Beautiful sweet black cherry and eucalyptus nose with a mellow, nutty palate. Hair of oxidation. Still with grippy tannin! Tailing off on the finish, but impressive nose.
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California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): Nose: Dark cherry, blackberry, fig, nori, chestnut, mint and the redwood imprint that a lot of these wines get. Palate: Dark cherry and black plum fruit with a nice core of dark tannin. Dusty tannin, antique leather and cedar round it out. Finish: Not enormous, but very Rutherford in its pixelated black fruit and dusty tannin.
Once again a really remarkable BG Georges de Latour with the "flesh" that Andre believed all the great wines needed to thrive in the cellar.
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This is an amazing wine drinking beautifully at 55. Dark ruby color with a nose that soars from the glass. Great balance with aromas of figs and prunes and a sweetness that reminds one of an elegant port.
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The nose pops with cinnamon, strawberries, tobacco leaf, and herbs. The palate is not as interesting as it is light, bright, crisp, and short. This is hanging on by a thread, with not much gas left in the tank. From a perfect bottle purchased from the Joseph Phelps auction, this wine is clearly on the way out. That's not a bad thing considering the wine is 55 years old.
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From 375. Super cloudy and the color showed its age. The only thing that really stuck in my head as I drank this was Maderia. Carmelized goodness in a bottle. Please Cali producers go back to your roots and make it in this style again. Boy these old school wines can age beautifully.
Method: lower neck fill, pristine cork (very solid and maybe wine up only 25% of it), pop and pour, red wine glass
Look: I didn't take notes of the look, but it was dark and vibrant. Based on the look, no one in our group would guess older than 1990s, if that.
Nose: vanilla, mint, chocolate, cherry, maybe just a hint of fresh dill; great and expressive nose
Palate: mint, chocolate, cinnamon, cherry, plum, vanilla; medium+ finish of white pepper, cinnamon, cherry, and chocolate; dry; medium body; very fine, high quality tannins (I forgot to note the amount, but it was balanced); medium- acidity
Overall thoughts: Wow! This was a pristine bottle that was full of life. Great nose, but the palate was even better. It was full of flavor, had wonderful complexity, and was incredibly well structured and balanced. I can't decide between 97 and 98 points, and would probably normally go with 97 points, but the fact this showed so amazingly for such an old wine makes me think it deserves the benefit of the doubt. Legendary wine!
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Elderly cabernet, complex, earthy, and delicious; scents of raisins, cedar, and liquorice. Held up well through dinner, matched with rare roast beef tenderloin. Drink now or hold for another few years, but not too much longer.
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52 year old wine that still has life in it! Just a beauty with lots of leather and moderate tannins. Love the idea of what this winery was thinking about in 1968 as they were innovating in Napa and thinking about how to compete with Bordeaux. Such a honor drinking this wine! The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like lead pencil, leather, dust and black currant (cassis). The body is medium. The wine has leathery texture.
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Appreciating old wine is like making love to a very old lady. It is possible. It can even be enjoyable. But it requires a bit of imagination - André Tchelistcheff
This is Classic California from a long lost era of Cali Winemaking. A wine of Fairytale proportions, the 68 BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve is sooo frickin’ good.
It’s sweet tannin coats the palate with balsamic, hoisin, raspberry, mocha, and asian spices. Notes of licorice, sweet tobacco, black walnut and leather. The wine is plush and opulent with great length and formidable depth. I am smitten by its power @ only 12.5% ABV!
This legend of a Wine was crafted by whom many consider California’s most influential winemaker, André Tchelistcheff.
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Wow! A 51 year old wine from California. And I say this has years if not decades left. Cork in good condition, marked lightly about half way up. Drank over about 2 ½ hours and the last sip was better than the first. One foot in old Bordeaux but the fruit is Californian. My lunch mate who tasted blind got it all right except for the age – about 20 years he said. Total wine from gorgeous forward dark fruit and earthy notes to intense and structured palate, yet subtle, and long balanced finish. Tannins completely resolved yet the wine maintained poise to the last sip. I will not forget this one.
