Easter dinner (Lapin a la Moutarde Cafe Des Federations) Beautiful mature Bordeaux from a difficult vintage. Cedar and tobacco immediately on opening. Bright, pure and perfectly balanced. Strong underlying red fruit transformed into an elegant fully mature wine. At its peak but, if good provenance and well stored, it will hold at its peak for a few more years.
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4/1/2018 - LWI wrote: 93 Points
Detailed, elegant, but fading a bit.
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3/9/2018 - LWI wrote: flawed
Corked
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3/5/2018 - David_K Likes this wine: 94 Points
Absolutely classic old Bordeaux, drinking at peak. There is no one thing that stands out about this wine but everything is in perfect balance. It's not super powerful or structured, but there's a sweetness of fruit coupled with just the right amount of acidity. Slightly herbaceous on the nose but the good kind. Can't imagine this getting any better from here.
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3/1/2018 - salil wrote: 95 Points
Brilliant wine. This is in a wonderful place right now, drinking near peak. Stunning aromatics showcasing remarkably deep, vibrant red fruit, cedar, tobacco, graphite, and more savoury Cordier funk and earthiness, and a palate presence that conveys a sense of power and finesse. There's lots of richness and intensity here, and a hint of tannin on the back end suggesting this isn't going downhill any time soon. What an outstanding bottle, and I'm glad to have a few more.
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3/1/2018 - prof b wrote: 95 Points
Fill into the neck, decanted and served immediately, and followed over the next two hours. It took about 15-20 minutes to really open up and then stayed pretty consistent throughout. The ripe red fruit was still strong along with a very slight tannic backbone. Tertiary elements have developed, rounding this into a very delicious wine. The funk that older Gruaud exhibits was also present but it was tame and helped to add complexity to the wine. This is at peak now.
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2/16/2018 - gcarl wrote: 93 Points
Fill was to within 1/2" of capsule,color was browning, but fruit,pencil shavings, old leather still prominent. Cork was wet and difficult to remove, but wine was still silky on the palate after decanting. My last bottle...sad
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2/14/2018 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Another fine bottle. Stewed cherry, green veg and spice on the nose. Palate shows tertiary elements of iron, leather, lead pencil and stewed vegetable. Rustic and old school.
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1/30/2018 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
Decanted off the sediment about 90 minutes before drinking. A wonderful bottle that shows the richness of fruit, the articulation of terroir, and the great balance that is possible in the 1983 vintage. This wine sang - lovely mix of fruit and soil, great texture and structure, pungent minerality on the nose and the palate and throughout the finish. Absolutely lovely wine.
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1/29/2018 - LW31 wrote:
Wonderfully fresh still. High acidity keeps it going. Cedar, earth, but elegant. Drink now but with some years to go still.
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1/14/2018 - ccn Likes this wine: 93 Points
Worried at first that it was over the hill but after an hour in decanter really started singing. Fully mature but probably will hold 5-10 years more in a cool cellar - but why wait? Pungent nose of pencil shavings, great length and depth. Beautiful.
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12/28/2017 - gcarl wrote: 94 Points
Really nice wine w/fill nearly to bottom of capsule. Quite a bit of fruit still evident on nose , along with leather, cedar/graphite. Very well integrated tannins, plenty of silky fruit on the palate. This is a beautiful 34 year old classic Bordeaux. I now wish that I had not shared this find of 9 bottles from an exceptional private cellar. I believe I have one left.
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12/16/2017 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
My fifth bottle. Still Alive, showing a more pronounced nose and palate of green pepper, lead pencil, granite and gravel. Very tertiary at this parade as expected.
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10/26/2017 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 98 Points
Bordeaux Birthday Dinner with 1978 Chateau Margaux, 1982 La Tour Haut Brion, and 1983 Chateau Gruaud Larose, my favorite of the dinner, floral nose of saddle leather, black cherry fruit, black berry, hints of iron and cigar box, same on the palate, big body, big, intense fruit, mouth filling fruit, elegant, lovely and rich fruit very tasty, will easily last another seven years but why wait, and a long, long, flavorful finish.
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10/20/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rougher and funkier than the '82, this is a solid value. Good showing. 90-91
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7/17/2017 - MAOC wrote:
Mid garnet with noticeable bricking. Double decanted gently just before serving. Soft and attractive profile of mellow cherry and cabernet fruit, aged leather, cigar and ember with some meaty and earthy notes developing over time. Slightly past peak now, but still very enjoyable ***1/2+
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4/23/2017 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Classic brick color. Nose of massive mushroom, green vegetables, truffle
off the pop. Palate is lean and a bit one sided. But nonetheless showing mellow stewed berry, green vegetables, mellow funk, hints of iron. Still rocking and enjoyable. Yet not overall complex.
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4/23/2017 - whybuyone Likes this wine:
Drank alongside an 83 Trotanoy. While I preferred the style of the Trotanoy, this Gruaud exceeded expectations. I don't think it's even hit its peak yet. A much better value than the 82 Gruaud at this point. Drink now or hold for another 3 to 5 years. Decant for three to four hours. It really mellowed into a smooth Bordeaux three hours into it.
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3/31/2017 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
5 Decades of Gruaud Larose (Andre and Sabine's House, Mountain View, CA): Nose: B++/A-. Palate: A-
My #5. Group's #6 (87 pts).
Tasted blind.
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3/11/2017 - ShannonC Likes this wine:
Hazy garnet tawney. Aromas of dried fig, soil, blood, toast. Flavors of menthol, pipe resin, blue and red fruit, cooked green bell pepper. High alcohol, and pronounced acid. Tannins very soft. Near the end of the bottle the tannins showed a bit. Overall an amazing bottle. Loved it.
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2/26/2017 - Diane (LI) wrote:
An abundance of sweet fruit with cedar and tobacco. Still hanging in there, but no need to hold any longer. Lovely.
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1/8/2017 - Paui wrote: flawed
fill almost into neck, still tannic, good bottles should easiliy survive a decade and more. This bottle was flawed with a strong banyard smell, fading over night and initially I had hoped this bottle may come back.
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12/18/2016 - Tubulus wrote:
Excellent. Perfect structure, tannins resolved but still loads of life left.
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12/15/2016 - blanquito wrote: 93 Points
Another fantastic bottle of this. Perfectly mature, even tertiary with all of the rough edges pretty much gone now. Lots of complex, earthy, cedary Bordeauxness here. The fruit is quite bright for claret, with top notes of cranberries mixed in with sweeter black cherries. Indeed, the fruit is still intact in a lovely secondary role, but I wouldn't push it too much longer. Man, was Cordier on fire between 1982-1988 or what?
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12/15/2016 - Drankard wrote: 94 Points
This is a wine of remarkable depth. Tannins are integrated with good balanced. Overall, for a wine of more than 30 years of age this is very silky and fully mature that still has a certain "grip" holding it together. What a treat!
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12/12/2016 - lolo66 wrote:
special. in a very nice place showing tertiary balanced with lovely mature fruit. tobacco, earth, black currants. very elegant.
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9/25/2016 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Pure and mature old school bdx. Crimson color, nose of perfumed spice box, green peppers, dusty cherry fruit. Plate is smooth and toothsome, steer fruit, cedar, green forest and macerated fruit. Smooth and easy drinking.
