375ml: Rich and honeyed, with oxidative notes that became augmented with more time in the glass. Maybe in a different setting I would have been down to drink this, but tonight I wasn’t feeling it. More interesting than delicious, for me.
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Wow, great bottle of this showing excellent freshness with a classic waxy texture but perfect acidic grip as well. Very developed flavors of subdued tropical fruits which lead to a lovely honeyed finish. Restores some faith in how White Bordeaux can age.
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Darker color than another recent bottle, and some light nutty oxidative notes, but good acids and freshness. Pears and pit fruits with a little almond and coconut. B+
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Great light color, crisp, plenty of ripe peach fruit and nice acidity. Not quite the length or richness of a recent '90, but nice mineral finish, and doing quite well at 35. B+/A-
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Bordeaux 1985 horisontal (Oslo): Voks, litt støvete mineralitet, solmoden frukt og noen florale detaljer. Lekkert, og bare vokser med luft. Halvfet munnfølelse, svær konsentrasjon med ungdommelig frukt. Fresh og elegant sak. Gi denne 20 år til! En finish som varer en liten evighet. 95-96p
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Lagvis kompleks nese. Fet duft med florale topp toner. En eng av hvite blomster i mai måned. Tørket aprikos, smørblomst, kandisert frukt, vanilje sukker, akasie honning, brennesle og krokan. Detaljert i munn, knusk tørr, godt med syre, lagvis kompleksitet med florale innslag. Medium fyldig. Lang nøttete utgang. Dør ikke av lenger lagring. Mer samlet etter luft i glasset.
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Better on the nose, with its smoky, vanilla, butterscotch and lemony freshness, than on the palate, which while it showed density and a citrus character, it was a little listless in the finish. This bottle was good, but not great and definitely not worth the money. FWIW, I have tasted better examples of this in the past.
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This wine was really something. The nose started of with a major spice component, not pepper per se, but more baking spices. From there it developed stone fruit characteristics - apricot and nectarine - along with honey, caramel, and some white Rhone notes (hard for me to describe). While definitely showing some signs of oxidation, on this occasion, it added complexity rather than taking it away.
The palate had a nice oily viscous aspect with a thickness on the way to Sauternes. There was good intensity but yet balance between the acidity, alcohol and fruit. Others noted a lot of minerality. While a great wine, I had recently had the 1985 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, which at a one third the price, was even better.
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Pessac-Léognan Tasting at Wine Watch: Don't give up on this -- at first appeared oxidized, but this completely went away after 30 minutes in the glass. Nose then became much sweeter...lemon curd, honeysuckle, mineral, sherry, and brown sugar. Medium length on the finish with bright acidity. Would drink soon if you have this, but it was very enjoyable tonight.
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First time with an old Graves. Citrus on nose, fennel, wax, grapefruit, then turning to old semillon/sauv blanc like an old Sauternes. Palate clean, fresh and zippy, but not dense. Needed time to open up and round out. Interesting.
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1985 Laville Haut Brion Blanc offered a beautiful, complex perfume filled with honey, floral, mineral, vanilla, citrus rind and lemon. Round, voluptuous and plush, this fully mature, white Bordeaux wine ends with a fresh, zesty, lemon finish.
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Still remarkably fresh, light yellow color. Nice lemony flavors, slight vegetable oil and grapefruit notes, drinking very well if lacks a but of substance to be truly great.
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From a perfect looking bottle, this wine showed outstanding light yellow color. This wine was reduced, oxidized and off for several hours. It slowly got better with air. While it eventually showed wax, pear, and almond paste, it never totally lost that tinge of oxidation.
The mouth was generally ahead of the nose during its aeration. It was medium bodied, with great mid-palate richness, and wonderful crisp length. I have experienced a ton of bottle variation with this wine. Sometimes it is just great and other times it is oxidized and flabby. This bottle was middle of the road.
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Seemed like a real winner when I first opened it, but at the restaurant, it was tired and dull. Not corked, but too simple and never really opened up over two hours. Nice texture, though and some grapefruit flavor, so not a total loss.
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The bouquet is still somewhat locked but on the palate it is amazing; beautiful citrus acidity, almonds and creamy oak. Elegant, fresh and harmonious. This will be a beauty for many more years.
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Archetypical Laville; delicate, subtle and very elegant. With air time, it broadened out a bit to display notes of orchard fruit pit, faint hints of vanilla and honeysuckle. "Coquettish" says Brian - you have to seek out its charms, it won't rush out to meet you. Extremely fresh, it seems suspended in time.
