Decanted for a short time. There was a fair bit of ullage, and the cork disintegrated on opening.
I've had this wine many times over the last thirty years, and at its peak it was excellent. This bottle was still enjoyable, but clearly very much in decline. The colour remains reasonably deep, but it's a brownish-red hue now. There was a certain slightly disagreeable mustiness initially, but this dissipated after a few minutes, leaving a sound but faded old claret.
Clearly one should expect a lot of bottle variation for a wine of this age, but if you can find a good example, this wine should still give pleasure.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bandaids, smoke, Islay scotch, pure red fruit, luminous in fruit character. Precise and just at the last peak of glory. Tannins resolved but silky. Very much still alove for 3 hours before we tanked it
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Berserker Offline (Mathilde Bistro - SF): Really pure and fresh, way younger than a 51 year old wine should be, especially compared to the 70 Mouton last month, which was "acting it's age". Crystalline red fruit, stony Graves soil, and tobacco. While not as complex as the other well aged bdx of the night (89/90 VCC, 85 Magdelaine), it carries an effortless purity that is enrapturing – if a red wine could be a limpid mountain spring, this would be it. I find myself repeatedly going back to the glass to experience it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
No formal notes... from memory. The wine was only stood up for 1 day in advance (which was enough to leave just 1/2" in the bottom, and sediment free pours) and slow-o'ed for 5 hours before pouring. The color was quite pretty and mostly red, with really just a slight hint of bricking. Aromas were well defined and fruity, with a palate showing pretty soil tones and incredible acidity that carried long into the finish. Just a slight bit of old leaves on the finish, but mostly the acid kept this wine feeling fairly exuberant and young.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
One and half hour decant. This is a lovely fully mature old bordeaux. The nose is classic plums, pencil shavings, and tobacco weed. The palate is a complex kaleidoscope of flavors including red currant, blackberries, cigar box, leather and herbs. Lovely balance and holding up well where I can see it staying in this zone for a while.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.
10/28/2023 - Richard Nabavi Likes this wine:
Decanted for a short time. There was a fair bit of ullage, and the cork disintegrated on opening.
I've had this wine many times over the last thirty years, and at its peak it was excellent. This bottle was still enjoyable, but clearly very much in decline. The colour remains reasonably deep, but it's a brownish-red hue now. There was a certain slightly disagreeable mustiness initially, but this dissipated after a few minutes, leaving a sound but faded old claret.
Clearly one should expect a lot of bottle variation for a wine of this age, but if you can find a good example, this wine should still give pleasure.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/12/2022 - vintage_whine wrote:
Bandaids, smoke, Islay scotch, pure red fruit, luminous in fruit character. Precise and just at the last peak of glory. Tannins resolved but silky. Very much still alove for 3 hours before we tanked it
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/23/2021 - ohne_musik wrote: 93 Points
Berserker Offline (Mathilde Bistro - SF): Really pure and fresh, way younger than a 51 year old wine should be, especially compared to the 70 Mouton last month, which was "acting it's age". Crystalline red fruit, stony Graves soil, and tobacco. While not as complex as the other well aged bdx of the night (89/90 VCC, 85 Magdelaine), it carries an effortless purity that is enrapturing – if a red wine could be a limpid mountain spring, this would be it. I find myself repeatedly going back to the glass to experience it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2020 - David Paris (dbp) wrote:
No formal notes... from memory. The wine was only stood up for 1 day in advance (which was enough to leave just 1/2" in the bottom, and sediment free pours) and slow-o'ed for 5 hours before pouring. The color was quite pretty and mostly red, with really just a slight hint of bricking. Aromas were well defined and fruity, with a palate showing pretty soil tones and incredible acidity that carried long into the finish. Just a slight bit of old leaves on the finish, but mostly the acid kept this wine feeling fairly exuberant and young.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2019 - mclanew Likes this wine: 93 Points
One and half hour decant. This is a lovely fully mature old bordeaux. The nose is classic plums, pencil shavings, and tobacco weed. The palate is a complex kaleidoscope of flavors including red currant, blackberries, cigar box, leather and herbs. Lovely balance and holding up well where I can see it staying in this zone for a while.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment