Perfect bottle with a high fill into the neck. This pours medium ruby in the glass with faint bricking. The nose is just soaring with classic Margaux perfume showing violets, plum, barnyard, charcoal, tobacco, and wet soil. The palate is youthful and silky showing loads of plum and violets with silky medium tannin and medium acid. The finish is long and layered replaying the classic violets and plums. All in all this was an incredible and regal showing from the 1970 Palmer. About as I good as I could imagine it showing. Just a hair behind the incredible 1983 and 1989 I've had. What's particularly amazing here is the amount of life this 54 year old wine is showing. Should easily make it another 54 years and beyond.
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Slightly perhaps its best days, yet, if well stored, this is a beauty. The perfume delivers its smoke, cassis, dried flowers, cedar and earthy notes easily. Medium-bodied, finesse in style, with a black cherry, and spice note in the finish. No decanting needed, just pop and pour. Drink from 2024-2028.
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Don’t think I have finished a bottle in worse condition than this 70 Palmer. Cork sunken in and leaking fairly recently into the OWC, hence low shoulder. Managed to remove the cork with the Durand and with the white mold on top of the cork too. Initially moldy notes with plenty of mushroom on nose and attack but not outright oxidized. After a few hours of slow ox, this blew off though and the wine was still holding up, showing dark fruit, integrated tannins and a short finish. Bottles in good condition will show much better for sure
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Gatecrashing the competition. This is a very vertical, classic Palmer, dark berries, pronounced tobacco, very dry, dusty, more than decent length. Declining, Drink up. #Møntergade#Ib&Ole
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Four Decades of Left Bank Bordeaux with Friends (New York): Crisis averted as, despite using a Durand, the cork was doing us no favours on this bottle, forcing our hand to strain the wine into a decanter. To our surprise, the wine actually benefited from the decant, opening up to be a gem over the duration we enjoyed it. The nose had a brilliant balance of tertiary components as forest floor and tobacco were counteracted by mint and red cherries. The palate, though, evolved to represent the elegance we so often associate with wine from Margaux. An upfront that lures you in with notes of chocolate, plum and dark cherries shifted into a tertiary mid-palate of cedar wood, earthy funk and licorice before a gamey finish came in that elongated the wine's silkiness. Château Palmer regularly impresses me, and with this being the oldest example I've had to date, it really showed the prowess of the château.
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Upper mid-shoulder fill, Mahler-Besse. Cork was in good condition and came out in one piece, but there were signs of previous seepage. Not as good as a previous, stunning bottle but still very enjoyable. Margaux elegance, with plum, cedar and cassis notes, a bit oxidized on the finish.
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54th birthday dinner. Near birth year. This started slowly, surprisingly dark and dusky, not very forthcoming at first. But oh the depth! Layers and layers of chocolate covered cherry and mineral with impressive freshness and structure. I have had better bottles, and this wine has seen better days, but it is still an impressive Margaux. Deep, red fruit. Deep minerality. Smoke. Surprisingly structured and austere.
Bought two of these, drank the worst looking one about a year ago and it was an ethereal delight.
This one's a touch more straightforward. Light in color, candied red fruit nose; leather, varnish, rosemary and a lovely meaty note. Tons of other stuff going on- this is really complex.
Palate is not quite as good. Quite sweet, acid is pleasant and not overbearing, but the tannins have faded a bit too much and the wine seems a bit tired.
When it's on song this is the second best wine of the vintage after the Latour. This wasn't quite up to scratch though.
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Quite mature and perhaps in decline but it showed a lovely lithe texture and good complexity with notes of balsamic, subdued black fruits and soy sauce. Drink up! At NYC Commanderie Dinner, L'Appart.
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Still the same as the last notes I took 6 years ago brought to CdB dinner and was the wine of the night. Smooth and silky but a slight dryness after the finish. I thought that was a sign of aging in 2017 but it’s exactly the same now. Had dinner with the CEO of Palmer and he thought it would be the same for at least another decade.
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Robe bien évoluée.Bouquet d'une belle intensité sans être grandiose mais surtout d'une très belle complexité.Une belle panoplie d'arômes défile à tour de rôle suivant l'aération du vin: cassis,cerise,menthol,réglisse,sous-bois,épices,café.C'est vraiment virevoltant et enthousiasmant.La bouche est d'une suavité magnifique,d'une élégance magistrale.Ce qui fait que la cote reste à 95 c'est la longueur qui est certes bien présente mais pas grandiose.Un vrai délice néanmoins !!!!
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From a magnum, this wine had a deep red center and puce rims. The medium intensity nose offered up cherries, violets, soil and some brown spices.
In the mouth, this wine was refined and nicely integrated. It had notable rounded tannin and great acidity. While it was not wildly complex, it wasn't boring either.
While there is certainly no reason to wait, this wine should hang in there at this level, particularly in magnum, for 5 years or so.