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9/15/2016 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
Château Gruaud-Larose Vertical (Knightsbridge and Abigail's): This is a true 'wow' wine with profound complexity, character and intensity. Outperformed more heralded vintages in the vertical, including 1982. Stunning, full nose has intoxicating depth and layers -- dried plum, cigar, tar, earth, green herb and bell pepper. The palate is similarly impressive with medium body, lively fruit and stunning depth. Ashy plum fruit and complex flavors that echo the nose. Tannins are fine and smooth. Long, lingering finish. A wine to snatch up if you can.
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9/3/2016 - LWI wrote: 95 Points
Complex, delicious
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8/20/2016 - WST Likes this wine:
Charity Auction Tasting for Brigid Collins Family Support Center: I've liked the '83, and the fact that it can be found for reasonable prices in the shadow of the '82. This was no exception. Decanted for about four hours. Nice truffle, cedar and cherry. I could use a little bump in density to reach exceptional, but still a great wine with a few year left. This won't get any better, and is probably on the tail end of it's drinking window.
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8/16/2016 - bps2266 wrote: 94 Points
clearly on it's decline, but gracefully so. wise and mellow. light- the acid and tannin are long since past, but the earth is ever present and it has a length unsurpassed. a nice braised carrot thing going on along with the expected strength of leather and pepper. incredible this held up as well in spite of spending it's last ten years upright in a cupboard!
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7/31/2016 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Pure St Julian. Light brick color, showing its age. Nose of dusty earth, pure cherry, and mushroom and truffle. Palate is soft and elegant. With pure silky berry fruit, flowery earth, touches of iron, and sweet sweet fruit on the finish. Perfect maturity.
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7/3/2016 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
My first note of which many will come first bottle out of the auction lot. Classic old-school Bord. quite velvety and feminine. Classic elements of earth, evergreen sweet, mushrooms, truffle, and forest floor. Very little, if any tannin left.
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6/26/2016 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep, dark garnet in color with slight clearing at the edges. Forward, attractive & fragrant nose of mature, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries, & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of tobacco & cedar, floral notes of violets, earthy/dusty, leather, gravel, rust, herbs, spices, minerals & hints of mint in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, mature & complex, ripe fruit flavors of sweet dark cherries, blackberries & plums with earthy/dusty, cocoa & coffee, herbs, minerals & a hint of oak. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present and appears to be at its peak of development. I wouldn't expect any further development from further aging. A classic old school Bordeaux.
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5/21/2016 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
BN fill, at bit sunken cork, still much to give. Elegant, but ever so slightly fading. Good bottles of this is still vigorous.
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5/6/2016 - Paui wrote: 94 Points
lucky to get another two bottles last year. great wine and another good bottle. pnp only slightly better after decant, smoother, chocolate. mature but no signs of age, still a bit of a tannic mouthfeel, in a great condition. 94+
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4/2/2016 - blanquito wrote: 93 Points
I did't try this until the after-party in my room, and then I was very impressed indeed. Again, this was not a lighter bodied wine next to more famous years; if anything, it had more fruit than the '86 G-L if not quite the depth. Funky and round, with a great earthy core of old school fruit, I thought this terrific. Maybe a little chunky around the middle, but I am not bitchin'. 100% mature and ready to go.
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1/23/2016 - ubercuvee wrote: 91 Points
Lovely after 90 minutes of audouzing. clearly on the way down but has flesh and depth
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9/11/2015 - LWI wrote: 94 Points
Housewarming BYO: Pop and pour. Big dark fruit, very youtful, powerful, some bonfire and tobacco. Complex and intense wine. Should definitely have been decanted, and would probably then have merited an even higher score.
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4/12/2015 - Purple Tooth wrote: 94 Points
I can't believe the youth of this pristine bottle acquired from owner of wine since release. Lots of good bret on the nose at start, but wild and tart. Settled down to be a very elegant, earthy, floral bordeaux with an antiqued cedar backbone. One again, the old furniture and roasted coffee notes make me fall in love with vintage Bordeaux all over again. I love the 1982, its one of my favorite wines ever, and this 83 swings in and out of the 82 feel...seems like the 82 vintage was a long one that lasted 2 years for GL.
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4/12/2015 - nortonnose wrote: 90 Points
Bummer, these are getting tired. At least *my* bottles purchased second hand are getting tired. I'm guessing original-owner bottles that have been well stored will be in great shape for another decade. Great funk on the nose, lovely and pretty on the palate but almost in an un-GL way. Still perfectly pleasant and always a favorite! Drink up
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3/22/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
We all were very impressed by this. Dark fruit, leather, sweet tobacco on the very fragrant nose. Lovely freshness and while it did not have the depth of the 89 it was delicious.
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3/16/2015 - davergny Likes this wine: 95 Points
Another great bottle, unfortunately my last. Fragrant with cedar notes, silky but bold. Pretty much the same as last notes. Others said it was funky, but for me, not too much. Love this wine!
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3/14/2015 - KoalaHK wrote:
Drunk at the Koala Bar - I have always been a fan of this wine. Partly because I was fortunate enough to acquire two very well stored cases and I have been making my way through them over the last few years. It is surprisingly robust for an "off vintage" and when paired against the '82 holds it's own admirably.
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3/2/2015 - Vinoevelo wrote:
fruit almost gone, with lots of cedar. Off-bottle relative to other bottles i've had in recent memory. Still good, but not the 'wow' i've come to expect. Zero brett though.
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1/31/2015 - LWI wrote: 95 Points
Château Gruaud-Larose 1928 - 2011: Tobacco, fine complexity, spice with some herbal notes, minerals; fresh with wonderful balance, very long and complex, elegant for a Gruaud - very different animal than the 82.
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1/28/2015 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 88 Points
Faded garnet in color. No fruit left on the nose, but buckets of lovely damp earth aromas. A little beef jus and a touch of coffee. Lacks a little complexity compared to the '82, but still most enticing if you like the tertiary stuff (which I do).
Lovely sweet palate and decent length, but tannins have gone so lacking significantly in structure. Drink up.
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12/25/2014 - d'Artagnan wrote:
Bouteille qui montre des arômes tertiaires, belle texture, mais un vin fatigué, qui aurait du être bu il y a 10 ans.
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12/20/2014 - MAOC wrote:
At home with steak. Decanted 1hr (but needed more, surprisingly). Initially nose pleasant but muffled combination of clay, barnyard and dark fruits, and palate leathery fruit. Evolved though into a lovely mature claret, leather, dark red fruit and a touch of tobacco on the nose with velvety palate, leathery and increasingly savoury. Not as good as last bottle but very enjoyable. ***1/2-**** (previous bottle was ****1/2)
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10/28/2014 - andtheodor wrote: 90 Points
Cedar closet, old leather, dried cherries, cranberry tartness. Resolved, good acidity that fans out and saturates, tasty but a bit dried out compared to the other wines tonight.
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10/25/2014 - bon vivant wrote:
Add this evening's bottle to a string of early 80's GL's that have left me with a smile on my face. The aromatics start off with a combination of aged classic Bordeaux fruit as well as a distinct old world funk, a combination of old leather book covers with cigars about to be smoked in the library by the fireplace. the number 2 pencil shavings are also here, giving a whiff of cedar & graphite, classic St Julian. The robe is still fairly plush for a 29 year old bottle and the finish was surprisingly long and wide. My kind of Bordeaux and another over achieving old GL.