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Wow! A 51 year old wine from California is still holding up. This cork was soaked all the way through and there was a heavy vinegar nose to it when first opened it up. Sat for 1 hour. Drank with a Master Somm who was confused if it was an old Bordeaux or old Napa. The greenish notes gave it away ultimately. Very old rim showing tons of age but when tasted it was immediately holding light Napa fruit, dust, and some smokiness. Long finish. Elegance abound. Just makes you appreciate what Napa was doing 50+ years ago. Hope I can find another of this wine! Wow again!
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Also really nicely aged. Just a hint of the vinegar which isn’t quite as compelling but again some red fruits and more leather and an interesting wine. With time in the glass this opens up more and there’s a sweeter red fruit juice note to it.
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Quite possibly one of the nicest corks that I have pulled from a 50-year old wine. Not in a way that makes you suspect of provenence, but there was very little staining up the sides and a nice deposit of sediment on the shoulder.
Nose: Beautiful perfumed nose of blackberry, leather, rutherford dust and cedar. Palate: Fresh with no signs of overipeness, or flaw. Just moderate palate weight with cassis, cherry, cedar, tobacco and loamy earth. Layered and nuanced with thyme and sight eucalyptus notes showing the herbal side of cabernet. Finish: Fades a bit in the finish with cocoa, cedar and some sweet cherry notes.
This really felt like a St. Julien of similar age with more ripe sun kissed fruit. Very nice. Felt very lucky to get a bottle in this shape from a one-owner cellar.
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I tasted this blind alongside a 59 Lafite (also blind). I am an avowed old world supporter, and my host wanted to finally show me how beautiful, graceful, elegant, age-worthy and balanced a new world offering could be. Well he succeeded in spades - I was trying to figure this wine out with no success but I can tell you it was a worthy peer to the 59 Lafite! And probably sold for a tenth of the price.
Tasting it blind, the wine was not to be confused with Bordeaux but I asked myself : could this be an old world wine, maybe from Italy? Could this be one of the first Sassiscaias perhaps? I really didn’t know but then decided that if the host really wanted to humble me it would be from California. But that was only after a few hints.
This was an immensely enjoyable wine, clearly old, but still with fruit and kind of a tart/sour backbone which held it together well. The light fruit gave hints of cherry and perhaps raspberry. But the combined whole was what impressed me.
I will never say a new world wine cannot compare to an old world one again!
what a pleasant surprise. was worried about the wine but it has flourished and was totally dirnkable with lots of blackberry and cinammon fruit coming forward.. delicious wine (not as good as the 1958 which i drank same evening) but a v good showing
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On its way out the door, fast, if you have been waiting for a miracle to occur, you missed that by at least a decade or two. What's left is tart, bright crisp red fruits and a strong, herb, olive and tobacco character. Drink up.
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From a cellar purchased and stored on release Intact cork, almost no sediment Still deep ruby black to the rim Aromas of black walnut. Sweet cherry fruit with some light menthol and eucalyptus. Stunning mouthfeel and balanced acidity. Only 12.5% A truly great bottle. What it’s all about
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This wine has incredible depth and concentration at its age. Similar to the 68 Martha's we had a month or so ago it's so dark and deep, filled with deep flavors of smokey dark fruit, leather, wood and a little tobacco. Really powerful wine. A testament to great storage
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Ullage was about 2 inches below the cork and the cork was about 50% clean. Nice dark color with no brown from oxidation. Cherry notes, maybe tawny port like enjoyable nose. As others have noted, good red fruit flavors, leather, and I want to say lots of body for a wine this old. Note that this wine used grapes from the BV To Kalon vineyard in Napa so the wine had great roots.
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What a fantastic performance from a 50-year old California Cab! The fill was into the neck, and the wine was in great shape. Perhaps there was an early moment of concern that it might be corked, but that quickly below off to reveal nice smokey black fruits and good earth associated with mature wine. Very clean nose, and no real funk to it. The wine held up well in the glass and didn't fall apart. This performed very well.
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Beautiful wine. Fully mature, on the downslope but this bottle still showed extremely well with plenty of red fruit that was still quite vibrant, and layers of cedar, tobacco, dill, and earth around it. Elegant and polished on the palate, though certainly thinning out on the back end.