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Les Blancs de Pessac-Léognan @ my place (Netherlands): Fan-Tas-Tic! You hear me? Bright, light, pale greyish yellow colour. Perhaps the lightest of all 32 wines at this tasting. Jaw-droppingly complex and concentrated. Creamy fruit, salty peppery bacon notes. This is both light on its feet and compellingly charming and powerful. Extremely young and lots of potential. A total masterpiece, my WOTN and one of my top-5 dry-whites ever. 19/20
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This is a fabulous example of perfectly mature ripe white Bordeaux, certainly one of the top three I have ever tasted. This is bottle 5 of 8 I purchased at a Christie's auction a few years ago and the best yet. Medium gold, not crystal clear. Very expressive nose of honeysuckle, dried herbs, especially thyme, and candle wax. Unusually thick texture for the genre, like whole milk or even light cream. Remarkable depth of rich, round fruit with just enough lively acidity. Excellent length, although it began to fade after about 30 minutes in the glass. This is rather advanced on its plateau of maturity but demonstrates that 20 years is just the right age for drinking great white Pessac-Leognan.
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Christie’s Auction bottle ($200). Medium yellow, no gold. Powerful and very pleasant bouquet of honeysuckle and licorice. Dry, intense, potent juice. Outstanding white Bordeaux.
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Not as austere this time. No real scent. On the palate, medium full, moderately minerals. No recognizable orchard fruit and lacks character to be outstanding. Not bad though.
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Butter yellow, pale for age. Some mustiness which blew off quickly. Very clean. Very austere. Perfectly preserved. A food wine for sure, maybe shellfish, just a so-so match with roasted chicken. Subtle, not weak. Strictly for those who already know they like white Bordeaux.
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4/11/2024 - unreal Likes this wine: 97 Points
One of the best old Pessac Blancs I have had. Petroleum, brioche, wooden notes. Excellent!
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7/27/2022 - joshabramson Does not like this wine: 89 Points
375ml: Rich and honeyed, with oxidative notes that became augmented with more time in the glass. Maybe in a different setting I would have been down to drink this, but tonight I wasn’t feeling it. More interesting than delicious, for me.
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6/8/2021 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow, great bottle of this showing excellent freshness with a classic waxy texture but perfect acidic grip as well. Very developed flavors of subdued tropical fruits which lead to a lovely honeyed finish. Restores some faith in how White Bordeaux can age.
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6/8/2021 - DaleW wrote:
Lovely bottle, a pointe. Fresh yet with developed notes of coconut and wax on top of fresh apple and pear fruit. Lovely acids, long, delightful. A-
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10/2/2020 - DaleW wrote:
Darker color than another recent bottle, and some light nutty oxidative notes, but good acids and freshness. Pears and pit fruits with a little almond and coconut. B+
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7/28/2020 - DaleW wrote:
Great light color, crisp, plenty of ripe peach fruit and nice acidity. Not quite the length or richness of a recent '90, but nice mineral finish, and doing quite well at 35. B+/A-
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9/27/2019 - The Vines That Bind wrote:
Kuki'o Wine Trip 2019; 9/22/2019-9/28/2019 (Champagne & Bordeaux): Very interesting to try. I think it’s totally oxidized but that could be stylistically a part of these older wines. Certainly has some of those waxy and lanolin notes.
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4/5/2017 - hajoha wrote: 95 Points
Bordeaux 1985 horisontal (Oslo): Voks, litt støvete mineralitet, solmoden frukt og noen florale detaljer.
Lekkert, og bare vokser med luft.
Halvfet munnfølelse, svær konsentrasjon med ungdommelig frukt.
Fresh og elegant sak.
Gi denne 20 år til!
En finish som varer en liten evighet. 95-96p
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12/26/2016 - ove_stammrud wrote:
Lagvis kompleks nese. Fet duft med florale topp toner. En eng av hvite blomster i mai måned. Tørket aprikos, smørblomst, kandisert frukt, vanilje sukker, akasie honning, brennesle og krokan. Detaljert i munn, knusk tørr, godt med syre, lagvis kompleksitet med florale innslag. Medium fyldig. Lang nøttete utgang. Dør ikke av lenger lagring. Mer samlet etter luft i glasset.
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6/5/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Better on the nose, with its smoky, vanilla, butterscotch and lemony freshness, than on the palate, which while it showed density and a citrus character, it was a little listless in the finish. This bottle was good, but not great and definitely not worth the money. FWIW, I have tasted better examples of this in the past.
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5/17/2016 - Bordeaux_Jon Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine was really something. The nose started of with a major spice component, not pepper per se, but more baking spices. From there it developed stone fruit characteristics - apricot and nectarine - along with honey, caramel, and some white Rhone notes (hard for me to describe). While definitely showing some signs of oxidation, on this occasion, it added complexity rather than taking it away.
The palate had a nice oily viscous aspect with a thickness on the way to Sauternes. There was good intensity but yet balance between the acidity, alcohol and fruit. Others noted a lot of minerality. While a great wine, I had recently had the 1985 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, which at a one third the price, was even better.
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6/26/2015 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 93 Points
Pessac-Léognan Tasting at Wine Watch: Don't give up on this -- at first appeared oxidized, but this completely went away after 30 minutes in the glass. Nose then became much sweeter...lemon curd, honeysuckle, mineral, sherry, and brown sugar. Medium length on the finish with bright acidity. Would drink soon if you have this, but it was very enjoyable tonight.