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10/25/2014 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Medium ruby, slight fading to brown rim; bright. Aged tobacco, soil, a mixture of cassis and plum fruits, some leather; classy nose that draws you in with interest and even some intrigue. Medium-bodied, and lively, with a gentle, seamless entry that wastes no time fanning out on the mid and back palates with layers of red and black fruits; a touch of savory. Impressive depth, breadth and character at the moment, with several good years still in front of it. The great care that went into cellaring this pristine bottle really paid off. Brilliant stuff. highly recommended
Aerated and decanted for sediment prior to serving non-blind.
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10/22/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Leather and tar nose; blackberry; tannins still not evolved; nice finish.
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9/14/2014 - nortonnose wrote: 93 Points
A real beauty tonight. Stood bottle for months. Ripped the cork straight out, dumped in decanter and served. I was initially concerned because it immediately smelled perfect (which for me, with old stinky Bdx, usually means it tastes lousy! The more barnyard the nose, the better the palate for me!). Lo and behold, the first few minutes were very awkward, with a ton of funk in the aftertaste. After just ten mins, this dissipated and the wine just continually improved.
Thereafter, very consistent w/my Dec 2013 TN. Lovely hint of spice. Medium-long, lush finish. Tons of structure. Delightful!
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8/24/2014 - Giggs wrote: 91 Points
Decanted briefly for sediment. Mature, very spicy nose, old Cabernet notes of leather, rust, tobacco, and dusty basement floor. Tangy cranberry and red currant fruit on the palate. Polished, mature Cabernet. Past peak but still on a good plateau. Drink now.
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8/18/2014 - LWI wrote: 95 Points
Middle weight, refined, intense and complex. Some earthy notes. Completely mature.
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7/29/2014 - europat55 wrote: 94 Points
Brought this to a restaurant dinner so no formal notes other than is was a big hit among the guests!
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7/6/2014 - DaleW wrote:
A little hint of browning on rim, but overall comes across as fairly fresh. Deep sweet cassis fruit that broadens over the evening, with tobacco and smoked meat overtones. I’ve had pretty bretty bottles of this before, but this is fairly clean in terms of 80s Cordier- just a tiny hint of barnhyard/funk. A bit of tannin remaining, good acids, good finish. B+/A-
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7/6/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cork slightly recessed with slight leakage; possibly exposed to heat in past; manura and earthy cedar; a bit musty; good structure; a bit tannic but nice integration with some sweet blackberry.
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7/5/2014 - godx wrote: 92 Points
A Week in Osoyoos; 7/5/2014-7/11/2014 (Osoyoos, BC): No formal notes. Beautiful and classic nose. Lighter weight on the palate with fairly resolved structure. Drinking perfectly now but will easily cruise for 5-10 years. A nicely mature old school Bordeaux. Excellent.
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6/11/2014 - nortonnose wrote: 90 Points
Similar to my previous TNs, if a touch less spice and a little more sweetness. Certainly past peak, drink up.
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6/9/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 94 Points
Pretty dark still with just a little discolouration. Nose not too evolved either, still very pure and rich red and black fruit notes, cassis, but also herbal, cedar, tobacco and tea leaves, sweet spices. On the palate broad and fresh, still good grip but open and just lovely with a nice spiciness to it. Great acidity and length. Outstanding. Drinking very well but no rush. 93-95
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6/3/2014 - mattyboy_ Likes this wine: 92 Points
'83 forever in the shadows of '82 or is it? This displayed a classic left bank claret. Chiseled, well structured, and quite concentrated in the mouth. Still a lot of tannin but mostly resolved. This is all about leather, graphite, maduro tobacco than it is about the fruit. There is some dried cherry and cassis but this is all about classic/masculine flavors.
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5/26/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mature with rubber; deep blackberry with some tartness; textured and complex; nice long finish.
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5/17/2014 - Argrath wrote: 94 Points
Tough, powerful, extremely typical left-bank Bdx. Barnyard, gravel, roots, cellar, cedar and after a while some lovely perfumed Asian Spices. Deep and complex. Long.
Still powerful, majestic, tough and full palate. Ultra-Classic. Pencilshavings, mature barnyard, Tobacco, cigarre. Compact, tight and very long. Splendid finish.
In the Company of four PC-83 this wine was impossible to separate from PC. Stood the ground splendidly. Actually some of us guessed that this was Latour! No wonder many mentioned Gruaud-Larose as a super-second during the 80's.
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5/14/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rich nose with tar and lead pencil; well integrated with some acidity; lots of blackberry; long textured finish.
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5/2/2014 - europat55 wrote: 89 Points
Gorgeous nose, very good palate, but nowhere as good as my previous experiences with this wine...
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4/14/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Cork fell in with a push, but outstanding lead pencil nose; textured and sweet blackberry; great length.
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3/30/2014 - paulst Likes this wine: 89 Points
Difficult cork; light tar and blackberry; a bit watery and some sour tannins; good texture with nice silkiness; earthy and nicely complex; decent finish.
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3/16/2014 - David Cellar wrote:
- Garnet color with medium forming legs and aromas of cherry. It's balanced with a medium/full body. Polished texture with a long finish - Fabulous 30 year Bordeaux, decanted an hour before meal, and evolved over the next hour beautifully. Great nose, slight tannins at the start, with hints of leather, and tar. After 90 minutes became as smooth and rich as any 83 I have tasted. Easily 94-95pts. One bottle left to judge for further development.
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2/15/2014 - mwanasheria wrote:
Odds and ends in Munich (Munich, Käfer's): Nose of old leather, initially quite forbidding but getting better with air. Palate smoky, sweet, malt, quite fleshy. Good.
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2/15/2014 - davergny Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was an excellent bottle even though the fill was below the neck. Classic scents of cedar, red fruit, praline, and leather. Silky palate, same taste as the nose, gorgeous length from the the first sip that that just floats with silky fruit to the elegant finish. Paired with a 1983 Buehler Cabernet. This was clearly the better wine though the Buehler was quite good.
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1/2/2014 - boxedwine wrote: 94 Points
not as good as the 82 but great bottle of wine and great value
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12/30/2013 - europat55 wrote: 94 Points
Went very well with a lamb roast! Very popular among the dinner guests.
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12/27/2013 - GEisner Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nose: Wet hay, still some red fruit, mossy, mint
Color: Cloudy, brown edges
Attack: Sour cherry, anise
Mid: Sour cherry, touch of apricot
Finish: A bit thin, woody notes. Losing life, slightly past prime but still kicking
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12/25/2013 - SoundinBetween wrote: 90 Points
My first bottle from this vintner, and in seemingly perfect shape. Cork came out 2/3 soaked but in one perfect piece. Very dense nose of dark fruits, just like many other great 1983's I've tasted. After 2 hour decant, it is incredibly elegant with leather and cinnamon/cloves. Tannins mostly resolved with a long finish. Personally I preffered Leoville Poyferre and St Pierre from this vintage, but this was undeniably a great bottle. Those both had more presence of fruit on the palette.
