February 8, 2024 - Very perfumed. Tobacco, cedar, red fruit. Red currant, blackberry, plum, kind of smokey. Very long finish. Round and smooth. Great to drink now!
January 27, 2024 - [tasted blind, i guessed ~20-years' age… wasn't sure on AOC beyond "left-bank"]
dark garnet with a bit of bricking at the rim and medium body. lovely mature bouquet with cedar, spice, cassis and hints of red fruit and potpourri perfectly integrated. equally integrated in the mouth, with rich compote-like layered fruit melding harmoniously with tobacco, sweet spice, and soft coal notes. there is a balsamic quality that gives the wine an umami twist; good acidic lift brightens the fruit at times, and tannins are well integrated. very very long.
with perfect storage, this bottle was showing remarkably well and was a lovely example of aged Margaux. similar bottles should have a handful of years still.
warm vintage 60% CS/ 40% ME; aged twelve to fifteen months in 50% new oak.
December 28, 2023 - Drank for Christmas eve, lovely bottle of Margaux, sweet fruit, tannins are well integrated, blond tobacco, pencil shavings and good length. In a very nice spot currently.
December 17, 2023 - Really beautiful and fully mature now with much staying power. Bright acidity is keeping things moving slowly and providing allot of runway for this to lift some more. Here we have earth, tobacco, some really well melted deep floral elements and a bright zippy long finish. Really fresh finish for the nose, flavors, and age. Firm long finish. Drink or believe it or not, even hold. Seems to have a gear or 2 left in it.
September 29, 2023 - Maraschino cherries, graphite, and a hint of dried porcini with medium acidity with dusty tannins.
September 7, 2023 - Medium to dark reddish, an opaque character with the tint of bricking. Having read mixed reviews of how this and other 2003 clarets were drinking lately I was a little aprehensive about this wine, but in the event it was fine. Poured directly, and fine from the outset. It was not glorious in the manner that old left bank bordeaux perhaps ought to be, but neither was it the disastrous dry husk that others report. Very pleasant on the nose, a red fruit spectrum with some cassis still showing. On the palate also quite drinkable, fully old-school claret with the dustiness and leathery character expected, and the tannins are still there at the back end. The main criticism is that the acid has most definitely overtaken the fruit at this juncture and as such it feels rather angular and a bit stretched. Short finish. Still, for a Wednesday night in celebration of precisely nothing this was pretty decent.
July 3, 2023 - Beautiful and mature barnyard bouquet which blows off after a while. Then a complex bouquet with dark and red berries and beautiful oak and cedar. Same on the palate. Beautiful acidity and tannin with still a pleasant bite. Beautiful, luxurious and complex wine which is at its peak and certainly not too old yet. There is still some future in this wine. Unfortunately this was my last bottle.
July 1, 2023 - Two hr decant at home in FL
Steaks with Phil of the valley and BB
Color shows aging
Great nose with tertiary aromas, hint of cigar box, coffee. Great balance on the palate with nice acidity and fruit. Delicious with wagyu ribeyes
At its peak now
Drink within next 3-5 years
March 21, 2023 - Clear ruby garnet with a ton of sediment.
Mostly tertiary, no residual fruit. Still a moderate amount of bitter tannins, it’s early fruity charm has passed. But this is otherwise drinking quite nicely, full of big leathery flavors, some flinty notes.
February 22, 2023 - A nice Bordeaux that drank well right after opening. Good fruit, a little tannic, nice finish. won't get better with more time so need to drink now