Pronounced nose intensity with herbal, tea, forest, spices, toast, sandal wood. Medium- acidity and medium- tannin. Surprised that it’s still drinking and not vinegar yet.
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Easter Dinner with Great Wine (New York, NY): Double blind in Pauillac flight. Could this really be 1945? Vibrant black currant and cassis with cigarbox and leather hints with good density. Could this really be 1945? The label says it is. 93 points.
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Opened for Cubs first WS game since 1945. Sadly, like the Cubs it disappointed. Stewy rich extracted red fruits overwhelmed by stinky garbage smell. Virtually undrinkable.
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Still quite dark in color. Nose shows slight hints of leather and still some berry notes. Tannins are dry but the structure is still good. Overall the wine still feels present and offers a nice experience to drink. At its peak but no hurry to drink
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Richter Raritäten Degu Volume III (Restaurant Farnsburg, Switzerland): This had some slight cheese notes in the nose, but not overly dominant. Some cherries, some malt. Lots of power in the palate, nice wine, but not 100% clean vinifcation I fear, which is kind of obvious given the difficult situation this wine was produced in.
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Much too old and totally unpleasant. I nevertheless wrote some notes: In the bouquet cold coffee, cold tea, celery and some faint butterscotch. Same on the palate. Some chocolate. But overall dead and gone. No score of course.
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ON THE PATIO @ OEGSTGEEST: On the nose a bit of dirt from the forest floor and more Madeira notes. On the palate brick and - interesting in a perverse way.
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GPL vertical with '96 Pauillacs (Scenic Loop Cafe, San Antonio, TX)): Top shoulder fill. Cork came out in 1 piece, soaked to the top. Immediately decanted and poured. This was everything that you could want from a 65yo bdx. Very dark in the glass with some bricking. Nose was flamboyant and expressive, with strong notes of caramel, pepper, tobacco, and cigar box. This was a nose you could spend hours analyzing. The palate did not disappoint, coating the mouth with a soft initial attack showing layers of complex tertiary flavors—leather, spice, caramel, dried fruit. No primary fruit flavors and surprisingly very tannic with a chunky quality that reminded me of ’75 or ’86(not GPL specifically). Finishes with good length, adding mint to the leather and dried fruit flavors. This stood up well in the decanter for over an hour, adding depth, and the bottle finished before it ever started to fade. One of my top wine experiences ever. My score reflects the complete experience and enjoyment rather than an objective measure of quality, though this was clearly a great wine and great bottle. Hard to imagine this was drinkable when released given the hard tannins.
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Med red ( darker than the 55 the same evening); rich nose of cedar, earth, leather, dates;sl tart cherry, red currant flavors, totally smooth and integrated; very soft mouth feel;long finish. Showing it's age but still a real pleasure to drink
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Wonderful showing from this old treasure. The bottle, which had a nice mid-shoulder fill, stood vertically for 3 days to settle the sediment. Cork crumbled but came out completely. Amazingly youthful color with only the faintest hint of brick around the rim. A faint whiff of maderization quickly burned off, revealing a complex nose with rich plummy fruit, and lots of classic Bordeaux cedar-cigar box notes as well. Initial palate entry was marked by bright crisp acidity, along with modest yet persistent fruit. Very long palate coating finish lasting close to a minute, itself featuring pronounced notes of roasted coffee and even a little olive. Probably a bit close to VA, but still eminently drinkable, although the remaining fruit is eventually going to lose the race to the finish with that astringency. The acid level actually made the wine much better with food, where it made its best showing of the night. All in all, an outstanding showing for a 63-year-old Bordeaux that isn't a First Growth, but is from a greatly underrated Chateau.
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7/25/2023 - Sean Tay wrote: 92 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with herbal, tea, forest, spices, toast, sandal wood. Medium- acidity and medium- tannin. Surprised that it’s still drinking and not vinegar yet.