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12/19/2013 - nortonnose wrote: 92 Points
I couldn't resist buying more of this at auction. Thus, provenance unknown but, the first couple bottles from this case have shown fine. Fr 750ml, VTS fill. Stood bottle for days, then decanted for about an hour and served alongside the '82 GL (same prep). The characteristics of each remain very similar. Interestingly, each of these two bottles showed a bit of tasty spice, a trait I had not previously experienced. Overall, consistent with previous note: "the 83 simply lacked both the length of finish of the 82 and a tiny bit of its 'Je ne sais quoi.' Dark crimson color, slight miniscus - looked terrific. Lovely tobacco and wet stone nose. Sweet cassis on the attack, nicely integrated palate overall. Medium-long finish. Drinking very nicely today. Little reason to delay opening. 92-93 pts."
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11/28/2013 - adanacsim Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of the few times I lost a cork into the bottle so I was worried about how it would fare up for our Thanksgiving dinner. As it turned out there were no problems at all. The color was a deep garnet, the nose was full and the wine was delicious. Full-bodied, fruity and well-balanced. Unlike the previous reviewer I've opted to keep my last remaining bottle for another 5 years or so.
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11/21/2013 - Snowryeder Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still delicious. Drink now.
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10/29/2013 - psrv wrote: 89 Points
1983 Bordeaux Blind (Berkeley): Group's #3; my #7; 2 first; 2 second; 5 third; 2 last. Great nose of meat, leather, and cedar. Unfortunately, the palate was rather simple with red fruits and pepper. Medium-bodied, with decent fruit and acidity, and a medium finish.
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10/19/2013 - canan wrote: 93 Points
30th Birthday - Bordeaux Wine (1983) (Le Sommelier, Copenhagen): Super intense nose with black currant and iron but also a little petroleum.
Juicy dark plum palate with an almost young profile. Lovely structure and a medium-long aftertaste.
Also showing some tertiary notes of animal-cage and wet hay.
A lovely wine!
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9/29/2013 - Morg Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bottle in good condition, cork saturated all the way through. Much lighter than I would have expected. Still plenty of fruit, this is a fantastic value at roughly $80!
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9/22/2013 - Paui wrote: 94 Points
My last bottle. Really liked this wine. Amazing for an '83 St. Julien. I bought 5 bottles 1 1/2 years ago from good storage, seems to be the key.
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9/20/2013 - docjer wrote:
IS THE '84, not the '83
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9/8/2013 - europat55 wrote: 95 Points
This was so delicious tonight! Gorgeous nose with leather and mushrooms notes. Extremely smooth palate. Long finish.
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8/22/2013 - europat55 wrote: 94 Points
1983 Cabernet Retrospective, Part 2 (Tasted Blind) (Tom's house in Palo Alto, California): Light red color. Fabulous earthy nose with cedar and some (good) bret (A). Gorgeous palate (A-)
My #1, Group's #3 (5 pts). Tasted blind.
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7/26/2013 - ricknat1 wrote: 90 Points
seemed past its prime to me
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7/22/2013 - davergny Likes this wine: 92 Points
Leather, pralines, floral, plum & black currant on the nose. Same on the palate, with some depth and richness, and a long finish showing some complexity. Very nice wine. I don't think this will improve but will certainly drink well for some time.
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7/20/2013 - g-man wrote: 90 Points
This was a classic example of mature GL with that typical "funk" that Cordier wines exibit. While this won't improve with any additional age, it held together well over the three hours it was consumed. When you still buy wines like this for $70 at auction that can be drunk now I have to question the value buying new releases that cost more
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7/8/2013 - latimer Likes this wine: 94 Points
Remarkable - better than an 82 drunk recently. Almost Burgundian nose, so much curranty red/black fruit, very aromatic. Soft, then classic St Julien earthy/cedary, of course fully mature, some tannings hanging in there but a great 83, delicious now and in no great hurry...
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6/12/2013 - Schwarzer Hund Likes this wine:
A nicely matured Bordeaux. Bouquet of red and black raspberry, cedar, cigar box and a pronounced mushroom aroma. Still good fruit in balance with tannins and alcohol. Medium weight on palate with a lingering finish. Must be getting towards the end of its run but it was very enjoyable this evening.
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5/4/2013 - Dave Canada wrote: 96 Points
Super Tasting 5 of 6 - Chris does 1983 Bordeaux (Dundas, Ontario): Tasted blind
In a word…..stunning
Flowers, mushroom, spice, beef blood, minerals, black currants, cassis and pencil lead…very pretty nose. The palate is so floral….cherry, spice, minerals, tea leaves, black currants, and flowers are so prominent…the wine is smokey and elegant. Finish is super long and complex with waves of flavours. Awesome wine.
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5/4/2013 - alittle wrote: 96 Points
Tasting Dinner Series (5 of 6); 1983 Bordeaux Horizontal and Trickery (Chris' House): Served blind. Deep garnet with a light brick at the rim. On the nose, blackberry, cassis, dried tobacco, grass clippings, dried herbs, beef blood, roast beef, spent coffee grinds, earth, spice, incense, florals, a touch of sewage and tar. On the palate, this seems quite youthful and alive, with impeccable balance of acidity, and a touch of fine grained tannin on the long finish. Shocked on reveal, as the quality of this wine had me thinking it was a first growth. Exceptional wine.
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5/4/2013 - Wine Canuck wrote: 95 Points
Super Tasting 5 of 6 (1983 Bordeaux w/cali ringers, Hosted by Me): Wow! Big winner here. Nice classic stink, which I find reminiscent of modelling clay. Really beefy, leathery and rustic. Finish is very long with a smoky, tarry note and a mostly resolved palate. Still enough fruit here to keep this in balance. Really great.
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4/30/2013 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Classic Cordier aromatics; so fragrant and compelling to smell with leathery and earthy funk coming together with fresh red and dark fruits and developed cedary and tobacco elements. This is drinking superbly right now, the fruit's still quite rich and very fresh on the palate, but augmented by layers of more savoury mature flavours and the balance is impeccable with the tannins mostly integrated and a very polished, silken texture. Fantastic.
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4/13/2013 - nortonnose Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fr 750ml, VTS fill. Stood bottle for days, then PnP'd alongside the '82 GL. I chuckled that the characteristics of each were nearly identical. Yet the 83 simply lacked both the length of finish of the 82 and a tiny bit of Je ne sais quoi. Dark crimson color, slight miniscus - looked terrific. Lovely tobacco and wet stone nose. Sweet cassis on the attack, nicely integrated palate overall. Medium-long finish. Drinking very nicely today, yet little reason to delay opening my final bottle. 92-93 pts.
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4/12/2013 - thesternowl Likes this wine: 94 Points
A Week Respite in the United Arab Emirates; 4/8/2013-4/14/2013 (Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates): This bottle was hand carried from our cellar in Omaha by our friends Brent and Stephanie. The cork, which came out intact and only saturated 2/3 the way up, seemed in remarkable shape. Although there was very little funk, I elected to decant in a stainless steel water pitcher (only thing I could find) for one hour; just to let it stretch its legs just a bit. Damp forest floor, some mushrooms, old leather, currants, tobbaco, and cocoa on the nose. Sweet cherries on the attack...surprisingly sweet! Then mulberries, black cherries, espresso (american-style), cocoa, leather...at least a 30 second finish. Tannic still...but not burly and I can only imagine they have softened with time. Nice acidity. Really, this was an outstanding wine that's drinking very nicely right now. For those that still have some, I would encourage you to drink them now while they are so enjoyable. A really nice treat for Holly's 30th birthday (early).
