1970 Château Lascombes
Community Tasting Note
oldwines Likes this wine:
92 Points
Saturday, August 1, 2020 - Opened and decanted 2 bottles around 5pm and tasted through about 10pm. Purchased fairly recently with knowledge of its less than perfect provenance, i.e. had not been stored with any temperature control for at least the first 15 years. Both wines were “sound” but one had significantly more ullage and was quite different than the other. The first was surprisingly fresh with a red fruited profile and nice acidity with a velvety soft texture. The other had distinctive but low level “brett” with the barnyard over tone and a more earthy/cedar and mushroom profile. Both were enjoyable with grilled steaks but the score listed relects the first bottle with the second probably meriting only a 89-90.
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2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (2,406 views)
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Comment posted by Bin707LoversDetroit:
8/6/2020 10:28:00 AM - Thank you for writing this, as we are considering when, this summer, we are going to crack our 50 year old Lascombes. This is a birth year wine for a family member, so we are really excited to do it this summer but are uncertain how to handle it...
We have been told, by a friend of ours in the industry, that he picked it up for us upon request, from a friend of his who bought it upon release... Which means, in theory, it has been in one cellar for 44 years or so... Wow...
So we are not sure if we should try a pop and pour for the 1st glass... or decant and aerate it for a few hours- or will it will collapse too soon...?... Tons of sediment require an overnight stand up before we fork out the cork to avoid cracking...?... We just don't know how to approach... Any thoughts, OldWines?
This will definitely be the 'mostest classic' vin we have ever drank!
We are blessed this is the stresser we're dealing with today!
Noroc.
Comment posted by oldwines:
8/6/2020 12:03:00 PM - Take a look through my tasting notes for older wines... you will find they stand up to decanting quite well, better than most think, even wine pro's. I am a wine consultant/"pro" myself...check out my website at
www.dtpwineadvisors.com
My advice is as follows.... based on the info you gave, your bottles probably have better provenance than mine did, but there still can be bottle variation, so good luck! Stand the bottle up at cellar temp or slightly above for 2-3 days (overnight is ok, but this did have a lot of very fine sediment). Decant it a couple hours before you intend to drink it and keep it at the lower temp if possible, then bring it to the tasting area/dinner table about a half hour before you intend to serve it, so it starts to warm slightly. Have a back-up bottle of something nice on standby, just in case...i.e. standing the same way and able to be decanted on short notice. After decanting, taste a small pour for yourself (and your guest of honor perhaps) and make sure the wine is sound. If not decant the other wine. If it is "sound" then take a quick note to register how it tasted and then sample again just before serving...I think you will notice the difference. Again, Good Luck! and Cheers!
"oldwines" aka Dave