December 26, 2022 - Licorice and violet smoldering in a broken mineral oil. Roasted Calabrian figs. Espresso. Cherry cordial. Mint. Graphite. Quite sweet and thick with tannic upholstery. Game bird, broiled and dripped over truffle-scented, earthen, ash pottery.
November 8, 2021 - While this was the weakest of the Bordeaux that day it was not without interest. Sadly, just too thin and too old for much pleasure. The subtle aromas of dried licorice and earth were more compelling than the palate and the finish was short. We left almost half the bottle.
August 9, 2020 - Incredibly powerful, almost fiery wine -- plenty of life left to go, even after 60 years. Full and vibrant on the tongue, with integrated tannins and a long, satisfying finish. Did not fade after 24 hours.
July 6, 2019 - Somewhat cloudy crimson with brick edges in the glass. Nose is initially ashy and smoky scorched earth over darker red berry and darker currant fruit. Quickly brightening up and blossoming on the nose. Softer and sweeter red fruit coming up. Not herbaceous but a certain menthol and mintiness. Nose is highly detailed and intricate: graphite, stone, ash, menthol, spice, dark chocolate, and dark red berry. Beginning to show nice ripeness. Don’t see the classic bell pepper. Palate is surprisingly lush if just a little tart at the edges. Chocolatey, but also with blood and iron. Texturally soft and silky, round with a sort of stone mineral texture. A little dusty but mostly fresh. Best off a fresh pour and a quickly fleeting thereafter if critical. Very good and certainly a special bottle, technically strong, detailed and nuanced, but not a towering powerhouse like left bank first growth ‘59s.
June 1, 2019 - Cheval Blanc Vertical ‘Chez Elke’ (Hotel Hohenzollern, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler): Second bottle from the same source and the same negociant. This one showed so beautifully. Iron, blood, barnyard notes, but balanced with a richness and length that just developed into a fabulous balance.
June 1, 2019 - Nice bottle that showed much better than a previous one. Similar to previous bottle it had a slightly metallic nose, reminiscent of blood. Here it was beautiful incorporated though thanks to other sweeter notes such as strawberries. Developed nicely with air and only got better and better.
May 31, 2019 - Right of the bottle with a very powerful nose - a punch of cherries almost. Over time it unfortunately fell apart a bit with a metallic blood like component overtaking everything else, denying balance to the wine.
May 31, 2019 - 1950s Bordeaux from Elke (Bad Neuenahr): The first smell was just amazing, cherries, red berries, great sweetness, it turned fast into barnyard notes, iron and blood. Started to remind me more of northern rhone than St.Emilion. Started out as a 95 points wine and landed quickly at 90ish...
May 12, 2018 - Chateau Cheval Blanc vs Chateau Angelus (Rare-Bordeaux-Weine, Wachtberg (Germany)): WOW - what an amazing experience! Probably one of the top 10 wines I had in my life. Beautiful complex nose with a lot of ripe red fruits left. Incredible body - very elegant with an balanced structure. Ripe cherries, blackberries, a little wet forest soil and dried tobacco on the palate. Bottle and cork were in a perfect condition. If you have a bottle like this from a good provenance you'll have at least 10 more years of fun.
April 4, 2018 - Arbor Magnums. Incredible lift and energy, awesome wine. Baking spice aromatics. Glossy, fresh, shockingly carbonic palate which settled.