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4/6/2013 - EhrlichDY wrote: 93 Points
Too tired this evening with after putting the two kids to bed. See Keith Akers note for a good description of the wine.
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3/31/2013 - Paui wrote: 94 Points
Gruaud Larose has always been one of my favorites even in vintages like 1984 producing a wine drinking well. The 1983 is in the progressed stage of maturity but still lots of meat on the bone. Tannins have completely integrated into the classic Gruaud taste. Dark brick red colours in the glass, lots of sandy depot. This wine has done well with 30 years now. It will not get better and, hard to tell will sure stay for the next couple of years or even a decade or more from now.
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3/30/2013 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Deep garnet, paler at the rim. Mature left bank nose, gentle aromas of cedar, herb and muted blackcurrant fruit. Good acidity and shape onthe atatck and through the mid-palate with flavours similar to the nose, joined by old leather and the damp smell of autumn. Gentle, harmonious, not profound or exciting but really very nice and classic mature claret. Bare ****
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3/18/2013 - -E- wrote: 94 Points
Night of the titans (Onda Mezzanine, Oslo): (Blind) Klar, mørksvart rød med hint av oransje. Lys menisk. Dyp, parfymert nese av mørksvarte kirsebær, friske solbær, jord, blyant og mild vaniljesødme.
Tett, kjølig, frisk og tørr, men saftig frukt. Flott syre! Nydelig friskhet. Tørre, men lette tanniner i avslutningen. Elegant.
94+ P
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3/18/2013 - LWI wrote: 97 Points
Anti Bag in Box Dinner: Served blind. Some development on the color; graphite and minerals on the nose, deep fruit, lots of cedar. At least I was the West side, guessed Paulliac or St. Julien. A truly underrated vintage of Gruaud, and side-by-side it has often outperformed the 82. Perfect specimen.
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2/17/2013 - boxedwine wrote: 93 Points
gave it another try and this bottle was much better than the last one. gruaud barnyard delicious!
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2/14/2013 - Aenie wrote: 92 Points
gruad larose style , flavor is good , time to drink , jam and yummy , big cassis and forest , terror is dig in my mind
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2/9/2013 - KenK Likes this wine: 95 Points
1983 Guarad LaRose
Dark rich deep sweet black fruit nose w/black smokey appeal.
Chewy dark spicy flavors nice depth of dry fruits and sexy texture.
Long with sweet black edgy profile. Still shows a bit of lively tannins. Enough stuffing to keep on trucking for another decade. 95
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2/7/2013 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
1983 Red Bordeaux Horizontal with Richard Brazier (Handford Wines, London): Another classic old school bordeaux. Balanced and well made. Quite secondary on the nose and a touch less open than the talbot. A touch on the harsh side, dry feel on the palate with firm tannins. Good experience 92 and drinks well now
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2/4/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
James turns 30 years old (Trenchermen, Chicago IL): Nose: Classic Gruaud funk is noticeable right from the get go along with tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, leather, and spice box tones. There's really good complexity and depth to it.
Taste: There are very nice tannins still persisting with a real silky medium feel and medium acidity. Well balanced with very good depth and wonderful tones of leather, cedar, dark red fruits, meaty tones, and some funky tones as well.
Overall: This was everything one would want from a Cordier Gruaud. Very well balanced with great depth and a real sense of class to it. This was a real treat on the night.
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2/2/2013 - Bernt Olav wrote: 91 Points
Dette var en bedre flaske en den forrige. Litt over bn fill, korken kom ut i to deler og var ca en cm gjennomtrukket. Definitivt moden og antagelig over toppen, men deilig nå med sin silkemyke sjarme, sømløs, lær, svak tobakk osv. Ble konsumert til entrecote av kalv med enkelt tilbehør, igjen ikke uventet en god match!Min siste flaske og kommer jeg over flere til gunstig pris så kjøper jeg gjerne.
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1/16/2013 - Bernt Olav wrote: 89 Points
En litt dårlig flaske med topp sholder fill og gjennomtrukket kork. Stram og relativt gjerrig både på duft og smak. God, men mangler litt frukt. Fungerte bra sammen med en saftig entrecote.
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1/14/2013 - winelovr2001 wrote:
Good, quite a bit of brett though
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12/17/2012 - St Paul wrote: 94 Points
Lovely mature wine of high quality. Great stable, earth, black currant, tobacco, coffee and green veggies. From a magnum.
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12/14/2012 - margaux321 Likes this wine: 100 Points
This is a perfect example of fabulous Bordeaux. This wine was decanted about 15 minutes prior to pouring. Color- dark opaque red, with no significant amber ring. First nose, leather and cedar box; second nose, roasted vanilla, blackberries, licorice and China ink. On the palate, big body, mouthful, with notes of pepper, spice and ripe fruits with long long long finish! Wow, even better that the 1983 Margaux and the 1982 Petrus! Pairing dish was Pork cheeks with Bordeaux wine reduction. This one goes in the books!
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12/6/2012 - tennis wrote: 89 Points
Colour very good - no rim. This has been my first bottle and I could
imagine it was more attractive some years ago allthough it is still fairly
good but laks some pep. Don t hope this to get more delicious. A good
gift for someone to be born in 1983.
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12/6/2012 - tennis Likes this wine: 89 Points
colour very good - no rim. This has been my first bottle and I could imagine it was mor attractive some years ago. It is still fairly good
but laks some pep. don t hope this to get more delicious. A good gift
for someone to be born in 1983.
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10/26/2012 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened a bottle of my favorite wine with a Montecristo #2 after a Kobe Beef Burger at Boon Fly Cafe. Lots of earth, cedar, leather, and hints of tobacco on the nose, more of the same on the palate, dark red color with no signs of brick. I have been lucky to consume two cases of this wine in the last thirty years. It always brings back memories of lunch with Georges Pauli at Chateau Cantermerle. To me this wine is showing its age but still will live on for ten to twenty years.
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10/12/2012 - boxedwine wrote: 86 Points
definitely on the way down
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6/1/2012 - -E- wrote: 91 Points
Bordeaux Søskenparsmaking (Moss, Norway): Rødbrun med oransje kant. Nese av skogbunn, lær, hint av plommer og kokte jordbær. Noe vegetalt preg. Varm inngang. Bløt, bløt frukt. Tett. Ganske bra syre, som bærer vinen godt. Fin lengde.
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6/1/2012 - LWI wrote: 91 Points
Bordeaux Siblings (Moss, Norway): Quite tight, but with warm fruit, forest floor. Fine wine but not on par with the 82.
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6/1/2012 - Apotheca wrote: 93 Points
At first a little muted on the nose, but opened up quite fast. Great mouthfeel, with quite some power attacking the palate. The wine with the most intensity this far. Long.
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5/31/2012 - godx wrote: flawed
Sunken cork, about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. I pulled the cork out, carefully; it crumbled and broke into two pieces (I needed to use the Durand to get the last piece out). When I poured the wine, it was lighter red/orange at the core and fully orange/brown at the rim. It smelt dried out, with balsamic notes, some pepper and not much else. On the palate, it was very light, offered little fruit, and was drying and sour on the finish. Safe to assume this bottle was damaged at some point as this was not a representative bottle. Bummer.
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5/27/2012 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
oak is fully integrated by now, lots of Bordeaux funk, full body and lots of years left in this wine
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4/22/2012 - gsb88 wrote: 92 Points
Opened at 2:00 to breath and enjoyed at 8:00. Medium body/smooth/earthy. Time to drink.
