Medium reddish garnet in color with an amber tint & distinct clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of well-aged, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, berries, & cassis with overtones of classic cigar box notes of cedar & tobacco, floral notes, earthy/dusty/loam, leather, herbs, mushrooms & a bit of oxidation in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, well-aged, ripe fruit flavors of sour cherries, berries & cranberries with earthy/dusty, herbs & minerals. Lingering dry finish. Well past its prime but question if it was due to the storage condition of this specific bottle. Still, it was interesting to sample this older wine. Ullage was at upper shoulder; cork was fully stained & crumbled upon opening.
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Grants of St.James's bottled with level mid shoulder. The top half of the cork came out with the butlers friend and the bottom half ended up in the bottle. Double decanted into another bottle. Big nose of rose hip and mushroom followed up with a strong anise aftertaste. Body is beautifully balanced in the '61 style, lightish and sweet. Overall a lovely wine despite being well past its best. Nowhere near as good as the 1955 drunk last year but still very enjoyable.
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This has aged gracefully, softly elegant, a wealthy 80 year old grand dame's floral parlor: a bit dusty, dried roses, damp wool, and hibiscus tea. A lovely well made wine, still a few years of life left.
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This shows a light-ish, candied, currant nose straight out of the bottle and really requires half an hour to pull itself together into a drier, plummy, more substantial wine now accented by leather and loam. A touch of cedar and a hint of brett keep it from being overly simple, but it's lacking the complexity one might hope for in top old claret. Not one of the top 61s, but lots of 61 character in its sweet disposition. 91-92
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Mid-shoulder fill. There was a slight indication of oxidation on the nose with some interesting cheesy smell. However on the palate this wine was so complex expressing all sorts of things ranging from sour cherry, mushroom, earthiness, strawberry (!), fresh vegetation or herbaceous note (in a good way).
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Showed very well tonight. Somewhat strict structure in the nature of the vintage but then lovely sweet fruit emerges with delicious flavors of faded black fruits and graphite minerals. The finish is soft and finely complex with tobacco notes. Not one of the top '61's but still quite a nice success at this age.
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Light mustiness on the nose, with red and black plum, and white pepper with air time. Still some sweet fruit on the palate, red plum and others, with contrasting notes of white pepper. Nothing dramatic here but everything fits together well.
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My first time tasting this wine, and I was quite surprised with how much I liked this wine. Charming, in the positive sense of the word, this has character, charm, ripe cassis, complex, cigar and tobacco scents and a long, fresh, red berry finish.
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Very expressive nose of earth, leather, black fruit and a hint of iodine. Over 3 hours this gained a wonderful sweetness of red fruit intermixed with mature Bordeaux flavors of tobacco and graphite. Long finish.
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Berry Bros & Rudd bottling. Level into neck. Lovely nose once I got past the volatile acidity, a little leatheriness giving the impression that there might be some Rhone grapes in this. Slightly astringent on the palate, but very lively for its age. Faded quite fast.
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nose: a really nice amount going on right now and this has held up very well. Filled with notes of tobbacco, black currant, pencil shavings, sour cranberry, and leather. Amazing how deep the nose is and really classic bordeaux
taste: very nice feel on the palate with tobbacco, leather, pencil shavings, and some black currant. If only the flavors were as deep as the nose
overall: this one is still kicking big time. So elegant and wonderful weight on the palate it's obvious that this wine was kept very well as it is very complex. the finish dies a bit fast, but it's very enjoyable to have a wine this old that is in this condition
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From a bottle obviously well stored. Cork was soaked almost all the way through and came out without a struggle. Delicious bottle of old school St. Julien that got better and better the more air it got. By no means a great wine but still a pleasure to drink.
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A mature, browning red. There is some deep, sweetish hedgerow fruit on the nose along with some big cassis notes. It ha a nice round palate with a certain meaty fleshiness and some rather direct fruit. It is just about showing its age, but it’s by no means to its detriment. Enormous length. Excellent.
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Dinner at Acquarello with Wilf and Garen. This wine had major CO2 issues to start out with and I mistakenly thought it was flawed. Wilf cautioned me to give the wine a few shakes in the glass and let it sit for a few minutes. That did the trick. Very elegant with lots of blackberry notes. Still a youthful 61.
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Fill level was into the neck and the cork in suprisingly good shape. Wine is out of it's prime, very nice mature Bordeaux nose, consisting mainly of spicebox, shoe leather and tobacco. No fruit left and a moderate finish. Good structure still and enjoyable with food. Imagine the '70 Pichon Lalande minus any fruit attributes.
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(opened 1 hr. ahead) Color fairly deep garnet, tending toward brick; clear; pale orange rim. Nose immediately strawberry jam; later very fruity, not fresh but ripe. Mouth very round, strawberries, leather, slight cigarbox; didn't fade much. Soft tannins.
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7/30/2023 - Vinnut Likes this wine:
Medium reddish garnet in color with an amber tint & distinct clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of well-aged, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, berries, & cassis with overtones of classic cigar box notes of cedar & tobacco, floral notes, earthy/dusty/loam, leather, herbs, mushrooms & a bit of oxidation in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, well-aged, ripe fruit flavors of sour cherries, berries & cranberries with earthy/dusty, herbs & minerals. Lingering dry finish. Well past its prime but question if it was due to the storage condition of this specific bottle. Still, it was interesting to sample this older wine. Ullage was at upper shoulder; cork was fully stained & crumbled upon opening.