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4/21/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Easter Dinner with Great Wine (New York, NY): Double blind in Pauillac flight. Could this really be 1945? Vibrant black currant and cassis with cigarbox and leather hints with good density. Could this really be 1945? The label says it is. 93 points.
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1/16/2017 - LW31 wrote:
Magnum. Still great garnet color. But pretty sharp on palate and fruit starting to fade. Gruaud easily won out over this side by side.
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10/24/2016 - KenK Does not like this wine: 65 Points
Opened for Cubs first WS game since 1945. Sadly, like the Cubs it disappointed. Stewy rich extracted red fruits overwhelmed by stinky garbage smell. Virtually undrinkable.
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12/4/2015 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still quite dark in color. Nose shows slight hints of leather and still some berry notes. Tannins are dry but the structure is still good. Overall the wine still feels present and offers a nice experience to drink. At its peak but no hurry to drink
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5/3/2015 - G_H wrote: 92 Points
Richter Raritäten Degu Volume III (Restaurant Farnsburg, Switzerland): This had some slight cheese notes in the nose, but not overly dominant. Some cherries, some malt. Lots of power in the palate, nice wine, but not 100% clean vinifcation I fear, which is kind of obvious given the difficult situation this wine was produced in.
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4/25/2015 - Zweder wrote:
Much too old and totally unpleasant. I nevertheless wrote some notes: In the bouquet cold coffee, cold tea, celery and some faint butterscotch. Same on the palate. Some chocolate. But overall dead and gone. No score of course.
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7/28/2014 - Barry Rothof wrote: flawed
ON THE PATIO @ OEGSTGEEST: On the nose a bit of dirt from the forest floor and more Madeira notes. On the palate brick and - interesting in a perverse way.
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7/23/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 96 Points
GPL vertical with '96 Pauillacs (Scenic Loop Cafe, San Antonio, TX)): Top shoulder fill. Cork came out in 1 piece, soaked to the top. Immediately decanted and poured. This was everything that you could want from a 65yo bdx. Very dark in the glass with some bricking. Nose was flamboyant and expressive, with strong notes of caramel, pepper, tobacco, and cigar box. This was a nose you could spend hours analyzing. The palate did not disappoint, coating the mouth with a soft initial attack showing layers of complex tertiary flavors—leather, spice, caramel, dried fruit. No primary fruit flavors and surprisingly very tannic with a chunky quality that reminded me of ’75 or ’86(not GPL specifically). Finishes with good length, adding mint to the leather and dried fruit flavors. This stood up well in the decanter for over an hour, adding depth, and the bottle finished before it ever started to fade. One of my top wine experiences ever. My score reflects the complete experience and enjoyment rather than an objective measure of quality, though this was clearly a great wine and great bottle. Hard to imagine this was drinkable when released given the hard tannins.
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4/30/2010 - vinojones Likes this wine: 93 Points
Med red ( darker than the 55 the same evening); rich nose of cedar, earth, leather, dates;sl tart cherry, red currant flavors, totally smooth and integrated; very soft mouth feel;long finish. Showing it's age but still a real pleasure to drink
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8/22/2008 - TampaDan wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful showing from this old treasure. The bottle, which had a nice mid-shoulder fill, stood vertically for 3 days to settle the sediment. Cork crumbled but came out completely. Amazingly youthful color with only the faintest hint of brick around the rim. A faint whiff of maderization quickly burned off, revealing a complex nose with rich plummy fruit, and lots of classic Bordeaux cedar-cigar box notes as well. Initial palate entry was marked by bright crisp acidity, along with modest yet persistent fruit. Very long palate coating finish lasting close to a minute, itself featuring pronounced notes of roasted coffee and even a little olive. Probably a bit close to VA, but still eminently drinkable, although the remaining fruit is eventually going to lose the race to the finish with that astringency. The acid level actually made the wine much better with food, where it made its best showing of the night. All in all, an outstanding showing for a 63-year-old Bordeaux that isn't a First Growth, but is from a greatly underrated Chateau.
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