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3/25/2012 - edjBoca wrote: 93 Points
A little barnyard on opening. That blew off to leave the mature fruit, medium body, with some acid and tannins to frame the fruit. The finish is medium. Mature.... I will drink my last bottle soon. Delicious!
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3/21/2012 - Matt Neel wrote:
Wineberserkers Eat Duck (Peking Duck House (Midtown), NYC): Bricked deep blood, but hard to read as I got the sediments. Textbook GL nose, tar, bell pepper, cedar cigar box, plum; immensely full of character. This nose is nothing short of spectacular. Palate on the plane of "Being There" resolved, yet hanging around and will be for a long time. Fruit is there but thinning; drying very slowly. Medium bodied at this stage. Fantastic length. And all that just on the sediments!
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3/3/2012 - EGunderson wrote: 93 Points
This wine continues to impress.
Wonderful Gruaud nose, funk and smoke like crazy on this bottle. Great meaty flavors. Finish was a bit shortish, but overall this wine was really nice.
Fifth time I've had this wine over the last four or so years. Other than one corked bottle, all others have been great. Plenty of life left in this one.
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2/18/2012 - dbg wrote:
dark red core, bricking at rim. Nice earthy nose without any bretty merde, medium body, has developed nice complexity, medium long finish. Excellent but not in the same league with the wines in Flight 2 or 4. This bottle has a little history: it was the last of a batch of wines I inherited from my father in 1991. I kept holding it and holding it until I realized if I held it too long it would lose its magic without anyone enjoying it. Not a proper legacy, so I brought it to a BWE event where it was administered appropriate last rites. It kept getting better the more I thought about this, so my rating is far from objective.
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1/15/2012 - WineAggregate Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine showed beautifully. Soft and rich, fragrant with dark fruit and subtle herbs, and with plenty of age still left.
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1/5/2012 - WINEFLAKE wrote: 96 Points
Delicious. May be better than the 1982. Still drinking astoundingly well. One of the finest ’83 I have ever tasted.
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12/24/2011 - Old Course 72 wrote: 91 Points
A bit more on the tart side both at start and at finish than the last bottle. Subtle nose, deep color, structured and complex. Would emphasize it needs time after opening, this bottle needed two hours to integrate all flavors.
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12/23/2011 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Popped and poured - HUGE mistake. I am writing this note at 7 am in the morning after discovering that one glass was left in the bottle (it was served last at 7 people - 8 bottles dinner). For the love of Bacchus, decant this baby! I am sipping it 12 hours after opening, 12 hours spend in the bottle on the kitchen counter and this is just divine! I don't care what will happen for the rest of the day, my morning today is just perfect, even after doing dishes since 4 am in the nude! Andy, you are not the only one who loves doing that!
:)
Very balanced, very and gracefully aged, long finish and this one is a keeper or for instant gratification.
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12/17/2011 - Reptibark wrote: flawed
Corked. Like, really corked. Super disappointed.
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11/26/2011 - Old Course 72 wrote: 94 Points
Dark ruby color, light at the rim. Nose of cassis and cedar. Medium bodied and refined on the palate, nice fruit in the forefront developing depth and complexity, still robust tannins balancing fruit and providing structure. Great finish of length, a completely enjoyable wine.
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10/2/2011 - prettydeceextrap wrote: 92 Points
(A) Excellent wine. Perfect booming funkiness on the nose. Soft purple color with orange rim. Multi-layered, with a sweet liquor-like finish. Smooth, balanced, integrated. Not sure there is a reason to hold it longer, but it certainly didn't seem to have lost anything at all.
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7/15/2011 - timmyc wrote: 92 Points
Sensational. Double decanted and still developing as the bottle slipped away - suprising youth and depth. Outstanding.
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7/3/2011 - WinoRick wrote: 94 Points
Classic Bordeaux nose, with the requisite funkiness; midweight and perfectly balanced; at its peak but seemingly with plenty of life left.
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2/18/2011 - G Kapoor wrote: 93 Points
Dark plum in color with bricking at the rim. Nose jumps of sweet cassis, tobacco, and cedar. Medium bodied and refined on the palate with berries at the forefront leading to a very nice finish. After 30 min the finish was dominated with a bloody animal meat aftertaste which I enjoyed. 93pts
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2/14/2011 - french16 wrote:
Pristine bottle. I loved the nose, a little barnyardy (even if others thought it was showing a lot of brett), still showing plenty of dark fruit. Violets. Beautiful balance and elegance on the palate, resolved tannins.
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12/5/2010 - rnellans wrote: 90 Points
Double decanted 2 hours prior. Definitely switch gears from the burgs. Quite bretty on the nose, but still with some floral, leather and tobacco notes. Lacked depth on the palate as compared to the PLL. Not a great GL but if served on it’s own, would be enjoyable. Time to drink up however IMO.
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10/29/2010 - paul195 wrote: 93 Points
Still has that funky nose, smoother, richer than I remember. Very nice finish.
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10/23/2010 - Argrath wrote: 92 Points
(Old note)
fully mature nose with old-school aromas: damp cellar, barnyard, cow manure, roots, animal and Cordier style poo.
Quite austere, determined palate. Old school. Black currant gives freshness. Cedar, sadle, tobacco. Better taste than nose. Long finish with liquorice notes.
Tasted blind this was identified as Gruaud-Larose early 80's. Solid performance.
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6/19/2010 - DaleW wrote:
Plenty of the expected funk, and as normal some are turned off and it doesn't bother the rest of us. Blackcurrant, forest floor, barnyard, long and deep. A-/B+
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6/18/2010 - blanquito wrote: 93 Points
1980s Bordeaux; 6/18/2010-6/20/2010: No mistaking this one, with the Cordier funk in full force (it blew off quickly). Zesty flavors of creosote, cinder, smoke with complex fruit, a little hulking (oxymoron?), and again, bigger/richer than I was expected for an ’83. Mature and delicious.
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3/21/2010 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Leo's Blind Tasting Group - March '10 edition (Braeburn, NYC): Superb aromatics and a flavour profile with layers of leather, sandalwood, cedar, tobacco/herbal notes and still-bright red fruits, such finesse and balance with a polished, silky texture, tannins feel resolved and integrated and the savoury, leathery finish just stays with you.
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2/15/2010 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
One of the best Gruaud Larose I ever had. Young ruby red color, the wine is in the perfect shape at the moment.
Will be enjoyable for many years to come.
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1/31/2010 - gravelld wrote: 92 Points
Graphite, cherry and earth nose. The palate is so elegant and clean, showing cherry, raspberry and pencil shavings. Clean, toasted integrated oak. Beautiful.
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12/11/2009 - cos82 wrote: 93 Points
From Magnum. Opened, but not decanted 2+ hours prior to pour. In my cellar 20+ years since shortly after release as $26.81 price tag on bottle will attest. Still surprisingly youthful to the eye. Red cherry on the rim and black cherry to the core. A beautiful nose. Not one that fills the room, but evident each time you bring the glass to your lips. No Gruaud funk, but cherry and lilac leaning to the floral side. Lovely sweet integrated palate of cassis, blackberry, lead pencil and rose. A beauty. Goodbye old friend.