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Fading, but not faded, there is a strong, earthy, overriding component that overwhelms the remaining essences of red fruits. Medium bodied, and starting to dry out, if you are holding on to any bottles, you should pop a cork.
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Tasting of 45 to 50 year old Cabernet Sauvignon today. (Yans's China Bistro): This bottle had a completely loose cork when opened. The result was a madeira like nose throughout the lunch, maybe off putting to some but certainly not objectionable to us, nose of stewed cherry pie, saddle leather, and forest floor, same on the palate, medium/big body, on the palate this was fresh, delicious, lovely fruit, because of the cork showing its age but still elegant and very tasty, with a long, long finish.
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How you score this wine will be a stylistic question, mostly relating to use of oak. This wine has both class and a distinctive character, but it is, at least to some extent, built on oak. Excellent winemaking in terms of tannin structure and balance. The oak will be a polarizer with some people finding it excessive, but to my mind it's well done. almost bears more resemblance to an aged Rioja wine with its cedary notes. After 30 + minutes in glass, notes of Indian spices emerged from this wine. The tannins are soft and integrated. The only objection to a higher score is the oak level to my taste. Will still age nicely if bottles are well kept. a very interesting tasting experience...
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One of the very best old California cabernets I've ever tasted. Tasted blind. I could smell the beautiful bouquet 12-14 inches away from my nose. No tannin, a little acidity and PLENTY of fruit. Dark berries, plums and I thought I detected cherry which made me think perhaps we have a great Burgundy. A nice long finish. In the back of my mind I was thinking it might be a top flight Pomerol from 1990, but who could afford those? I guessed 1985, possibly 1990 Burgundy. Wrong as usual (I can't even get the correct continent). If being wrong means I get to drink wines like this, I don't want to be right.
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The definitive proof that Cali cabs can age! 48 years old and as young and fresh as a recent vintage!!! Beautiful balance and structure. Medium length. Nice full red fruit flavors. Really enjoyable!
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Cork was perfect. Wine was nearly perfect as well. No bricking whatsoever. Youthful in appearance - dark purple. No funk on the nose - fresh and clean scents. Again, in the mouth this just tasted much younger - still a lot of life and vibrancy. Much better than the '68 Monfortino Barolo I had recently. Blew it away frankly. 94-95
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Still a smokin' wine when you can find a bottle that has been well stored. Classic BV redwood nose, and still amazingly fruity. Holds up several hours in the glass.
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Purchased at auction, this bottle had a very high fill into the neck. I was shocked at how young this presented. The wine was dark, almost purple, and was not just "alive" like many similarly-old California Cabs, but was absolutely singing. Easily the best old BV Georges de Latour I've had although most of my experience is post-Tchelistcheff in the 70's. E.g., I've had the well-regarded 76 many times and it has always been fine, but always into soft fruit and tertiary flavors. Maybe that's just storage and bottles? Or maybe Rudy made this wine? ;-)
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Wine Spectator Offline, San Diego (Mimmo's, Little Italy): Upper shoulder fill. Loose, depressed, shrunken cork, fully saturated, deftly removed intact by SD-Wineaux. Not surprisingly, this was maderized, but somewhat enjoyable, if you like madeira. Still, it was quite dark in color, and had some notes of candied cranberry hanging in there. I would buy another bottle if provenance, fill level and cork condition are all encouraging.
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Dick was kind enough to share his last bottle of a case bought for him, by his parents, on release. I think this was the third time I had tried it, and this may have been the best bottle. It started out with life and showed like a mature Cab. It faded quickly into a Tawny Port, but was still quite good. Then, it revived back to a blend style of red. No denying the pedigree here and this was very enjoyable. Thanks Dick for a wine that was not only good for its age, but was good!
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Drank this from a 4/5 pint half-bottle ('68 was long before metrics!). No discernible aroma upon opening, very port-like after a few minutes. A brown-red color with significant tannins. Tastes of prunes and raisins. Eminently drinkable after 41 years! Though we had this wine with beef, it would be great with cheeses. This is the first of seven such bottles in the cellar; the remainder should be equally interesting.
