Licorice and violet smoldering in a broken mineral oil. Roasted Calabrian figs. Espresso. Cherry cordial. Mint. Graphite. Quite sweet and thick with tannic upholstery. Game bird, broiled and dripped over truffle-scented, earthen, ash pottery.
While this was the weakest of the Bordeaux that day it was not without interest. Sadly, just too thin and too old for much pleasure. The subtle aromas of dried licorice and earth were more compelling than the palate and the finish was short. We left almost half the bottle.
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Incredibly powerful, almost fiery wine -- plenty of life left to go, even after 60 years. Full and vibrant on the tongue, with integrated tannins and a long, satisfying finish. Did not fade after 24 hours.
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Somewhat cloudy crimson with brick edges in the glass. Nose is initially ashy and smoky scorched earth over darker red berry and darker currant fruit. Quickly brightening up and blossoming on the nose. Softer and sweeter red fruit coming up. Not herbaceous but a certain menthol and mintiness. Nose is highly detailed and intricate: graphite, stone, ash, menthol, spice, dark chocolate, and dark red berry. Beginning to show nice ripeness. Don’t see the classic bell pepper. Palate is surprisingly lush if just a little tart at the edges. Chocolatey, but also with blood and iron. Texturally soft and silky, round with a sort of stone mineral texture. A little dusty but mostly fresh. Best off a fresh pour and a quickly fleeting thereafter if critical. Very good and certainly a special bottle, technically strong, detailed and nuanced, but not a towering powerhouse like left bank first growth ‘59s.
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Nice bottle that showed much better than a previous one. Similar to previous bottle it had a slightly metallic nose, reminiscent of blood. Here it was beautiful incorporated though thanks to other sweeter notes such as strawberries. Developed nicely with air and only got better and better.
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Right of the bottle with a very powerful nose - a punch of cherries almost. Over time it unfortunately fell apart a bit with a metallic blood like component overtaking everything else, denying balance to the wine.
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1950s Bordeaux from Elke (Bad Neuenahr): The first smell was just amazing, cherries, red berries, great sweetness, it turned fast into barnyard notes, iron and blood. Started to remind me more of northern rhone than St.Emilion. Started out as a 95 points wine and landed quickly at 90ish...
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Chateau Cheval Blanc vs Chateau Angelus (Rare-Bordeaux-Weine, Wachtberg (Germany)): WOW - what an amazing experience! Probably one of the top 10 wines I had in my life. Beautiful complex nose with a lot of ripe red fruits left. Incredible body - very elegant with an balanced structure. Ripe cherries, blackberries, a little wet forest soil and dried tobacco on the palate. Bottle and cork were in a perfect condition. If you have a bottle like this from a good provenance you'll have at least 10 more years of fun.
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This was obviously a brilliant, breathtaking 100 point wine in it's prime, but with fading fruit it is definitely on the ebb. dense rust colored with a nose of stewed prunes and wood. Not terribly enjoyable to taste. Make haste and drink up.
If a date, this was a 60 year old Sophia Loren, who has enough life experience and beauty to keep you wondering all night what a night alone with her was like 35 years ago.
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A Night of Old Bordeaux at Latour Restaurant, Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg, NJ - stunningly expressive nose of blueberry liqueur, sweet roses and mint. On the palate, this is quite mature with a fantasticly thick, decadent texture yet the wine is light on its feet and possesses gorgeous flavors of very ripe dark berries, figs and dark spices. The finish is very complex with notes of decaying leaves and prunes late. Best right out of the bottle so best to drink up now but what a glorious experience to taste such a mature, exotic wine.
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Nose of dark chocolate, caramel, malted milk balls, and red fruit. Palate brings butterscotch candy, dark earth, muddled dark fruit (black cherry, fig, prune?), tar and white and black pepper. Smooth in the mouth. Overall a very impressive but not blockbuster wine. Decanted for a little more than one hour. Largely consumed without food.
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At a White Horse Tavern in the north country: Very hot, a bit pruny, much sweetness, some oxidation and very far from the quality of the first bottle of this, I have ever had, which was served to me at this very table and from this very cellar. NR.
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Drunk at a '59 vs '61 dinner at the Mandarin Grill. I don't recall having this wine before but I have had such good experiences with Cheval Blanc from this period that despite its lack of super high scores I expected that it would be lovely and pleasingly it was just that. It was the only Right Bank wine on the night and it certainly showed a distinct character when compared to its Left Bank cousins. Far more delicate, almost pretty and so much so that I feared it might not hold up in the glass but that was never an issue. Perhaps a little difficult to compare with blockbusters like '59 Latour it nevertheless held its own.
