October 19, 2023 - Jim & Michelene's dinner for their 40th wedding anni w/ chef Don Saunders. Jim's btl. Classic BDX from this Haut Medoc overachiever that drank beautifully tonight. This saw proper airtime which obviously helps! Too many btls show up at dinners as PNP that needed more air. Loved it's lush fruit, balance & silk.! Coming at the end of mult-course/ mulit flt night many times I'm out of gas but both of Jim's '83s rocked and I couldn't avoid noticing! In fact, accepting my slightly less stellar '07 Davissat Clos I can't remember many nights where the wines collectively were so amazing. Thanks again to Jim & Michelene for sharing their 40th anni & hosting us w/ fabulous food from renowned local MN chef Don Saunders
October 12, 2023 - Jim & Michelene's 40th Anniversary Dinner (Jim and Michelene's Place, St. Paul, MN): Dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. Note taking was fading at this point in the evening. Leaves, black cherry, cassis, tobacco leaf, dense, a touch sharper on the finish. This was good, but not as well integrated tongiht as the Larose. 91+ to 92pts.
July 7, 2023 - From a 750ml bought at auction with a base-neck fill and a cork all but entirely soaked. This was the wine that in 375ml format started my love affair with old Bordeaux, and I wanted to see if the larger format would make a difference. This bottle was only a touch better in this format. I had no experience with old wine at that time of my 375s, and now, having experienced some very good old wine, I know that I way over scored this in the past, decent as those 375s were.
Quite a bit of bricking with this one. The wine was very sound and still a good way from implosion, but as they say, it was just getting older, not better. There was a solid core of light, aged red berries there, but this was overshadowed on the nose and palate by the tertiary notes of decaying leaves. There was also on the palate a touch of the telltale sourness you get as a wine gets a little too old. On the bright side, there was a good vein of acidity, which helped fill the hole left behind by the fading fruit and completely resolved tannins. On the further downside, this made for a very drying, woody finish. Ultimately, this was better on the nose than the palate. The whole thing started to unravel, developing a very sour, canned asparagus bouquet and taste after about 2.5 hours in the decanter.
In the end, this was a successful 40-year-old bottle of off-year 5th growth grand cru, and while it is still a decent choice for a special anniversary/birthday, in the absence of any nostalgic reason for the vintage or wine, I think you would be better served treating yourself to the 2000 vintage. It will be a very similar but more rewarding experience for about the same price. 12% ABV (good/**/14/85)
June 13, 2023 - Dark Ruby color. Earthy, vegetable nose. Supple and velvety. Oak, leather, tobacco and red fruit. Good structure with soft tannin. Did not decant, but left in the bottle to breath. Still very enjoyable after 40 years, but it is time to drink up. This is still one of my favorites even if it is only a fifth growth.
March 7, 2022 - In 1986 I purchased several bottles of this wine. Given my income at the time it was a big move for me to buy more than one bottle of a classified Bordeaux red wine. Cantermerle is an estate in Haut-Medoc but not one of the famous first growths and not a super-second either. But it was almost affordable. And it turned out to be a terrific wine, improving over the thirty six intervening years. I have posted some previous tasting notes that list its characteristics and they are still accurate. What I will add is a point to my rating and accolades for this wine’s longevity and drinkabily. It’s not a blockbuster and it’s not full of rich fruit. What this wine gives is soft fruit flavors and extraordinary smoothness and elegance. PDG. One bottle left.
February 7, 2022 - Gang of 4 in Covid19 times; Haut Medoc (@ RW): Earthy and mature bouquet, oak, cigar box and still some blackberries. On the palate sweet herbs and spices, forest floor, pleasant acidity and mild tannin which offers a small bite. Fully mature and still beautiful.
October 26, 2021 - Good fill and cork came out cleanly but wine was tired and lacked fruit. Mushroom and earth was about all that remained.
October 11, 2021 - Most enjoysble bottle of Thanksgiving dinner for me. Fully mature claret with plenty of fruit left. Mushroom and sous bois were the main tertiary. Medium weight. Slightly brick in colour profile. Lovely still.
June 11, 2021 - top should, cork soaked completely through. Decanted off sediment. Nose is just as you would expect from an almost 40 year old Haut-Medoc. A little bit of bricking, but overall a really stellar color. Classic cassis and leather, really nice length in the finish. Surprising acid and a little tanning still left. First time with the 1983 vintage, but this wine is showing phenomenal right now. Just a classic claret.
May 29, 2021 - These old Cantemerle continue to impress me. To me this is one of the best deals in Bordeaux.
The color was a deep ruby garnet with fairly light rim variation considering it was nearly 38 years old. The nose was less funky than the 2003 I tasted a few years ago, and surprisingly subtle, with subdued fruits, slightly floral and forest floor.
The palate is balanced, with fully resolved and soft tannins, forest floor and mushroom, tobacco.
If not incredibly long and complex, this is still a pleasure to drink for the price and was actually more enjoyable than the 1985 Cos d'Estournel that it was up against.