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Blind, I would have said it was an older Pauillac with its cassis, truffle and earthy notes. The palate had a nice blackberry, cassis and plum profile with a slightly rustic character filled finish. This will not get better, but well stored examples are a lot of fun to drink.
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A bit brown but not quite as brown as expected for its age. The wine smells like Port or Pedro Ximenez. Liquor notes on the nose. Flavors of sour cherries. Perhaps a tad on the sour part. This should not be shaken at all before decanting. Sadly that was not the case. Cork is extremely delicate. Our waiter butchered the opening. After 10 minutes of opening, it is more fun to drink. After 20-30 minutes, notes of spices come up. The most interesting aspect of this wine is its age which give its uniqueness. It is not a "fun" wine to drink. Rather, the wine is of the intellectual type.
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Drunk with a 78 oderro barolo, an 88 beau-sejour and a 98 BV GDL on New Year's Eve to welcome 2008. No formal notes, but the wine -- from Chambers in NYC -- was stll in good shape and very enjoyable.
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Beautiful nose, slightly sweet and leaf-pile. Somewhat rusty in colour. Solid body and smooth. Slightly sweet fruit character. Strong finish with many elements and textures. Really beautiful wine for abut 45 minutes before falling apart. Delightful w/ steaks and my birthday.
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Eric brought this over tonight. It is his (and my) birth wine. His father who is ITB bought it for him on release and it has been stored at cellar temperature every since and it was just released to him in 2005. Tonight, it had an almost port like character to it. Rust brown color and a sweet clipped finish though good nose. It reminded me of an over the hill sticky. I am glad I had the opportunity to taste it, but I wish I had a chance with this wine 5 years ago. Bottom line, drink now because it is over the hill already.
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One of the bottles my folks bought at the vineyard in 1971 or 1972. Held in the cellar for all this time waiting for the proper moment. Shared with Marc and Sammy at dinner. Remarkably youthful for such an old wine. A wonderful old wine nose but the fruit, although subdued was still there. Still showing some of that jammy quality. Three more bottles, but no big rush.
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Tasting of 13 BV Georges de Latour, the oldest vintage present and the best BV vintage that I have ever tasted, nose of cedar, burnt orange peel, stewed black cherry fruit, more of the same on the palate, medium/big body, fabulous and flavorful wine, long, long, long finish. #1/13.
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With MPL and BLR at Singer & Foy's "Legends of California." Very dark ruby. Great nose. Wow, it's perfect fruit. Deep. Slight mint. Great balance. Eucalyptus. On the palate, a bit less impressive than the nose. Not as heavy or substantial as the nose suggests. Still very pleasant, a bit light. 5-13-15-7: 90/100.
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12/3/2023 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
Beautiful sweet black cherry and eucalyptus nose with a mellow, nutty palate. Hair of oxidation. Still with grippy tannin! Tailing off on the finish, but impressive nose.
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12/2/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): Nose: Dark cherry, blackberry, fig, nori, chestnut, mint and the redwood imprint that a lot of these wines get. Palate: Dark cherry and black plum fruit with a nice core of dark tannin. Dusty tannin, antique leather and cedar round it out. Finish: Not enormous, but very Rutherford in its pixelated black fruit and dusty tannin.
Once again a really remarkable BG Georges de Latour with the "flesh" that Andre believed all the great wines needed to thrive in the cellar.
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10/22/2023 - Pitkin_CT Likes this wine: 98 Points
This is an amazing wine drinking beautifully at 55. Dark ruby color with a nose that soars from the glass. Great balance with aromas of figs and prunes and a sweetness that reminds one of an elegant port.
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3/16/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 75 Points
The nose pops with cinnamon, strawberries, tobacco leaf, and herbs. The palate is not as interesting as it is light, bright, crisp, and short. This is hanging on by a thread, with not much gas left in the tank. From a perfect bottle purchased from the Joseph Phelps auction, this wine is clearly on the way out. That's not a bad thing considering the wine is 55 years old.
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8/6/2022 - gerdberg wrote: flawed
Over the top, too old
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5/30/2022 - etc Likes this wine:
From 375. Super cloudy and the color showed its age. The only thing that really stuck in my head as I drank this was Maderia. Carmelized goodness in a bottle. Please Cali producers go back to your roots and make it in this style again. Boy these old school wines can age beautifully.