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The Gilded Man (Aalborg, Denmark): Great, great wine. I guessed Bordeaux in 1982, and that says it. It is neither the oldest nor the most expensive wine I have tasted, but it is clearly the best really old Bordeaux wine, I have met in my life, and clearly better than, for example Petrus 1945 and 1947 - quoted from memory. In complete harmony with notes of coffee, chocolate, truffle, etc. with a hint of black currant in the still vibrant fruit. The tannins were completely dissolved and wine went on and on. Bravo.
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A truly fabulous wine! The bottle had a high shoulder fill and was is spectacular condition once decanted. Color was a bricked, but the wine had an amazing nose, great balance and a huge finish. We drank the wine on its own over 2 hours.
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low shoulder fill, cork pushed in somewhat, pruniness blew off after a while, deep, big, must have been quite a wine. This bottle flawed due to storage somewhere along the way, still, 2 thumbs up!
Østkantsmaking: Dyp rød med innslag av oransje. Nesten ikke bruning i kanten. Deilig, sødmefull og generøs nese med plommer, røde bær, solbær Følger dessverre ikke helt opp i munnen; Noe flat og smal frukt. Tørr. Lett bitter avslutning.
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Goodbye Dinner for Gabriel's Restaurant (Gabriel's - Highwood IL): Intoxicating aromas of black fruit, great mushrooms and excellent spice. Same profile on palate with plenty of ripe fruit still prominent. While my tasting notes were more comprehensive, I was mostly unable to decipher my handwriting from that point in the evening.
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Incredible crystal clear, light ruby-cranberry color, virtually no sign of age even at the rim. Completely charming nose and palate, showing fig, pomegranate, mild tobacco, sweet cranberry jelly, rose petal, and just a touch of earthy dry leather, with considerable tannic backbone remaining. A bottle of contemplative complexity, elegance and femininity, light but not thin. This bottle could easily have aged another decade or more. This peaked after about 45 minutes of air and held for several hours. From a 375ml bottle, very top shoulder fill. Amazing bottle, hard to imagine this wine showing much better than this.
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This bottle was brought to an offline in London by a very generous person in honor of friend’s birth year. The nose started off with prune juice aromas but quickly evolved to sweet raspberry puree with mushroom/truffle undertones (didn’t hurt that we had shaved truffles on the dish paired with this wine). The palate was pure fruit with more raspberry and raisin and not a hint of tannin. Surprised how fresh and lively the wine was and how long the wine lasted in the glass without fading. Not overly complex, but very graceful and very fun experience.
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This bottle was one I bought in Lyon 4 years ago at an auction. It was Chateau bottled and kept here in France until tonight. Very low shoulder so I was worried that there might be an issue. Not to be. Stunning! One of my favorite wines of the year. The only thing that kept it from getting a perfect score was that it was ready to be drunk now and the initial bright acidity began to fade after a couple hours. This was everything you could ask an old bordeaux to be. Color was dark red with a hint of brown. As Joe said in the note below, it took about 30 minutes to truly open and show it's strength. Wine is such a wonderful thing. My two friends had never had Cheval, let alone a 59. They were mesmerized. So fun!
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Red with only the slightest browning at the rim. Out of the glass comes aromas of raisins and prunes. The attack is great here, and again, another wine that packs intense flavours of luxury chocolate. Initially the wine was a bit tight and un-yielding, but with 30 minutes of air, all came together. Long finish.
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Great Wine Seminar. Château bottled. Tawny. Slightly oxidized. Rustic. Better on the palate but starting to dry out. Clive Coates: “caramel and figs, over-ripe, tropical, balsamic, high volatile acidity, exotic, delicious.”
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12/26/2022 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine: 99 Points
Licorice and violet smoldering in a broken mineral oil. Roasted Calabrian figs. Espresso. Cherry cordial. Mint. Graphite. Quite sweet and thick with tannic upholstery. Game bird, broiled and dripped over truffle-scented, earthen, ash pottery.
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11/8/2021 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
While this was the weakest of the Bordeaux that day it was not without interest. Sadly, just too thin and too old for much pleasure. The subtle aromas of dried licorice and earth were more compelling than the palate and the finish was short. We left almost half the bottle.
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8/9/2020 - ashaley Likes this wine: 98 Points
Incredibly powerful, almost fiery wine -- plenty of life left to go, even after 60 years. Full and vibrant on the tongue, with integrated tannins and a long, satisfying finish. Did not fade after 24 hours.
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7/6/2019 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 96 Points
Somewhat cloudy crimson with brick edges in the glass. Nose is initially ashy and smoky scorched earth over darker red berry and darker currant fruit. Quickly brightening up and blossoming on the nose. Softer and sweeter red fruit coming up. Not herbaceous but a certain menthol and mintiness. Nose is highly detailed and intricate: graphite, stone, ash, menthol, spice, dark chocolate, and dark red berry. Beginning to show nice ripeness. Don’t see the classic bell pepper. Palate is surprisingly lush if just a little tart at the edges. Chocolatey, but also with blood and iron. Texturally soft and silky, round with a sort of stone mineral texture. A little dusty but mostly fresh. Best off a fresh pour and a quickly fleeting thereafter if critical. Very good and certainly a special bottle, technically strong, detailed and nuanced, but not a towering powerhouse like left bank first growth ‘59s.
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6/1/2019 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Cheval Blanc Vertical ‘Chez Elke’ (Hotel Hohenzollern, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler): Second bottle from the same source and the same negociant. This one showed so beautifully. Iron, blood, barnyard notes, but balanced with a richness and length that just developed into a fabulous balance.
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6/1/2019 - hartmarco Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nice bottle that showed much better than a previous one. Similar to previous bottle it had a slightly metallic nose, reminiscent of blood. Here it was beautiful incorporated though thanks to other sweeter notes such as strawberries. Developed nicely with air and only got better and better.
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5/31/2019 - hartmarco wrote:
Right of the bottle with a very powerful nose - a punch of cherries almost. Over time it unfortunately fell apart a bit with a metallic blood like component overtaking everything else, denying balance to the wine.
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5/31/2019 - G_H wrote:
1950s Bordeaux from Elke (Bad Neuenahr): The first smell was just amazing, cherries, red berries, great sweetness, it turned fast into barnyard notes, iron and blood. Started to remind me more of northern rhone than St.Emilion. Started out as a 95 points wine and landed quickly at 90ish...
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5/12/2018 - DrZett Likes this wine: 99 Points
Chateau Cheval Blanc vs Chateau Angelus (Rare-Bordeaux-Weine, Wachtberg (Germany)): WOW - what an amazing experience! Probably one of the top 10 wines I had in my life. Beautiful complex nose with a lot of ripe red fruits left. Incredible body - very elegant with an balanced structure. Ripe cherries, blackberries, a little wet forest soil and dried tobacco on the palate. Bottle and cork were in a perfect condition. If you have a bottle like this from a good provenance you'll have at least 10 more years of fun.
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4/4/2018 - fcxj wrote: 98 Points
Arbor Magnums. Incredible lift and energy, awesome wine. Baking spice aromatics. Glossy, fresh, shockingly carbonic palate which settled.
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10/14/2017 - G_H Likes this wine: 96 Points
Molasses, very sweet and warm, dense and long. Great
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12/5/2016 - tinybubbles wrote: 92 Points
Typical notes for this wine but subdued in profile. 92-93
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11/24/2015 - dharrison93 wrote: 92 Points
This was obviously a brilliant, breathtaking 100 point wine in it's prime, but with fading fruit it is definitely on the ebb. dense rust colored with a nose of stewed prunes and wood. Not terribly enjoyable to taste. Make haste and drink up.
If a date, this was a 60 year old Sophia Loren, who has enough life experience and beauty to keep you wondering all night what a night alone with her was like 35 years ago.
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8/22/2015 - dream Likes this wine: 97 Points
A Night of Old Bordeaux at Latour Restaurant, Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg, NJ - stunningly expressive nose of blueberry liqueur, sweet roses and mint. On the palate, this is quite mature with a fantasticly thick, decadent texture yet the wine is light on its feet and possesses gorgeous flavors of very ripe dark berries, figs and dark spices. The finish is very complex with notes of decaying leaves and prunes late. Best right out of the bottle so best to drink up now but what a glorious experience to taste such a mature, exotic wine.
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8/19/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Nose of dark chocolate, caramel, malted milk balls, and red fruit. Palate brings butterscotch candy, dark earth, muddled dark fruit (black cherry, fig, prune?), tar and white and black pepper. Smooth in the mouth. Overall a very impressive but not blockbuster wine. Decanted for a little more than one hour. Largely consumed without food.
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7/8/2015 - beatles wrote:
At a White Horse Tavern in the north country: Very hot, a bit pruny, much sweetness, some oxidation and very far from the quality of the first bottle of this, I have ever had, which was served to me at this very table and from this very cellar. NR.
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3/6/2015 - KoalaHK wrote:
Drunk at a '59 vs '61 dinner at the Mandarin Grill. I don't recall having this wine before but I have had such good experiences with Cheval Blanc from this period that despite its lack of super high scores I expected that it would be lovely and pleasingly it was just that. It was the only Right Bank wine on the night and it certainly showed a distinct character when compared to its Left Bank cousins. Far more delicate, almost pretty and so much so that I feared it might not hold up in the glass but that was never an issue. Perhaps a little difficult to compare with blockbusters like '59 Latour it nevertheless held its own.
