March 26, 2024 - This was a Winebid bottle with a spongy cork, but the wine survived well. Black plum and red cherry, a little graphite that might make you think Medoc, a bit of cigarsmoke. Smooth tannins for ‘86, black fruits, tobacco, and a little Earl Grey note. Nice match with the lamb. A-/B+.
February 15, 2024 - Musty and very mature; rusty color; cedar; round.
July 20, 2023 - Bought at auction for $190.
Top shoulder.
At peak, drink now.
Surprisingly very fruity.
February 8, 2022 - Deep garnet, light at the edges. Black cherry, blackberry, anise, light herb. I sense that it’s lost a bit of the flavour at the outset but Tia still layered and lovely. The finish is long, mostly dried fruit.
December 3, 2021 - Deep garnet, tawny at the edge. Nose of leather, dried red fruit, some forest floor. Tarte, tannins are still good but integrated. The finish is long and flavourful.
November 10, 2021 - Coffee; soft; sweet plum; supple finish.
October 30, 2021 - Cork fully saturated. A spectacular nose of quintessential mature Bordeaux fragrances. Barnyard, mushrooms and tobacco on the nose. This retains good acidity and vibrancy. Blackberry fruit is in tertiary development with lots of complexity. Superfine tannins. Lighter body but it is putting on some weight with more time in the glass. Can't stop sniffing this.
December 29, 2020 - Leather nose; clay-earth; smooth; violets; light texture; sweet soft cassis and blackberry; soft finish.
May 10, 2020 - A birthday gift and made sense to pop with a nice meal. It opened a touch musty and with a bit of a battle with the cork, but we decanted and strained and the mustiness blew off fairly quickly. As previous note mentioned this was better than you might have expected for an '81. Drinking pretty nicely. It's right in the window and perhaps maybe even on the back end of the curve. Not quite as vibrant as '82s tend to be, but it was still well structured. Paired great with tenderloin.
October 1, 2019 - First Trotanoy; better than anticipated given the average vintage and age; the nose shows plum, a hint of black currant, rose petal, cigar humidor, damp earth, and with air a hint of mint and herbs. The palate is fully mature and the tannins are non-existent; that said it has a silky, suave feel and a lovely finish. Really very enjoyable and well stored bottles probably have a couple years of solid drinking left. That said, there is no upside to cellaring at this point so drink it as soon as the occasion calls!