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7/24/2013 - G_H Likes this wine: 90 Points
Vanilla, Mirabelles, lemon, some plastic, oysters, salt. A hint of minerals. Very good but needs to be drunk up.
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4/19/2013 - ginfizz wrote: 92 Points
First time with an old Graves. Citrus on nose, fennel, wax, grapefruit, then turning to old semillon/sauv blanc like an old Sauternes. Palate clean, fresh and zippy, but not dense. Needed time to open up and round out. Interesting.
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8/14/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
1985 Laville Haut Brion Blanc offered a beautiful, complex perfume filled with honey, floral, mineral, vanilla, citrus rind and lemon. Round, voluptuous and plush, this fully mature, white Bordeaux wine ends with a fresh, zesty, lemon finish.
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5/17/2012 - Prioryraf Likes this wine: 93 Points
Clean lemon yellow, complex mature nose 70 semillon 27 Sauvignon
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11/26/2011 - Pacalet wrote: 91 Points
Still remarkably fresh, light yellow color. Nice lemony flavors, slight vegetable oil and grapefruit notes, drinking very well if lacks a but of substance to be truly great.
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11/4/2011 - Lord Rayas wrote: 92 Points
Uncle Ray dinner with JJ, RY, PP, SL and Hendra (Amuse Bouche): Ripe nutty nose with hint of oxidation. Elegant and stylish, although a little flat towards the end.
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8/13/2011 - fclarity wrote: 92 Points
From a perfect looking bottle, this wine showed outstanding light yellow color. This wine was reduced, oxidized and off for several hours. It slowly got better with air. While it eventually showed wax, pear, and almond paste, it never totally lost that tinge of oxidation.
The mouth was generally ahead of the nose during its aeration. It was medium bodied, with great mid-palate richness, and wonderful crisp length. I have experienced a ton of bottle variation with this wine. Sometimes it is just great and other times it is oxidized and flabby. This bottle was middle of the road.
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10/9/2010 - sdr wrote: 86 Points
Seemed like a real winner when I first opened it, but at the restaurant, it was tired and dull. Not corked, but too simple and never really opened up over two hours. Nice texture, though and some grapefruit flavor, so not a total loss.
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11/6/2009 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
The bouquet is still somewhat locked but on the palate it is amazing; beautiful citrus acidity, almonds and creamy oak. Elegant, fresh and harmonious. This will be a beauty for many more years.
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6/27/2009 - sdr wrote: 92 Points
Archetypical Laville; delicate, subtle and very elegant. With air time, it broadened out a bit to display notes of orchard fruit pit, faint hints of vanilla and honeysuckle. "Coquettish" says Brian - you have to seek out its charms, it won't rush out to meet you. Extremely fresh, it seems suspended in time.
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5/31/2009 - jkoenen wrote: 96 Points
Les Blancs de Pessac-Léognan @ my place (Netherlands): Fan-Tas-Tic! You hear me? Bright, light, pale greyish yellow colour. Perhaps the lightest of all 32 wines at this tasting. Jaw-droppingly complex and concentrated. Creamy fruit, salty peppery bacon notes. This is both light on its feet and compellingly charming and powerful. Extremely young and lots of potential. A total masterpiece, my WOTN and one of my top-5 dry-whites ever. 19/20
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7/15/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Very lemon waxy with elements of fresh cut grass and ripe fruit. Thick, dense flavors and a long, sweet, citrus filled finish.
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6/10/2006 - sdr wrote: 85 Points
Just too mild and gentle. Faint fragrance and flavor of honey and decent acid, but it's fading. Unable to stand up to the ceviches at Ola.
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7/9/2005 - sdr wrote: 95 Points
This is a fabulous example of perfectly mature ripe white Bordeaux, certainly one of the top three I have ever tasted. This is bottle 5 of 8 I purchased at a Christie's auction a few years ago and the best yet. Medium gold, not crystal clear. Very expressive nose of honeysuckle, dried herbs, especially thyme, and candle wax. Unusually thick texture for the genre, like whole milk or even light cream. Remarkable depth of rich, round fruit with just enough lively acidity. Excellent length, although it began to fade after about 30 minutes in the glass. This is rather advanced on its plateau of maturity but demonstrates that 20 years is just the right age for drinking great white Pessac-Leognan.
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6/1/2003 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Christie’s Auction bottle ($200). Medium yellow, no gold. Powerful and very pleasant bouquet of honeysuckle and licorice. Dry, intense, potent juice. Outstanding white Bordeaux.
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5/1/2002 - sdr wrote: 86 Points
Not as austere this time. No real scent. On the palate, medium full, moderately minerals. No recognizable orchard fruit and lacks character to be outstanding. Not bad though.
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4/1/2001 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Butter yellow, pale for age. Some mustiness which blew off quickly. Very clean. Very austere. Perfectly preserved. A food wine for sure, maybe shellfish, just a so-so match with roasted chicken. Subtle, not weak. Strictly for those who already know they like white Bordeaux.
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