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2/20/2022 - JRockEsq Likes this wine: 98 Points
Method: lower neck fill, pristine cork (very solid and maybe wine up only 25% of it), pop and pour, red wine glass
Look: I didn't take notes of the look, but it was dark and vibrant. Based on the look, no one in our group would guess older than 1990s, if that.
Nose: vanilla, mint, chocolate, cherry, maybe just a hint of fresh dill; great and expressive nose
Palate: mint, chocolate, cinnamon, cherry, plum, vanilla; medium+ finish of white pepper, cinnamon, cherry, and chocolate; dry; medium body; very fine, high quality tannins (I forgot to note the amount, but it was balanced); medium- acidity
Overall thoughts: Wow! This was a pristine bottle that was full of life. Great nose, but the palate was even better. It was full of flavor, had wonderful complexity, and was incredibly well structured and balanced. I can't decide between 97 and 98 points, and would probably normally go with 97 points, but the fact this showed so amazingly for such an old wine makes me think it deserves the benefit of the doubt. Legendary wine!
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3/20/2021 - rjt1111 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Elderly cabernet, complex, earthy, and delicious; scents of raisins, cedar, and liquorice. Held up well through dinner, matched with rare roast beef tenderloin. Drink now or hold for another few years, but not too much longer.
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5/21/2020 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 97 Points
52 year old wine that still has life in it! Just a beauty with lots of leather and moderate tannins. Love the idea of what this winery was thinking about in 1968 as they were innovating in Napa and thinking about how to compete with Bordeaux. Such a honor drinking this wine!
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like lead pencil, leather, dust and black currant (cassis).
The body is medium. The wine has leathery texture.
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12/9/2019 - La Flama Blanca Likes this wine: 95 Points
Appreciating old wine is like making love to a very old lady. It is possible. It can even be enjoyable. But it requires a bit of imagination - André Tchelistcheff
This is Classic California from a long lost era of Cali Winemaking. A wine of Fairytale proportions, the 68 BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve is sooo frickin’ good.
It’s sweet tannin coats the palate with balsamic, hoisin, raspberry, mocha, and asian spices. Notes of licorice, sweet tobacco, black walnut and leather. The wine is plush and opulent with great length and formidable depth. I am smitten by its power @ only 12.5% ABV!
This legend of a Wine was crafted by whom many consider California’s most influential winemaker, André Tchelistcheff.
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11/22/2019 - Milos Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow! A 51 year old wine from California. And I say this has years if not decades left. Cork in good condition, marked lightly about half way up. Drank over about 2 ½ hours and the last sip was better than the first. One foot in old Bordeaux but the fruit is Californian. My lunch mate who tasted blind got it all right except for the age – about 20 years he said. Total wine from gorgeous forward dark fruit and earthy notes to intense and structured palate, yet subtle, and long balanced finish. Tannins completely resolved yet the wine maintained poise to the last sip. I will not forget this one.
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10/22/2019 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wow! A 51 year old wine from California is still holding up. This cork was soaked all the way through and there was a heavy vinegar nose to it when first opened it up. Sat for 1 hour. Drank with a Master Somm who was confused if it was an old Bordeaux or old Napa. The greenish notes gave it away ultimately. Very old rim showing tons of age but when tasted it was immediately holding light Napa fruit, dust, and some smokiness. Long finish. Elegance abound. Just makes you appreciate what Napa was doing 50+ years ago. Hope I can find another of this wine! Wow again!
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10/13/2019 - sjwshiraz wrote:
Slightly maderised
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8/23/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Also really nicely aged. Just a hint of the vinegar which isn’t quite as compelling but again some red fruits and more leather and an interesting wine. With time in the glass this opens up more and there’s a sweeter red fruit juice note to it.
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8/2/2019 - RockinCabs wrote: 94 Points
Quite possibly one of the nicest corks that I have pulled from a 50-year old wine. Not in a way that makes you suspect of provenence, but there was very little staining up the sides and a nice deposit of sediment on the shoulder.