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12/5/2009 - M DU VIN wrote: 88 Points
Still hanging on, but the frrut is lacking. Nice nose of lead pencil.
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10/2/2009 - psmith wrote:
Clear family resemblance with the '85 enjoyed right before this. Some green tobacco and light red cherry. More raw in the tannic structure. Medium bodied. Mature. Enjoyable.
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9/26/2009 - canan wrote:
A great bdx nose with black currant fruit, pine, black pepper and a hint of green bush. The nose seems a little dusty with a little some cigarbox.
Classic black currant flavour with a little lead pencil and some green tones. Impressively fresh with a fabulous elegance.
Does however seem a little more intense on the nose than on the palate.
Overall a good wine!
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8/27/2009 - davergny wrote: 92 Points
Full nose of currants, blackberry leaf, bell pepper, earthy. Mature, drinking well, fine and complex, good cabernet fruit, chambord, tannins resolved, nice finish.
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6/6/2009 - BailliSacks wrote: 90 Points
Deep ruby color, no bricking. Cork in perfect condition. Deep, powerful nose of dark soil, maybe dried fruit, all very dark, but also some nice perfume and sweet flowers hiding in there. Muscular on palate. Strong and solid, not terribly complex or subtle. More mineshaft than pepper. Opened very gradually over 90 minutes or so, could have used more time to breathe. Was remarkably food-tolerant, unlike many old Bordeaux. Overall, this was quite enjoyable, very well balanced, mature but not at all tarnished by age, could certainly last quite a bit longer.
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2/22/2009 - dbg wrote:
This is a bottle that spent its first decade in my dad's basement at temps in the 60s before finding its way to my temp controlled cellar. The fill is within 1/2" of the cork, which is wet and soft but comes out intact. The wine has a dark red core, lightening to rim. but with no bricking. Nose is shy at first, with some currant and earth, medium body, and a bit plain on the palate at first. As it warms up a little more fruit comes forward, but it takes a good hour to really start opening up. When it does, the nose starts showing cassis, dark cherries, and a nice complex mix of road tar, smoke, and forest floor. The wine spreads out on the palate, becoming medium to full bodied, with nice fruit and complexity following through from the nose. Balance is excellent, and finish shows persistent cassis and now darker fruits, smoke, road tar and forest floor with a little tannin still present. Still getting better after another hour with some additional sweet complexity starting to show up. Neither the color, nose nor the palate show any signs of the wine tiring out. This is excellent, and should continue to drink well for another 5 years if stored well.
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2/22/2009 - loverboy wrote: 91 Points
Open about 1 hour prior drinking. Beautiful ruby color, no sign of fading. Great bottle with the aroma of minerals, meaty, coffee, blueberries. Full, dense with espresso like in mouth , a little low acidity but compensated by black fruits. Sweet fine tannin with very good stable finish. This wine stood up all night
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2/8/2009 - gravelld wrote: 91 Points
Coffee, toasty wood and dark cherry fruit on the nose. Sweet, raisined dark cherry fruit on the attack and then a mid palate of more coffee, cedarwood and cigar box. Elegant Fully resolved, drink up over the next couple of years.
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1/1/2009 - AlexHop wrote: 87 Points
Bottle was pretty faded. Cork broke apart and had to punch it into the bottle and decant through a strainer.
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12/26/2008 - DaleW wrote:
My WOTN. Cordier funk was too much for one person, but a pleasant accent for me. Cassis fruit, cigarbox, and cow pasture. Good length, holds up well over entire evening. What mature St Julien should be. A-/B+
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12/10/2008 - EGunderson wrote: 92 Points
Fourth time I've had this wine, one bottle corked, this one consistent with the other two good bottles.
I love this wine, great earth and funk on the nose, dark fruit and earth on the palate, with a long and enjoyable finish. I think this wine still has some life left, hopefully I'll be able to snatch up a few more at auction over the next couple of years.
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12/8/2008 - M DU VIN wrote: 93 Points
Wow, what a great wine that should drink well for quite some time. Dark wine with no hint of bricking.
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11/29/2008 - gravelld wrote: 90 Points
Raisined, aged and sweetened blackcurrant, eucalyptus, toasty wood and graphite on the nose. On the palate more minty and sweet dried fruit, the mid palate shows more mushroomy and earthy evolved tastes. Delineated, focussed, good acidity and fine balance. Meaty, but arresting and requires attention. Medium, liquorice finish.
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10/29/2008 - Rupert wrote: 95 Points
Horizontal tasting of 1983 bordeaux (Institute of Directors, London): Wow, the intensity of the fragrance on this was extraordinary, a bit farmyardy, but deep, rich, earthy, lots of cedar, waves of flavour - fantastic
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9/22/2008 - jreis wrote:
Opened without decanting and let air for a couple of hours. This was in a great spot. Nice earthy mellow nose, a hint of green pepper and ripe dark earth, menthol and tobacco. Nice meaty black licorice fruit on the palate. Still a litlte bit of the fruiit of its youth left, but with all secondary tannins on the finish just an elegant old claret.
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9/7/2008 - EGunderson wrote: flawed
Cork from hell, half of it sawdust ending up in the bottle. No smell, no taste. Very disappointing, hopefully my last bottle will work out better.
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8/31/2008 - gravelld wrote: 91 Points
A little funky on opening, this blew off progressively while drinking. Still plenty of colour. The nose developed blackcurrant and classic cedarwood notes, some lead and vaguely violet notes. The attack is all bright blackcurrant, this recedes into more tobacco notes and latterly eucalyptus on the medium finish. Very elegant, and correct, a lovely freshness with the fruit. Medium to full body.
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8/8/2008 - DaleW wrote:
get that Cordier funk right away. When I remark, someone says "what brett?" while Paul is pushing away his glass saying too much brett. Ah, the variabilities of brett sensitivity. This amount (and strain) of brett doesn't bother me at all. It's more cow pasture than bandaid, more animal than sewage. The fruit is rich and dark, the wine structured and virile. Cassis, tobacco, barnyard, and spice. A-
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8/7/2008 - MRichman wrote:
Bordeaux 1983 horizontal (Morton's NYC): A little funky, round, softish, broad, warm. Long finish. Meaty with good weight & grip.
B++
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6/30/2008 - vancouvermatt wrote: 92 Points
Initially a bit musty on the nose, but that blew off to reveal intoxicating aromas of blackcurrant and cedar. On the palate, one finds a delicate, velvety wine with fully resolved tannins and well judged acidity. Drink now.
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5/13/2008 - rickspicks wrote: 91 Points
Typical Gruaud Larose with a pronounced musty, meaty, barnyard nose. Brick color, medium bodied with tannins almost gone. Mostly plum flavors remaining with perhaps a hint of licorice. Not as complex but a bit more elegant than some other 80's vintages of Gruaud -- overall a good example of a classic, aged bordeaux.
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4/6/2008 - EGunderson wrote: 92 Points
2nd Time I've had this wine recently, consistent notes on both bottles. Overall an excellent wine, although this one died off a bit quicker than the previous bottle.
Earth/dirt on the nose. Fruit and earth on the palate with a very nice finish.
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2/19/2008 - EGunderson wrote: 92 Points
Very nice, meaty, stinky, funky nose (my wife thought outhouse).
Some fruit, earth, and meat on the palate. Very smooth throughout, with a nice finish.
