June 9, 2021 - Base neck fill, cork soaked through, extracted with some effort in two pieces but without any bits falling into the bottle using a long worm and an Ah-so in lieu of my missing Durand. Deep garnet with only moderate bricking. A bit of funk on the nose that quickly blew off; then this perked up and showed a nose of tobacco, graphite, and mushrooms, as well as some umami/soy notes suggesting early-stage oxidation. Those same notes continued on the palate; there was notably little fruit, but plenty of acid (slightly volatile), meaning this wine absolutely required food. It seemed to peak from around 60 - 120 minutes after opening, then got a bit tired. Not a bad wine, and I don't regret the €42 (all-in) I spent, but this could not match some other '79s (and '78s) I have recently opened. If you have it still, drink up soon.
July 18, 2020 - Past its peak, but by no means gone. Limited fruit, clear secondary and tertiary flavors.
Works well with Saint Albray cheese.
December 26, 2019 - Dark garnet. Evolving complex aromas of pepper, a hint of barnyard, spice box, mulch, very fine hint of aromatic dried bay leaf. Transparent fruit on the palate with a fine acid line down the middle and nice sweet tannic base at the back.
March 27, 2017 - Fill was at bottom of the neck, cork soaked through, so just in time. Really ruby bright color, slightly brownish at the rim. Scent of classic Bordeaux, took a little time to open, but really nice after an hour having filtered most of the bottle through a coffe filter. Not very powerful, actually more elegant, really god acid balance, but pretty one dimentional. Taste of cherries, but a peppery finish thoug. Nice wine, indeed after all these years, but not to keep any longer, I think
July 25, 2013 - Cork disintegrated during removal.
Very bright and surprisingly even colour for age, no doubt reflecting the relatively low pH of '79 Bordeaux.
Straightforward, well-made, and balanced Medoc with nice underlying fruit. Gently astringent and clean finish. A good '79 which should (corks permitting) continue to hold its 'form' for years.
March 9, 2013 - ripe red cherries and red bell peppers in the nose
Peppery on the palate with red currants, tabacco, mid-length finish. Still some structure but well rounded.
Much better than expected.
n: reife rotkirsche , rote paprika
g: pfeffrig rote johisbeere, mittellang, tabakig, noch gerüst da aber schön rund...
March 10, 2011 - Five Decades of Chateau Batailley with Richard Brazier (Handford Wines, London): Singing ans so alive. Did not expect that from a 79! Still good tannin. The colour looks its age and the wine is a bit dusty but overall a great wine. So much life in it. Very nice
June 23, 2009 - Upon opening this has a wonderful nose that still shows alot of ripe fruit character mixed in with worn saddle and black tea aromas. The palate is similar but after about 15-20 minutes the fruit dissipates and all that is left is the flavor of worn chest and leather. Still, we drank it and enjoyed very much.
February 14, 2009 - My 30th birthday dinner (Restaurant Cofoco): Fine red center with a brown hue. The nose has earth, bushes, undergrowth, cedar wood, cigar and vanilla. More juicy, red fruit first on the palate. Some cigar and cedar wood on the midpalate, prunes and earth on the finish. Everything is still coming together in this wine, but fully mature now.
May 19, 2008 - Decent, but not great bottle. It may have been past its prime. Good balance, reasonable fruit, tannins, and so forth. It just did not have that much depth. Perhaps I needed to decant it or let it breathe longer, although the wine did not change much in the glass through a slowly consumed bottle.