Nose: Beautiful perfumed nose of blackberry, leather, rutherford dust and cedar. Palate: Fresh with no signs of overipeness, or flaw. Just moderate palate weight with cassis, cherry, cedar, tobacco and loamy earth. Layered and nuanced with thyme and sight eucalyptus notes showing the herbal side of cabernet. Finish: Fades a bit in the finish with cocoa, cedar and some sweet cherry notes.
This really felt like a St. Julien of similar age with more ripe sun kissed fruit. Very nice. Felt very lucky to get a bottle in this shape from a one-owner cellar.
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7/13/2019 - Ravi Deshpande Likes this wine: 93 Points
I tasted this blind alongside a 59 Lafite (also blind). I am an avowed old world supporter, and my host wanted to finally show me how beautiful, graceful, elegant, age-worthy and balanced a new world offering could be. Well he succeeded in spades - I was trying to figure this wine out with no success but I can tell you it was a worthy peer to the 59 Lafite! And probably sold for a tenth of the price.
Tasting it blind, the wine was not to be confused with Bordeaux but I asked myself : could this be an old world wine, maybe from Italy? Could this be one of the first Sassiscaias perhaps? I really didn’t know but then decided that if the host really wanted to humble me it would be from California. But that was only after a few hints.
This was an immensely enjoyable wine, clearly old, but still with fruit and kind of a tart/sour backbone which held it together well. The light fruit gave hints of cherry and perhaps raspberry. But the combined whole was what impressed me.
I will never say a new world wine cannot compare to an old world one again!
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6/11/2019 - JR1575 wrote: 92 Points
what a pleasant surprise. was worried about the wine but it has flourished and was totally dirnkable with lots of blackberry and cinammon fruit coming forward.. delicious wine (not as good as the 1958 which i drank same evening) but a v good showing
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2/21/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 80 Points
On its way out the door, fast, if you have been waiting for a miracle to occur, you missed that by at least a decade or two. What's left is tart, bright crisp red fruits and a strong, herb, olive and tobacco character. Drink up.
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2/15/2019 - cos65 Likes this wine:
From a cellar purchased and stored on release
Intact cork, almost no sediment
Still deep ruby black to the rim
Aromas of black walnut.
Sweet cherry fruit with some light menthol and eucalyptus. Stunning mouthfeel and balanced acidity. Only 12.5%
A truly great bottle. What it’s all about
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12/15/2018 - mats13 Likes this wine: 96 Points
An amazing slice of Napa history. Pristine condition.
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11/29/2018 - clayfu wrote:
This wine has incredible depth and concentration at its age. Similar to the 68 Martha's we had a month or so ago it's so dark and deep, filled with deep flavors of smokey dark fruit, leather, wood and a little tobacco. Really powerful wine. A testament to great storage
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10/26/2018 - RAD0045 wrote: 95 Points
Ullage was about 2 inches below the cork and the cork was about 50% clean. Nice dark color with no brown from oxidation. Cherry notes, maybe tawny port like enjoyable nose. As others have noted, good red fruit flavors, leather, and I want to say lots of body for a wine this old. Note that this wine used grapes from the BV To Kalon vineyard in Napa so the wine had great roots.
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9/28/2018 - InTheMunee Likes this wine: 92 Points
What a fantastic performance from a 50-year old California Cab! The fill was into the neck, and the wine was in great shape. Perhaps there was an early moment of concern that it might be corked, but that quickly below off to reveal nice smokey black fruits and good earth associated with mature wine. Very clean nose, and no real funk to it. The wine held up well in the glass and didn't fall apart. This performed very well.
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8/25/2018 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful wine. Fully mature, on the downslope but this bottle still showed extremely well with plenty of red fruit that was still quite vibrant, and layers of cedar, tobacco, dill, and earth around it. Elegant and polished on the palate, though certainly thinning out on the back end.
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5/25/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 82 Points
Fading, but not faded, there is a strong, earthy, overriding component that overwhelms the remaining essences of red fruits. Medium bodied, and starting to dry out, if you are holding on to any bottles, you should pop a cork.
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5/23/2018 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Brother Jeff's visit to DC - Mostly Bordeaux (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Consistent with the last bottle. A lot of plum, not madeirized but past its prime.
