Drank at friends 60th birthday. Level was into shoulder and cork dropped into bottle as i was screwing in the Durant. So i was expecting the worst. poured immediately and colour was light with amber rim, as expected for a sixty year old. The nose was delightful, still discernible fruits. On the palate, it was light to medium bodied, very smooth with good balance and complexity. But clearly on a very graceful decline. Enjoyable but this wine is past its prime and needs drinking up
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30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. This was a very pleasant, fully mature wine with a nice fruit core and good balance as the highlight. It has certainly not the precision or complexity to play in the league of the very best wines in the vintage.
TN: Not very expressive nose full of minerality and some fruit. With time some unpleasant more oxidative notes. Better on the palate the wine is super fresh and elegant with fine, molten tannins, a good acidity which is probably a bit too pronounced towards the finish and a fine creamy texture. Not overly complex but with fine, ripe fruit, minerality, herbs, leather and a touch of coffee. Ok precision and good balance.
Decanting: Not decanted. Doesn‘t need any decanting.
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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: Fine and elegant showing espresso, a bouquet of red, blue and dark berries as well as smoke. Soft palate with a velvety texture, but maybe no longer the firmest structure. Probably best to drink up at this stage to capture some of the beauty before it's faded away.
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Quite dark still. Pruney fruit on the nose, spicy, round, herbal. On the palate acidic and fresh, just slightly drying, really long and complex. A wonderful bottle.
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From magnum which had been upright for over 2 days. Cork was in solid shape and came out in 2 distinct pieces. Opened and drank over 6 hours. I had no preconceived notions about how this would show. I was hoping it would be good and not a disaster. WOW! WOW! WOW! This was great. Displayed a balance which was unexpected for a 2nd wine, even from a celebrated vintage. Moderate bricking on the edges, and as it developed in the glass a subtle orange rind finish. On the palate there was a clean and precise finish of moderate length.
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A Trip to Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa, FL): Color: Gorgeous deep purple w/amethyst color at the rim. Nose: Cassis, blackberry, spring fresh flowers, leather and a whiff of pipe tobacco. Palate: sweet cassis and blackberry with gorgeous secondary flavors. Tannins still left in this one. Floral elements are quite prominent. Finish: whoa, frilly long and persistent.
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10/28/2021 - iainlo@gmail.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank at friends 60th birthday. Level was into shoulder and cork dropped into bottle as i was screwing in the Durant. So i was expecting the worst. poured immediately and colour was light with amber rim, as expected for a sixty year old. The nose was delightful, still discernible fruits. On the palate, it was light to medium bodied, very smooth with good balance and complexity. But clearly on a very graceful decline. Enjoyable but this wine is past its prime and needs drinking up
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10/17/2021 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points
30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. This was a very pleasant, fully mature wine with a nice fruit core and good balance as the highlight. It has certainly not the precision or complexity to play in the league of the very best wines in the vintage.
TN: Not very expressive nose full of minerality and some fruit. With time some unpleasant more oxidative notes. Better on the palate the wine is super fresh and elegant with fine, molten tannins, a good acidity which is probably a bit too pronounced towards the finish and a fine creamy texture. Not overly complex but with fine, ripe fruit, minerality, herbs, leather and a touch of coffee. Ok precision and good balance.
Decanting: Not decanted. Doesn‘t need any decanting.
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9/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote: 93 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:
Fine and elegant showing espresso, a bouquet of red, blue and dark berries as well as smoke. Soft palate with a velvety texture, but maybe no longer the firmest structure. Probably best to drink up at this stage to capture some of the beauty before it's faded away.
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10/22/2019 - ireneng5 Likes this wine: 93 Points
A little thin as one would expect from a wine this age but surprising good nose. Lovely lovely wine. So smooth and ripe with great fruit flavours.
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5/10/2018 - RockinCabs wrote: flawed
Sadly this bottle was maderized. Also an Acker bottle.
Still a hint of a good wine underneath, but pruney and not drinkable. Too bad as I have greatly enjoyed this in the past.
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3/14/2017 - englishman's claret wrote:
Madeira... an Acker bottle.
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3/6/2015 - LWI wrote: 89 Points
MS fill, surprisingly lively.
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6/21/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 93 Points
Quite dark still. Pruney fruit on the nose, spicy, round, herbal. On the palate acidic and fresh, just slightly drying, really long and complex. A wonderful bottle.
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12/7/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 87 Points
Thin, a bit tired. Faded fruit, earth and smoke. Short finish.
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10/26/2013 - ricknat1 wrote:
bottle was ok, but the wine was unremarkable
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5/9/2013 - mbwineguy Likes this wine: 95 Points
From magnum which had been upright for over 2 days. Cork was in solid shape and came out in 2 distinct pieces. Opened and drank over 6 hours. I had no preconceived notions about how this would show. I was hoping it would be good and not a disaster. WOW! WOW! WOW! This was great. Displayed a balance which was unexpected for a 2nd wine, even from a celebrated vintage. Moderate bricking on the edges, and as it developed in the glass a subtle orange rind finish. On the palate there was a clean and precise finish of moderate length.
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3/14/2011 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
A Trip to Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa, FL): Color: Gorgeous deep purple w/amethyst color at the rim. Nose: Cassis, blackberry, spring fresh flowers, leather and a whiff of pipe tobacco. Palate: sweet cassis and blackberry with gorgeous secondary flavors. Tannins still left in this one. Floral elements are quite prominent. Finish: whoa, frilly long and persistent.
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