October 17, 2021 - 30x 1955 & 1961 (mostly Bdx): Tasted single blind. Sadly, this was dead. Stinky, vegetal, rancid notes.
October 16, 2021 - Tony's 60th Birthday Celebration (Republique - Los Angeles CA): 1961 Bordeaux Flight. Mature black plum and cherry with savory and sweet spice. Good weight, still vibrant and interesting enough, this remained interesting for at least one hour. but alas, it got lost alongside its flight-mates. Better vs another bottle I tasted five years ago.
September 20, 2021 - Grand 1961 vs 1955 vintage tasting (Fribourg): Big 1961 vs 1955 tastings including 10 direct match-ups and 11 individual wines from 1961. The tasting was conducted in flights of 4, single-blind and with no previous decant with all bottles opened 1h prior to start. The line-up was dominated by Bordeaux reds, but also included 5 Sauternes, 1 Champagne, 3 Burgundy reds and 1 Ribera del Duero. The following observations are worth mentioning: i) 1961 generally came across as a better vintage today than 1955, ii) the performance correlated with the 1855 classification, iii) The most outstanding wines were outside of the Bordeaux reds with Veuve Clicquot Rosé '61, Vega Sicilia Unico '61 (both 97) and La Tour Blanche '61 (96) worth mentioning, iv) Top-performing Bordeaux was Margaux (95) in 1961 and Mouton in 1955. List of wines included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
A super-intense nose showing distilled fruit notes and quite weird spices such as anise and curcuma. This did not taste like wine, even if the extreme nose did offer some allure initially. But the palate was so bad I could hardly keep the sip in my mouth long enough to move my face to the spittoon.
January 21, 2020 - 1961 vs 1982 Bordeaux (Boston): Medium-dark. Medium fruit. Tannins still there. Long, beautiful finish.
November 16, 2019 - The bottle was in fine shape. Good, but I expected great, and therefore was somewhat disappointed. Again, a good bottle, and drank well, it was more of an expectation issue.
May 3, 2018 - This wine is so youthful and fresh. Nose has truffle, tobacco, earth, dirt and black fruit. Palate is very fresh with charming mature dark fruit. It has stood well throughout a 2 hours plus dinner. Superb 61.
August 14, 2017 - Complex aromatics of violets, tobacco, licorice, leather and tar. It is sweet and velvety in the mouth with good depth and persistence. It leaves a savoury footprint once swallowed.
July 1, 2017 - J'ai trouvé une image pour le mot "accomplissement"! Pas une pointe d'acidité mais des tons légers de terre, de tabac, dans un équilibre exceptionnel de fraîcheur ! C'est impressionnant de se dire qu'il a 56 ans ! Incroyable !
May 26, 2016 - Older Bordeaux Evening with Friends (Les Nomades - Chicago IL): Fully mature with lingering black cherry and lots of forest floor, tobacco and meaty spice. Very nicely balanced and elegant. Remained persistent for several hours, fading/shortening slightly at the end of the evening.
July 3, 2015 - Wow, this was great. Perfect fill and cork. Leather and spice and all things nice. Still fresh, exquisite balance, ample length. So alive for such an old wine, a sign of a great vintage. This bottle would have lasted many more years, but wouldn't have improved (95 Superb wine)