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3/6/2018 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tasting of 45 to 50 year old Cabernet Sauvignon today. (Yans's China Bistro): This bottle had a completely loose cork when opened. The result was a madeira like nose throughout the lunch, maybe off putting to some but certainly not objectionable to us, nose of stewed cherry pie, saddle leather, and forest floor, same on the palate, medium/big body, on the palate this was fresh, delicious, lovely fruit, because of the cork showing its age but still elegant and very tasty, with a long, long finish.
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11/10/2017 - dcwino wrote: flawed
2017 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/9/2017-11/14/2017 (Villa D’este, Lake Como and Milan): Just like the Tempier, excellent appearance but not showing well. Ripe fruit, plum, licorice, a hint of Madeira and VA, and earth. Need to try another one.
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9/24/2017 - vagrantone Likes this wine: 92 Points
How you score this wine will be a stylistic question, mostly relating to use of oak. This wine has both class and a distinctive character, but it is, at least to some extent, built on oak.
Excellent winemaking in terms of tannin structure and balance. The oak will be a polarizer with some people finding it excessive, but to my mind it's well done. almost bears more resemblance to an aged Rioja wine with its cedary notes. After 30 + minutes in glass, notes of Indian spices emerged from this wine. The tannins are soft and integrated. The only objection to a higher score is the oak level to my taste. Will still age nicely if bottles are well kept.
a very interesting tasting experience...
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1/5/2017 - mhudes Likes this wine: 97 Points
One of the very best old California cabernets I've ever tasted. Tasted blind. I could smell the beautiful bouquet 12-14 inches away from my nose. No tannin, a little acidity and PLENTY of fruit. Dark berries, plums and I thought I detected cherry which made me think perhaps we have a great Burgundy. A nice long finish. In the back of my mind I was thinking it might be a top flight Pomerol from 1990, but who could afford those? I guessed 1985, possibly 1990 Burgundy. Wrong as usual (I can't even get the correct continent). If being wrong means I get to drink wines like this, I don't want to be right.
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11/5/2016 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
Great warm nose, camomille, foliage, still some fruit left. Beautiful!
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7/28/2016 - nywine68 Likes this wine: 93 Points
The definitive proof that Cali cabs can age! 48 years old and as young and fresh as a recent vintage!!! Beautiful balance and structure. Medium length. Nice full red fruit flavors. Really enjoyable!
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3/13/2016 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
Cork was perfect. Wine was nearly perfect as well. No bricking whatsoever. Youthful in appearance - dark purple. No funk on the nose - fresh and clean scents. Again, in the mouth this just tasted much younger - still a lot of life and vibrancy. Much better than the '68 Monfortino Barolo I had recently. Blew it away frankly. 94-95
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12/23/2014 - salcorn Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still a smokin' wine when you can find a bottle that has been well stored. Classic BV redwood nose, and still amazingly fruity. Holds up several hours in the glass.
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8/23/2014 - MusignyBlanc wrote:
Purchased at auction, this bottle had a very high fill into the neck. I was shocked at how young this presented. The wine was dark, almost purple, and was not just "alive" like many similarly-old California Cabs, but was absolutely singing. Easily the best old BV Georges de Latour I've had although most of my experience is post-Tchelistcheff in the 70's. E.g., I've had the well-regarded 76 many times and it has always been fine, but always into soft fruit and tertiary flavors. Maybe that's just storage and bottles? Or maybe Rudy made this wine? ;-)
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6/1/2014 - R&L Does not like this wine: flawed
DOA
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10/5/2012 - Bressler wrote: 95 Points
still youthful with elegant fruit
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10/28/2011 - Javachip wrote: flawed
Wine Spectator Offline, San Diego (Mimmo's, Little Italy): Upper shoulder fill. Loose, depressed, shrunken cork, fully saturated, deftly removed intact by SD-Wineaux. Not surprisingly, this was maderized, but somewhat enjoyable, if you like madeira. Still, it was quite dark in color, and had some notes of candied cranberry hanging in there. I would buy another bottle if provenance, fill level and cork condition are all encouraging.
