Tony's 60th Birthday Celebration (Republique - Los Angeles CA): 1961 Bordeaux Flight. Mature black plum and cherry with savory and sweet spice. Good weight, still vibrant and interesting enough, this remained interesting for at least one hour. but alas, it got lost alongside its flight-mates. Better vs another bottle I tasted five years ago.
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Grand 1961 vs 1955 vintage tasting (Fribourg): Big 1961 vs 1955 tastings including 10 direct match-ups and 11 individual wines from 1961. The tasting was conducted in flights of 4, single-blind and with no previous decant with all bottles opened 1h prior to start. The line-up was dominated by Bordeaux reds, but also included 5 Sauternes, 1 Champagne, 3 Burgundy reds and 1 Ribera del Duero. The following observations are worth mentioning: i) 1961 generally came across as a better vintage today than 1955, ii) the performance correlated with the 1855 classification, iii) The most outstanding wines were outside of the Bordeaux reds with Veuve Clicquot Rosé '61, Vega Sicilia Unico '61 (both 97) and La Tour Blanche '61 (96) worth mentioning, iv) Top-performing Bordeaux was Margaux (95) in 1961 and Mouton in 1955. List of wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: A super-intense nose showing distilled fruit notes and quite weird spices such as anise and curcuma. This did not taste like wine, even if the extreme nose did offer some allure initially. But the palate was so bad I could hardly keep the sip in my mouth long enough to move my face to the spittoon.
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The bottle was in fine shape. Good, but I expected great, and therefore was somewhat disappointed. Again, a good bottle, and drank well, it was more of an expectation issue.
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This wine is so youthful and fresh. Nose has truffle, tobacco, earth, dirt and black fruit. Palate is very fresh with charming mature dark fruit. It has stood well throughout a 2 hours plus dinner. Superb 61.
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Complex aromatics of violets, tobacco, licorice, leather and tar. It is sweet and velvety in the mouth with good depth and persistence. It leaves a savoury footprint once swallowed.
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J'ai trouvé une image pour le mot "accomplissement"! Pas une pointe d'acidité mais des tons légers de terre, de tabac, dans un équilibre exceptionnel de fraîcheur ! C'est impressionnant de se dire qu'il a 56 ans ! Incroyable !
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Older Bordeaux Evening with Friends (Les Nomades - Chicago IL): Fully mature with lingering black cherry and lots of forest floor, tobacco and meaty spice. Very nicely balanced and elegant. Remained persistent for several hours, fading/shortening slightly at the end of the evening.
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Wow, this was great. Perfect fill and cork. Leather and spice and all things nice. Still fresh, exquisite balance, ample length. So alive for such an old wine, a sign of a great vintage. This bottle would have lasted many more years, but wouldn't have improved (95 Superb wine)
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160 year anniversary of 1855 classiffication of Grands Crus classees: Quite lively, bright colour for the age, dark with a brickish meniscus. Nose starts off metalic, then comes smoke, smoked sausage, later tobacco, a bit of tar. Medium intensity palate, noticeable but fine tannins. Excellent structure. This was a fragile, but very rewarding wine.
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First of the two bottles bought at an auction from UK. Dirty bottle, seemingly stored in a damp, dirty cellar, which is good. Very high shoulder fill, somewhat transparent colour, promising. Cork in reasonably good condition for the age, came out struggling, but in one piece. Colour clear but quite dark, Riojas of that age are usually lighter. Only some fine sediment, not much of it. Nose starts off with black chokeberries, smokey notes, other dark berries. On the palate it is stout, with a note of dry black-currant jam, it has medium+ body for the age of the wine. Initialy quite tannic and dry on the palate. There's a bit of damp wood on the nose, but not in a corky way, later come old cigar box and a bit of licorice appear. Wine is very nuanced and somewhat timid. Long finish which smoothes out like a suede fabric. Well alive, but drying out obviously. I loved how the wine still showed its predominant Merlot character, there was something juicy-friendly about it.
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Surprisingly nice, with truffles, tobacco, red plum, spice, stone and wet forest floor aromas. On the palate, the wine is medium/full bodied, silky and smooth, finishing with sweet, spicy, black and red cherries.
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Le bouchon imbibé de bord en bord qui s'est coupé en deux en l'enlevant n'annonçait rien de bon. De plus, cette bouteille, achetée il y a 9 ans à Cleveland, a passé ses 40 premières années dans des conditions correctes mais pas optimales. Son niveau était d'ailleurs à l'épaule supérieure. En le carafant, la surprise était belle de constater que le vin était bon même si clairet avec des reflets orangés pour témoigner de ses 50 ans. Très retenu au début et faible en alcool (max.10%), le vin s'est étoffé après deux heures pour séduire la tablée par son nez de poivron délicat, ses arômes animales mais surtout l'exploit d'avoir tenu le coup tout ce temps. Belle expérience, mais en déclin et donc à boire au p.c.
