July 7, 2023 - To celebrate the Tour du France arriving in Bordeaux, opened the Le Bon Pasteur. Not knowing how the wine had survived 36 years in Oklahoma City, wow, what a nice bottle! I know that Rolland is an interventionist, but damn, what a nice wine! Lovely, Yum.
December 20, 2022 - Surprising how forward the fruit is at the stage - someone said black currant and I tasted it. Menthol, lovely mouthfeel, somewhat delicious. Jolly nice.
December 19, 2022 - Gareth's "best of the 80s and 90s" (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Old, plummy nose that nevertheless wasn't at all over the hill. Sweet and juicy on the palate, with clean, refreshing red fruit and a touch of old library. Time to drink up, but very enjoyable tonight.
December 19, 2022 - Gareth's Bordeaux Dinner - Hawksmoor Guildhall - Best of 80s and 90s (Hawksmoor, Guildhall, London): This is mainly red fruited, some lighter floral notes, herbal hints, becoming more earthy with time in glass. Medium bodied, fresh, red fruit, quite light, soft tannins and though drying out a touch on the medium/good length finish this is still in decent shape.
April 11, 2022 - Very elegant, opens up after an hour.
November 16, 2021 - Purchased at auction from a well-regarded and apparently very cold cellar. This in beautiful shape and a pleasure to drink. On the nose I got a deep earthiness, Indian spices, black tea and black cherry. Plenty of fruit left on the palate and great length. Very smooth and elegant. Really nice, and holding up well.
November 16, 2021 - Some iron notes show upon opening, but blow off with a bit of air. Notes of aged leather, dark cherry, moist soil and underbrush on the surprisingly youthful nose. The palate shows leaner and slightly astringent with some iron and beef blood notes. Perhaps a 91 overall.
September 11, 2021 - It's been about a year since I tried a bottle. This had a good fill (base neck) and a fragile cork that was saturated ~1/2 way. Like my last bottle, this seemed a bit tired when first opened, and we all felt it had reached or passed its apex. However, with ~30 minutes of air, this really blossomed. Lots of cedar on the nose, delicate red plum and sour cherry on the palate with a dusty finish. This was outclassed by the '85 Beychevelle we had along side it (thanks Mike!) but still held its own.
December 17, 2020 - Forest floor, dried berries and old leather on the nose. The palate initially showed a somewhat iron/blood note, but with air evolved into a much more agreeable tobacco and leather note. Not an outstanding bottle, but a very pleasant aged Bordeaux.
July 31, 2020 - Top shoulder fill. Color is pretty good, garnet with very little bricking. Nose shows a lot of shoe leather and tobacco, with some vegetal notes. Not a lot of fruit, fairly thin, a bit rustic but elegant. This particular bottle has definitely seen better days, but for fans of aged Bordeaux (like me), this is in a stage of tertiary development that still gives some pleasure.