Surprisingly, this wine is not at the end of it's life, no need to drink these up immediately.
All in all, very enjoyable, mature Bordeaux.
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2/11/2008 - 60ouvrees wrote:
A little bit of cedar and cassis on the nose. Fruit is fading quickly and tannins are completely gone but this is still a pleasant drink. Wouldn't hold for too much longer, though.
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12/4/2007 - reichken wrote: 92 Points
Drunk with slow braised lamb shanks, went really well..very dark wine, surprisinglyso, opened about 5 hours before dinner and the nose was realy coming around...asphalt, dark fruits, eucalyptus, in the mouth it was thick and full, was developed but still vibrant, good combination of black fruits and meaty barnyard flavors, it continued to evolve well with dinner and i wanted to see what it might be like the next day but by the time dinner finished it was all gone
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11/14/2007 - DiveAlaska wrote: 90 Points
Classic mature Bordeaux. Nothing earth shattering, just a really nice claret.
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10/2/2007 - PatrikO wrote: 91 Points
Such a pleasant drink now, the 83 and 89 Gruauds are quite similar, the 83 a bit more opulent, while the 89 feels more youthful and has a longer life ahead. This bottle has the typical Gruaud twang to it, leather, tobacco and black fruit, the wine has reached its plateau and is very smooth with only very mild tannins. It is not the most complex Gruaud, but it makes up for it in elegance. Classic mature claret!
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12/29/2006 - David Wilson wrote:
Roasted meats and roasted green pepper on the nose. A faint whiff of creamy oak (or is it the fruit?) emerges with a swirl. Wow, this definitely reminds me of the first GL I tried (’96). It is a big, meaty wine, softened by age. There is a creamy fruit note of cassis & blackberry, minerals, char-grilled green pepper and red meat/pork, gunpowder green tea, and spicy saucisson (dry sausages). Lingering woodsmoke and cassis on the finish, which is somewhat drying.
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12/9/2006 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #4 (Sammamish, WA): Tapenade, menthol, a hint of tobacco, a black personality, lots of mineral. Pauillac? This reminds me a lot of the 1986 Talbot wth that classic Cordier funk, a definite thick stew of horse. There was enough green stuff going on that I also thought this might be a St. Estephe, possibly Cos. Still a grippy wine, lacking the depth and complexity of the rest of the flight but still pretty darned awesome.
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10/23/2006 - paul195 wrote: 92 Points
Initial funky nose blew off after 15 mins or so and was replaced by a malange of dark fruits with spice and cedar notes. Medium bodied with softening, but still present, tannins. Good balance nice finish.
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10/9/2006 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
(1st growth tasting). My 3rd place, group WOTN! Full black/red color. Full aroma of red fruit and sour 'age' and a hint of stewed tomatoes. Full tannic black fruit with black licorice on the palate. Long finish. Opened up and score improved substantially with time in glass.
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4/29/2006 - psmith wrote: 89 Points
A heavy green tobacco note with chocolate and plummy Merlot notes. Light-medium bodied and, while note a showstopper, classy and refined. Mature, though in no way in decline. Really enjoyable wine.
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4/5/2006 - MRichman wrote:
RFG Dinner (David Wainwright event) (Triomphe, NYC): Dense, thick fruit. Good balance. Lots going on.
A--
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7/15/2005 - Mlermontov wrote:
Roy in NYC part 1: "The Brothers" at Tribeca (Tribeca Grill): something is off here...wood..not much else.
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3/21/2005 - MRichman wrote:
Gruaud Larose Vertical (Michael's NYC): Thick, sweet, big. Also some big sharp tannins. Nice.
B/B+
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2/18/2005 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasting four 1983 Bordeaux, second place. Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of mint, opened nicely,more of the same on the palate, rich, creamy, earthy taste, intense medium finish. Tasted many times, similar notes.
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12/6/2004 - TGHaddon wrote:
Cut garnet colour with a little bricking at the rim. Most clarety nose so far in tasting, but does have a touch of the sappy about it. Somewhat stinky / meaty character but some subtle black cherry fruit and a little pencil lead. Smooth, well integrated palate, good concentration of fruit, plenty of structure from acid and tannin, filled in with cherry and plum fruit as well as secondary notes of smoke and liquorice. Good length and a nice refreshing quality. Sturdy drinking Claret, has some life left if not much likelihood of improvement. B (CECWINE)
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1/21/2004 - dbg wrote:
Fill to within 1/2" of cork, cork is moist and soft. Color dark red,
slight lightening at rim but no bricking. Full nose of sweet currant
and cherry fruits, game, leather, good hint of earthiness and a bit
of forest floor, nicely complex. Medium body, g
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7/25/2003 - dbg wrote:
Outstanding. Tied for wine #2 of the night with Talbot
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4/5/2002 - dbg wrote:
dark red, slight lightening at edge, sweet fruits, leather, tar, and
mild Cordier funk on nose, still plenty of fruit with good
complexity, finishes with tannins coming to fore, but after about an
hour this smooths out
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11/6/2000 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Bordeaux night (Darling Mills, Glebe): Brick red, with orangey/brown hue at the rim. Pungent charcoal-like nose with smoky characters and cedary notes. Very much an aged bouquet. On the palate a bit resiny, but with a long even balanced finish. Just medium bodied.
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6/10/2000 - dbg wrote:
dark red, bit of orange at rime, nice ripe mature complex nose with
cassis, berry, tar, less funk than usual for Cordier, ripe mature
fruit and sweet notes on the palate, still well balanced with acid
and tannin, nice medium finish
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6/5/1999 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasting 6 Bordeaux from 1983 to 1989 (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Lots of pepper, tobacco, dust and berry on the nose, lovely, rich fruit, big body, feminine taste, great acid, nice, rich tobacco on the finish. My #4 of 6.
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2/11/1999 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 95 Points
9 Bordeaux Tasted (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Gorgeous, rich, fruity, nose tobacco, dust, meat and more, same on the palate, big body, very tasty, great legs in the glass, small fine tannins on the long finish. My #1 of 9, Group #2.
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12/28/1998 - mdefreitas wrote: 85 Points
Pre Auction Wine Tasting w/ lots of Bordeauxs (NYC): Silky, nice. Nothing spectacular.
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6/7/1997 - dbg wrote:
dark deep red, muted nose of berry, cassis, bit of funk, very tight
at first with significant tannins, really opened up about 3 hours
later to show rich earthy/fruity nose with fair amount of funk, good
palate feel & complexity but not as developed as the
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4/4/1996 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 85 Points
Nice, lovely fruit on the nose, very rich, jammy, touch simple, tired, good acid, good fruit, long finish. My #6, Group #3 tied.
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3/20/1995 - dbg wrote:
excellent, mature Bdx
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1/14/1995 - dbg wrote:
fully mature, excellent
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5/21/1994 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 95 Points
7 Bordeaux including 4 from the 1982 Vintage (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice rich fruity nose of tobacco and smoke, very rich, smoky taste, very rich fruit, hint of very soft tannins, great fruit, medium/long finish. My #1 and Group #1.
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11/14/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 80 Points
9 Bordeaux 1981, 1982, 1983 Pichon Lalande, La Lagune, Gruaud Larose smelled too woody and earthy on the nose for everyone, nice, ripe fruit in the mouth but medium body, barky finish. Group #9 and same for me.
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