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8/27/2021 - wineforth Likes this wine: 91 Points
Grants of St.James's bottled with level mid shoulder. The top half of the cork came out with the butlers friend and the bottom half ended up in the bottle. Double decanted into another bottle. Big nose of rose hip and mushroom followed up with a strong anise aftertaste. Body is beautifully balanced in the '61 style, lightish and sweet. Overall a lovely wine despite being well past its best. Nowhere near as good as the 1955 drunk last year but still very enjoyable.
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7/20/2020 - englishman's claret wrote:
corked, sadly, though this bottle seemed to have more interest and verve underneath the taint than the last bottle of 61 LP.
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11/13/2018 - OenoEd Likes this wine: 91 Points
This has aged gracefully, softly elegant, a wealthy 80 year old grand dame's floral parlor: a bit dusty, dried roses, damp wool, and hibiscus tea. A lovely well made wine, still a few years of life left.
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8/18/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 91 Points
This shows a light-ish, candied, currant nose straight out of the bottle and really requires half an hour to pull itself together into a drier, plummy, more substantial wine now accented by leather and loam. A touch of cedar and a hint of brett keep it from being overly simple, but it's lacking the complexity one might hope for in top old claret. Not one of the top 61s, but lots of 61 character in its sweet disposition. 91-92
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1/1/2018 - hargy Likes this wine:
still alive if only just - a gentle wine clad in leather but quite lovely
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4/16/2017 - NarunP Likes this wine: 91 Points
Mid-shoulder fill. There was a slight indication of oxidation on the nose with some interesting cheesy smell. However on the palate this wine was so complex expressing all sorts of things ranging from sour cherry, mushroom, earthiness, strawberry (!), fresh vegetation or herbaceous note (in a good way).
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6/2/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
Showed very well tonight. Somewhat strict structure in the nature of the vintage but then lovely sweet fruit emerges with delicious flavors of faded black fruits and graphite minerals. The finish is soft and finely complex with tobacco notes. Not one of the top '61's but still quite a nice success at this age.
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5/31/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Light mustiness on the nose, with red and black plum, and white pepper with air time. Still some sweet fruit on the palate, red plum and others, with contrasting notes of white pepper. Nothing dramatic here but everything fits together well.
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4/16/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
My first time tasting this wine, and I was quite surprised with how much I liked this wine. Charming, in the positive sense of the word, this has character, charm, ripe cassis, complex, cigar and tobacco scents and a long, fresh, red berry finish.
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12/14/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 95 Points
Very expressive nose of earth, leather, black fruit and a hint of iodine. Over 3 hours this gained a wonderful sweetness of red fruit intermixed with mature Bordeaux flavors of tobacco and graphite. Long finish.
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6/14/2011 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 89 Points
Berry Bros & Rudd bottling. Level into neck. Lovely nose once I got past the volatile acidity, a little leatheriness giving the impression that there might be some Rhone grapes in this. Slightly astringent on the palate, but very lively for its age. Faded quite fast.
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2/10/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
nose: a really nice amount going on right now and this has held up very well. Filled with notes of tobbacco, black currant, pencil shavings, sour cranberry, and leather. Amazing how deep the nose is and really classic bordeaux
taste: very nice feel on the palate with tobbacco, leather, pencil shavings, and some black currant. If only the flavors were as deep as the nose
overall: this one is still kicking big time. So elegant and wonderful weight on the palate it's obvious that this wine was kept very well as it is very complex. the finish dies a bit fast, but it's very enjoyable to have a wine this old that is in this condition
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7/5/2007 - 60ouvrees wrote:
From a bottle obviously well stored. Cork was soaked almost all the way through and came out without a struggle. Delicious bottle of old school St. Julien that got better and better the more air it got. By no means a great wine but still a pleasure to drink.
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6/1/2007 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 95 Points
A mature, browning red. There is some deep, sweetish hedgerow fruit on the nose along with some big cassis notes. It ha a nice round palate with a certain meaty fleshiness and some rather direct fruit. It is just about showing its age, but it’s by no means to its detriment. Enormous length. Excellent.
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1/10/2007 - G SQUARED wrote: 91 Points
Dinner at Acquarello with Wilf and Garen. This wine had major CO2 issues to start out with and I mistakenly thought it was flawed. Wilf cautioned me to give the wine a few shakes in the glass and let it sit for a few minutes. That did the trick. Very elegant with lots of blackberry notes. Still a youthful 61.
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2/10/2006 - wsttrade wrote: 91 Points
bit smokey after taste, but good. Went well with a steak though
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5/21/2004 - JeffJo wrote: 87 Points
Fill level was into the neck and the cork in suprisingly good shape. Wine is out of it's prime, very nice mature Bordeaux nose, consisting mainly of spicebox, shoe leather and tobacco. No fruit left and a moderate finish. Good structure still and enjoyable with food. Imagine the '70 Pichon Lalande minus any fruit attributes.
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12/31/1988 - RogerG wrote:
(opened 1 hr. ahead) Color fairly deep garnet, tending toward brick; clear; pale orange rim. Nose immediately strawberry jam; later very fruity, not fresh but ripe. Mouth very round, strawberries, leather, slight cigarbox; didn't fade much. Soft tannins.
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4/30/1983 - RogerG wrote:
Mature, round, smooth; mint and tobacco
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