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11/23/2013 - beatles wrote: 98 Points
The Gilded Man (Aalborg, Denmark): Great, great wine. I guessed Bordeaux in 1982, and that says it. It is neither the oldest nor the most expensive wine I have tasted, but it is clearly the best really old Bordeaux wine, I have met in my life, and clearly better than, for example Petrus 1945 and 1947 - quoted from memory. In complete harmony with notes of coffee, chocolate, truffle, etc. with a hint of black currant in the still vibrant fruit. The tannins were completely dissolved and wine went on and on. Bravo.
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8/31/2013 - chetjan Likes this wine: 96 Points
A truly fabulous wine! The bottle had a high shoulder fill and was is spectacular condition once decanted. Color was a bricked, but the wine had an amazing nose, great balance and a huge finish. We drank the wine on its own over 2 hours.
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4/19/2013 - mwanasheria wrote: 99 Points
Château Margaux Tasting; 4/19/2013-4/20/2013 (Eltville, Germany): Calvet Bottling. This was an absolutely spectacular bottle. Sweet nose of malt, tea, raisins. On the palate a mind-boggling sweetness, harmonious and unbelievably elegant.
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2/10/2013 - David Hamren Likes this wine:
low shoulder fill, cork pushed in somewhat, pruniness blew off after a while, deep, big, must have been quite a wine. This bottle flawed due to storage somewhere along the way, still, 2 thumbs up!
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9/7/2012 - -E- wrote: 92 Points
Østkantsmaking: Dyp rød med innslag av oransje. Nesten ikke bruning i kanten. Deilig, sødmefull og generøs nese med plommer, røde bær, solbær
Følger dessverre ikke helt opp i munnen; Noe flat og smal frukt. Tørr. Lett bitter avslutning.
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9/7/2012 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
Seven Decades of Right Bank Wines (Trondheim, Norway (my house)): High/top shoulder fill. Big expectations. Minty, spicy, but some over-the-top fruit; decent in the mouth, slightly burned fruit, long. Very good, but did not fulfill the high hopes.
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7/18/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
Goodbye Dinner for Gabriel's Restaurant (Gabriel's - Highwood IL): Intoxicating aromas of black fruit, great mushrooms and excellent spice. Same profile on palate with plenty of ripe fruit still prominent. While my tasting notes were more comprehensive, I was mostly unable to decipher my handwriting from that point in the evening.
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2/3/2012 - petitblanc wrote: 96 Points
Incredible crystal clear, light ruby-cranberry color, virtually no sign of age even at the rim. Completely charming nose and palate, showing fig, pomegranate, mild tobacco, sweet cranberry jelly, rose petal, and just a touch of earthy dry leather, with considerable tannic backbone remaining. A bottle of contemplative complexity, elegance and femininity, light but not thin. This bottle could easily have aged another decade or more. This peaked after about 45 minutes of air and held for several hours. From a 375ml bottle, very top shoulder fill. Amazing bottle, hard to imagine this wine showing much better than this.
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9/30/2009 - keelegl wrote:
This bottle was brought to an offline in London by a very generous person in honor of friend’s birth year.
The nose started off with prune juice aromas but quickly evolved to sweet raspberry puree with mushroom/truffle undertones (didn’t hurt that we had shaved truffles on the dish paired with this wine). The palate was pure fruit with more raspberry and raisin and not a hint of tannin. Surprised how fresh and lively the wine was and how long the wine lasted in the glass without fading. Not overly complex, but very graceful and very fun experience.
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11/29/2007 - G SQUARED wrote: 98 Points
This bottle was one I bought in Lyon 4 years ago at an auction. It was Chateau bottled and kept here in France until tonight. Very low shoulder so I was worried that there might be an issue. Not to be. Stunning! One of my favorite wines of the year. The only thing that kept it from getting a perfect score was that it was ready to be drunk now and the initial bright acidity began to fade after a couple hours. This was everything you could ask an old bordeaux to be. Color was dark red with a hint of brown. As Joe said in the note below, it took about 30 minutes to truly open and show it's strength. Wine is such a wonderful thing. My two friends had never had Cheval, let alone a 59. They were mesmerized. So fun!
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10/3/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 94 Points
Red with only the slightest browning at the rim. Out of the glass comes aromas of raisins and prunes. The attack is great here, and again, another wine that packs intense flavours of luxury chocolate. Initially the wine was a bit tight and un-yielding, but with 30 minutes of air, all came together. Long finish.
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3/1/1997 - sdr Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Great Wine Seminar. Château bottled. Tawny. Slightly oxidized. Rustic. Better on the palate but starting to dry out.
Clive Coates: “caramel and figs, over-ripe, tropical, balsamic, high volatile acidity, exotic, delicious.”
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9/1/1996 - sdr Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Mike’s bottle, British bottled. Good color. Spicy. A little hot. Faded after half an hour. Medium weight. Unremarkable.
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3/1/1989 - sdr Does not like this wine: 83 Points
Good color. Slightly roasted aroma. Full. Astringent. No fun.
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