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"A Significant Cellar" tasting at Flickinger
Chicago, IL
Tasted May 18, 2013 by acyso with 847 views
Introduction
A walk-around tasting featuring some incredible bottles of an older consignment to be sold off by Flickinger. Apologies for the cursory notes. With old wines, the scores are for the bottle, not for the wine.
Flight 1 (16 notes)
White
1982 Château Haut-Brion Blanc
98 points
Very musty nose, but underneath it all still strong hints of freshness. On the palate, quite acidic, and loads of minerality and sauvignon blanc freshness. Very suave texture.
Red
1941 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
98 points
Coffee notes on the nose. Very earthy, and in a very good spot right now. Satiny texture on the palate and still holds some fruit notes. Sublime.
Red
1941 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands-Echezeaux
95 points
That same coffee note on the nose again. Quite ripe and sweet on the palate, and a bit of a cheesy funk. Very much still going strong.
Red
1949 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche
90 points
Initially this had an eldritch stench of rotten vegetation and manure. But swirling the small sips I had in my glass for over half an hour, eventually some rose petal aromas began to come out. Definitely floral on the palate, but the wine is for sure over the hill and not enjoyable in large quantities. But as an intellectual curiosity, this was certainly excellent. Over time, some fresh strawberry notes began to show up as well -- this was very much like an aged nebbiolo.
Red
1996 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux
93 points
From magnum. Lovely aged Burgundian nose, with a lot of Vosne spice. On the palate, this is again very spicy with a good dose of earthiness. Very long.
Red
1945 Château Lynch-Bages
98 points
Greens Ltd. bottling. A real surprise. Very powerful and alluring green spice nose, and extremely concentrated on the palate with plenty of fruit. Somehow still very much alive.
Red
1947 Pétrus Vandermeulen Bottling
A bright nose and very sweet on the palate. On the other hand, a bit of a green note seems to make me think this isn't all merlot. Definitely a suspect bottle. Dried out, and would make great vinegar. Not scored.
Red
1959 Château Latour Grand Vin
95 points
Very rich notes of soy on the nose. On the palate, this is still alive and kicking, with tons of fresh fruit, though others told me that this dried out very quickly afterwards. A bit of earthy funk, but completely brilliant.
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Red
1961 Château Latour Grand Vin
98 points
Even riper than the '59, there was loads of fruit and spice on this wine. This bottle seemed a lot cleaner as well (not so much funk and perhaps a bit more mineral quality).
Red
1961 Château Lynch-Bages
88 points
Classic nose of aged Bordeaux with some ripe hoisin sauce flavours to boot. A little vinegary, this bottle has seen better days.
Red
1961 Château Mouton Rothschild
93 points
Very good nose: immensely aromatic with very umami flavours. On the palate, this is still vibrant with a lot of fruit. Some green pepper and dark red fruit notes.
Red
1970 Château Latour Grand Vin
93 points
From half bottle. Slightly stemmy and still green -- a bit vegetal on the palate. Starting to dry out and on its way downhill (perhaps due to the format). Drink up.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1940 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
Tired. Very acidic. Some fruit, but this just tastes so bland sitting next to the Yquem.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1948 Château d'Yquem
100 points
The nose: botrytis, honeysuckle, orange marmalade, and much more... completely unreal. A palate that matches the promise of the nose with immense complexity everywhere. Incredibly sweet but focused. One of the few wines in my life that have made me need to sit down.
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Red - Fortified
1955 Graham Porto Vintage
90 points
Starting to fade in colour. Earthy, perhaps? A bit muted, with some notes of sweet cough syrup. Slightly muted on the palate as well, but still you can find notes of fresh fruit. I likened this to a Port that has finally begun to "chillout".
Red - Fortified
1963 Fonseca Porto Vintage
93 points
Perhaps a bit minty from the spirit on the nose. Quite sweet and some light red fruits showing through. Very pleasant.