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At Roberson 1961 Bordeaux horizontal. Wow!! Incredibly bright fruit, at least given its age. Seems young, though supremely balanced. Very long finish. Dark colour still, this was London bottled.
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Roberson 1961 Tasting - 29 Sept 2011. A quick note on the latter one, this Pavie was English bottled by Cockburn’s so spent less time in the barrel than the Chateau bottled ones which might explain its youthfulness. I got a bitter chocolate and framboise nose evolving in to cherry and red meat later. This glass just ‘did what it says on the tin’ - just a great wine.
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Verticaal Margaux (Chalet Royal): 1961 Château Pavie (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru) Kleur: Opvallende kleurconcentratie, diep donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Prachtig bouquet met een opvallende vitaliteit, resttonen van donker fruit, gedroogd fruit. Gegrilld vlees en maggi. Smaak / Afdronk: Fluweelzacht, rond en vriendelijk. Nog steeds een verrassende balans tussen zuur en tannines. Algemeen / potentieel: Verrassend vitaal, zeer bijzonder glas van een jaargang die volgens de deskundigen 'over de top' zou moeten zijn. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 12 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 94/100
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First night in Mecca (Berns): Full ruby red color. Medium forward aroma of clean black fruit with graphite and cherry wood. big black fruit and classic pencil lead on the palate. Very nice.
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Pre-Auction Wine Tasting w/ ZHs and Colgins (NYC): Thick, rich wine, especially given the age. Might actually still be improving. Mouthfilling wine that hits all the cracks in the palate. Wonderful.
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10/17/2021 - Cailles wrote:
30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. Sadly, this was dead. Stinky, vegetal, rancid notes.
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10/16/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Tony's 60th Birthday Celebration (Republique - Los Angeles CA): 1961 Bordeaux Flight. Mature black plum and cherry with savory and sweet spice. Good weight, still vibrant and interesting enough, this remained interesting for at least one hour. but alas, it got lost alongside its flight-mates. Better vs another bottle I tasted five years ago.
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9/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 70 Points
Grand 1961 vs 1955 vintage tasting (Fribourg): Big 1961 vs 1955 tastings including 10 direct match-ups and 11 individual wines from 1961. The tasting was conducted in flights of 4, single-blind and with no previous decant with all bottles opened 1h prior to start. The line-up was dominated by Bordeaux reds, but also included 5 Sauternes, 1 Champagne, 3 Burgundy reds and 1 Ribera del Duero. The following observations are worth mentioning: i) 1961 generally came across as a better vintage today than 1955, ii) the performance correlated with the 1855 classification, iii) The most outstanding wines were outside of the Bordeaux reds with Veuve Clicquot Rosé '61, Vega Sicilia Unico '61 (both 97) and La Tour Blanche '61 (96) worth mentioning, iv) Top-performing Bordeaux was Margaux (95) in 1961 and Mouton in 1955. List of wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
A super-intense nose showing distilled fruit notes and quite weird spices such as anise and curcuma. This did not taste like wine, even if the extreme nose did offer some allure initially. But the palate was so bad I could hardly keep the sip in my mouth long enough to move my face to the spittoon.
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1/21/2020 - mattiasjansson wrote: 93 Points
1961 vs 1982 Bordeaux (Boston): Medium-dark. Medium fruit. Tannins still there. Long, beautiful finish.
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11/16/2019 - BradE wrote:
The bottle was in fine shape. Good, but I expected great, and therefore was somewhat disappointed. Again, a good bottle, and drank well, it was more of an expectation issue.
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5/3/2018 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is so youthful and fresh. Nose has truffle, tobacco, earth, dirt and black fruit. Palate is very fresh with charming mature dark fruit. It has stood well throughout a 2 hours plus dinner. Superb 61.
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8/14/2017 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Complex aromatics of violets, tobacco, licorice, leather and tar. It is sweet and velvety in the mouth with good depth and persistence. It leaves a savoury footprint once swallowed.
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7/1/2017 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 94 Points
J'ai trouvé une image pour le mot "accomplissement"! Pas une pointe d'acidité mais des tons légers de terre, de tabac, dans un équilibre exceptionnel de fraîcheur ! C'est impressionnant de se dire qu'il a 56 ans ! Incroyable !
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5/26/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Older Bordeaux Evening with Friends (Les Nomades - Chicago IL): Fully mature with lingering black cherry and lots of forest floor, tobacco and meaty spice. Very nicely balanced and elegant. Remained persistent for several hours, fading/shortening slightly at the end of the evening.
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7/3/2015 - G.M. wrote: 95 Points
Wow, this was great. Perfect fill and cork. Leather and spice and all things nice. Still fresh, exquisite balance, ample length. So alive for such an old wine, a sign of a great vintage. This bottle would have lasted many more years, but wouldn't have improved (95 Superb wine)
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4/18/2015 - AV2012 wrote: 94 Points
160 year anniversary of 1855 classiffication of Grands Crus classees: Quite lively, bright colour for the age, dark with a brickish meniscus. Nose starts off metalic, then comes smoke, smoked sausage, later tobacco, a bit of tar. Medium intensity palate, noticeable but fine tannins. Excellent structure. This was a fragile, but very rewarding wine.
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4/16/2015 - AV2012 wrote: 94 Points
First of the two bottles bought at an auction from UK. Dirty bottle, seemingly stored in a damp, dirty cellar, which is good. Very high shoulder fill, somewhat transparent colour, promising. Cork in reasonably good condition for the age, came out struggling, but in one piece. Colour clear but quite dark, Riojas of that age are usually lighter. Only some fine sediment, not much of it. Nose starts off with black chokeberries, smokey notes, other dark berries. On the palate it is stout, with a note of dry black-currant jam, it has medium+ body for the age of the wine. Initialy quite tannic and dry on the palate. There's a bit of damp wood on the nose, but not in a corky way, later come old cigar box and a bit of licorice appear. Wine is very nuanced and somewhat timid. Long finish which smoothes out like a suede fabric. Well alive, but drying out obviously. I loved how the wine still showed its predominant Merlot character, there was something juicy-friendly about it.
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5/21/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Surprisingly nice, with truffles, tobacco, red plum, spice, stone and wet forest floor aromas. On the palate, the wine is medium/full bodied, silky and smooth, finishing with sweet, spicy, black and red cherries.
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12/30/2011 - millesime66 wrote: 92 Points
Le bouchon imbibé de bord en bord qui s'est coupé en deux en l'enlevant n'annonçait rien de bon. De plus, cette bouteille, achetée il y a 9 ans à Cleveland, a passé ses 40 premières années dans des conditions correctes mais pas optimales. Son niveau était d'ailleurs à l'épaule supérieure. En le carafant, la surprise était belle de constater que le vin était bon même si clairet avec des reflets orangés pour témoigner de ses 50 ans. Très retenu au début et faible en alcool (max.10%), le vin s'est étoffé après deux heures pour séduire la tablée par son nez de poivron délicat, ses arômes animales mais surtout l'exploit d'avoir tenu le coup tout ce temps. Belle expérience, mais en déclin et donc à boire au p.c.
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10/1/2011 - Lord of the Bottles wrote: 94 Points
At Roberson 1961 Bordeaux horizontal. Wow!! Incredibly bright fruit, at least given its age. Seems young, though supremely balanced. Very long finish. Dark colour still, this was London bottled.
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9/30/2011 - roquenroell Likes this wine: 93 Points
Roberson 1961 Tasting - 29 Sept 2011. A quick note on the latter one, this Pavie was English bottled by Cockburn’s so spent less time in the barrel than the Chateau bottled ones which might explain its youthfulness. I got a bitter chocolate and framboise nose evolving in to cherry and red meat later. This glass just ‘did what it says on the tin’ - just a great wine.
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6/25/2010 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 94 Points
Verticaal Margaux (Chalet Royal): 1961 Château Pavie (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru) Kleur: Opvallende kleurconcentratie, diep donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Prachtig bouquet met een opvallende vitaliteit, resttonen van donker fruit, gedroogd fruit. Gegrilld vlees en maggi. Smaak / Afdronk: Fluweelzacht, rond en vriendelijk. Nog steeds een verrassende balans tussen zuur en tannines. Algemeen / potentieel: Verrassend vitaal, zeer bijzonder glas van een jaargang die volgens de deskundigen 'over de top' zou moeten zijn. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 12 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 94/100
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6/8/2010 - Rupert wrote: 92 Points
Chateau Pavie vertical 1959 to 2006 (Institute of Directors, London): This still had a core of ripe fruit giving it life, rather lovely
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6/1/2007 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
First night in Mecca (Berns): Full ruby red color. Medium forward aroma of clean black fruit with graphite and cherry wood. big black fruit and classic pencil lead on the palate. Very nice.
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10/1/1998 - mdefreitas wrote: 96 Points
Pre-Auction Wine Tasting w/ ZHs and Colgins (NYC): Thick, rich wine, especially given the age. Might actually still be improving. Mouthfilling wine that hits all the cracks in the palate. Wonderful.
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