April 8, 2024 - JH tasting
April 1, 2024 - Decanted for about 3 hours. Opened up nicely. Chocolate, caramel and some forest floor on the palate. Still quite fair bit behind it but drinking quite nicely now!
March 16, 2024 - First time I’ve had this wine. Spoke to a professional wine educator, and he discouraged me Decanting, despite multiple comments by other people, how it took hours to open up. I do agree with the sommelier that when a wine is this old And you decanted it can go flat And you can lose the nuances, so I abided by that. I made sure to stand the bottle up for at least several hours, but it would’ve been better to stand it up for at least 24 to 48 hours When I took off the capsule cork was severely mildew with mildew on the surface The label was a bit old, looking with yellowing, and I can’t remember whether this wine stayed with my cellar or whether I acquired it before I had my cellar. The nose still had a little fruit, and it was dark currant. It definitely had earth floor. It was not double decanted it was just decanted, and then after giving a few large swirls in the decanter. Small amount was put in each glass. Most of us enjoyed this with a steak. The tannins were still present, and it was very well integrated. Didn’t really have any bad aldehyde The taste was phenomenal, and it had a lot of length With secondary entry notes black fruit was muted, and this was a great year in Bordeaux. It was the year that the Bordeaux industry recovered. I got some light graphite. I got earth floor and I got everything you want in mature Bordeaux It has plenty of life left in it and a more years for sure. Oh, by the way, the cork was pretty crumbly so be careful and use a Durand puller
February 11, 2024 - My third of 4 bottles, and my best to date, I've realised this actually needs a couple of hours in an open decanter to blow off tannic funk and come alive. I see glimpses of the great wine that RP reviewed, and respected cellar tracker members have raved about. Another pertinent point is mine were bought at auction with uncertain provenance. The nose merits a 96 point score, and is deeply sensuous with tertiary notes. Blackcurrant is heady underpinned by old leather and cedar. The palate and finish are decent, but the wine struggles to shrug off all its harsher notes. A post script; I left a small pour overnight and the wine had greatly improved. With my last bottle I will decant it all day.
January 23, 2024 - 10th bottle. Pronounced nose intensity with notes of mushroom, forest floor, spices, earthy, toast, black fruits. Medium+ tannin and tannin are fully integrated. Medium+ acidity.
January 14, 2024 - 9th bottle.
Mushroom, forest floor, spices, earthy, toast, black fruits. Medium+ tannin and tannin are fully integrated. Medium+ acidity. Consistent with previous notes and scores.
December 29, 2023 - Opened this to celebrate a xmas gift of a decanter. Beautiful decanter, not so great Calon-Segur. Scarlet in colour all the way to the meniscus. Nose initially reluctant, then iodine and that St Estephe leather and smoke. Tired palate, having lost any bloom of fruit and not replaced by complex tertiary aromas. A dissappointnig TDG bottle, the first out of many 16.5.
December 28, 2023 - Opened and decanted at dinner. This was good, but a but meh given expectations of the vintage. Still pretty primary and don't this will fall off a cliff anytime soon - but - dont think it'll get any better
November 28, 2023 - My eighth bottle. Mushroom, leather, earthy, toast, black fruits, Medium+ tannin and tannin are fully integrated. Medium+ acidity. Consistent with previous notes.
August 5, 2023 - A friend shared with me. Double decanted and consumed over two hours. This wine was in great shape and showed no sign of fading. Based on other peoples notes, we were lucky. I served a 2000 Montrose(93 points at this stage). The Montrose was more youthful and had not yet developed the character of the 82 Calon-Segur. This was a Wow! wine, Served with Ribeye steaks. The Calon-Segur had an earthy character that moderated with air. This bottle clearly had 5 to 10 years of life remaining. Drink now to 2033.