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10/14/2009 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 89 Points
Dick was kind enough to share his last bottle of a case bought for him, by his parents, on release. I think this was the third time I had tried it, and this may have been the best bottle. It started out with life and showed like a mature Cab. It faded quickly into a Tawny Port, but was still quite good. Then, it revived back to a blend style of red. No denying the pedigree here and this was very enjoyable. Thanks Dick for a wine that was not only good for its age, but was good!
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4/26/2009 - BSpielman wrote: 91 Points
Drank this from a 4/5 pint half-bottle ('68 was long before metrics!). No discernible aroma upon opening, very port-like after a few minutes. A brown-red color with significant tannins. Tastes of prunes and raisins. Eminently drinkable after 41 years! Though we had this wine with beef, it would be great with cheeses. This is the first of seven such bottles in the cellar; the remainder should be equally interesting.
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12/28/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Blind, I would have said it was an older Pauillac with its cassis, truffle and earthy notes. The palate had a nice blackberry, cassis and plum profile with a slightly rustic character filled finish. This will not get better, but well stored examples are a lot of fun to drink.
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3/15/2008 - djdaqm wrote: 91 Points
A bit brown but not quite as brown as expected for its age. The wine smells like Port or Pedro Ximenez. Liquor notes on the nose. Flavors of sour cherries. Perhaps a tad on the sour part. This should not be shaken at all before decanting. Sadly that was not the case. Cork is extremely delicate. Our waiter butchered the opening. After 10 minutes of opening, it is more fun to drink. After 20-30 minutes, notes of spices come up. The most interesting aspect of this wine is its age which give its uniqueness. It is not a "fun" wine to drink. Rather, the wine is of the intellectual type.
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12/31/2007 - jcgarcia wrote: 91 Points
Drunk with a 78 oderro barolo, an 88 beau-sejour and a 98 BV GDL on New Year's Eve to welcome 2008. No formal notes, but the wine -- from Chambers in NYC -- was stll in good shape and very enjoyable.
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8/25/2006 - arappaport wrote: 80 Points
Over the hill. Still shows signs of having been a good wine, but most of the character is gone.
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8/22/2006 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Beautiful nose, slightly sweet and leaf-pile. Somewhat rusty in colour. Solid body and smooth. Slightly sweet fruit character. Strong finish with many elements and textures. Really beautiful wine for abut 45 minutes before falling apart. Delightful w/ steaks and my birthday.
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7/31/2005 - PatLee wrote:
Eric brought this over tonight. It is his (and my) birth wine. His father who is ITB bought it for him on release and it has been stored at cellar temperature every since and it was just released to him in 2005. Tonight, it had an almost port like character to it. Rust brown color and a sweet clipped finish though good nose. It reminded me of an over the hill sticky. I am glad I had the opportunity to taste it, but I wish I had a chance with this wine 5 years ago. Bottom line, drink now because it is over the hill already.
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5/21/2005 - Eric wrote: flawed
The Mother of All Cult-Cab Tastings 2001 (TMOACCT) (Seattle, WA): Shot. Over the hill. Raisins and amarone.
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11/27/2004 - slmral wrote:
Dinner with Lou, Liz, Loren and Jane. Past its prime but still holding.
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6/29/2002 - slmral wrote: 93 Points
One of the bottles my folks bought at the vineyard in 1971 or 1972. Held in the cellar for all this time waiting for the proper moment. Shared with Marc and Sammy at dinner. Remarkably youthful for such an old wine. A wonderful old wine nose but the fruit, although subdued was still there. Still showing some of that jammy quality. Three more bottles, but no big rush.
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7/25/2001 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 98 Points
Tasting of 13 BV Georges de Latour, the oldest vintage present and the best BV vintage that I have ever tasted, nose of cedar, burnt orange peel, stewed black cherry fruit, more of the same on the palate, medium/big body, fabulous and flavorful wine, long, long, long finish. #1/13.
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10/28/1989 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 90 Points
With MPL and BLR at Singer & Foy's "Legends of California." Very dark ruby. Great nose. Wow, it's perfect fruit. Deep. Slight mint. Great balance. Eucalyptus. On the palate, a bit less impressive than the nose. Not as heavy or substantial as the nose suggests. Still very pleasant, a bit light. 5-13-15-7: 90/100.
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