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Wine Workshop: Chateau Palmer (Benoit): A surprise for me in this tasting. I do think of 1970 as being one of the more drinkable years of Bordeaux but I don't think of anything from that decade being a truly great wine and this was much closer to great than just drinkable. Very fresh, lots of black fruits, the slight green/earthy notes you might get from a crisp spring day outdoors. Very nice.
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High shoulder fill with a crumbling cork. Not decanted and this was fairly reticent upon opening, but this really blossomed with about an hour of air time. Very Margaux, elegant and refined, with floral/violet notes, cassis, plum and some cedar notes. So sauve, this was just fantastic at the 2h mark. This is definitely the best BDX from the vintage that I've tried.
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Tasted blind, the tension between the soft Merlot fruit and the structure imparted by the Cabernet Sauvignon really shines through. This shows red and black cherry with tobacco accents through no recognizable floral elements. According to Broadbent, this was only 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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This felt like it had seen better days at the start but slowly opened up during the evening. Never quite hit the heights of the Batailley but showed complexity and balance.
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60 years of Chateau Palmer (Torali): Part of a flight of Chateau Palmer, this is probably the one that didn't seem at its best. No rating since some thought it may have a slight TCA taint. I think this bottle might have been off.
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I was slightly worried that this would be past it but I need not have worried. Cork in good shape and very little sediment when decanted. Opened up over an hour, paired with ribeye and chips, what more could I ask for. This has plenty of time left in it with fruit still there but that sublime balance that old claret can deliver. Wonderful.
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Brought to dinner out by a marauding visitor from “the Windy City”: despite being dragged through airports in checked luggage within the prior 72 hours, this showed very nicely. No formal notes but it was evolved, graceful and elegant with wonderful complexity.
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Easter Sunday lunch, medium red, a lesson in elegance & balance, beautiful mature Palmer, a very good bottle, lovely & classic Palmer, the 67 Gaja Barbaresco & this where purely meditative wines 95
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The last time I tried the 70 it was a disappointment - nothing wrong, but nothing special. This bottle was a different story, despite the mid-shoulder ullage. Deep colour, little fading. A beguiling nose - chocolate, plum, mint, cedar. A rich texture, peppermint, silky and very long. An excellent complement to a chicken stir fry - and probably much else besides.
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Dinner at home with TH, the girls & 3 Palmers (At home, Hong Kong): Medium ruby, with an orange rim. Faintly pleasant nose of dried flowers, red berries and dusty gravel road. Light-medium body, with just enough fruit to tease and tickle the palate a little. Most of the wine's tannins have melted away, as has a lot of its alcohol, leaving just a sliver of earthy complexity that floats away all too quickly in the finish. And as the evening wore on, the wine quietly collapsed into a heap of ancient grape juice. This was my last bottle. Goodbye 1970 Palmer old friend, it's been a fun journey.
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Opened last minute. Slowly seeping cork, low to mid shoulder fill. Crumbling cork that disintegrated during extraction. The wine certainly was not shown under optimal conditions but still highly enjoyable. Fairly deep color for a mature Medoc. Beautiful nose with the typical cigar box, cedary, plum, spicy notes along with a minty side. Still substantial textural richness made this a great pairing with pork chops. Exquisite balance but clearly time to drink this wine. Beautiful, classic Margaux.
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Mature. The weakest if the lot - albeit in tough competition. Smooth, open, quite broad, not as vertical as the other vintages, notes of chocolate, coffee, toast, tobacco. #IB#Palmer1961-night
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At full-maturity, this is not a wine for further aging. But that is just fine. It is already 50 years old. Still, if you are lucky enough to have a bottle, you can find an earthy, tobacco laden, cherry-filled wine with earth, cedar and cigar box notes. This is medium-bodied, silky and refined with a gentle, bright finish. If you are sitting on any, you should be consuming your bottles over the next 5 years or so.
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Bottle breathe for 1.5 hours. Opened up in glass after 10-15 min. Matured fruit nose with very integrated palate with cigarette, tea, some fruit. Very smooth. Medium finishing. Best after 30 min in the glass, and it lasted for around 1.5 hours.
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Outstanding bottle. Opened in advance but not decanted. At first a very complex and subtle nose of mushrooms and sous bois. Over two hours built to a rich, long and complex wine with tobacco leaf, smoke, and a surprisingly rich mid-palate. Still quite dark red and seems like this go on for quite a bit more time — though no reason to wait.
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Was slightly worried as bottle had a bit of fungus under the foil top and cork was very damp. Managed to gently pry out the very fragile cork but was rewarded with a beautiful balanced, fully mature but still surprisingly fresh claret. What a treat! Clearly orange on the rim. Finish was quietly lingering and wonderful to savour. Classy and elegant would be the key words I would use. Am going to hunt myself down a few more bottles! As ACheng noted , drink this all by itself and enjoy! Food will just overpower it.
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Still drinking well after 50 years. In fact, this bottle drank better than the last one I had. Well into the tertiary spectrum. I decanted half and left half in bottle. Surprisingly, the portion in the decanter drank better than that in the bottle after 4 hours. Dried orange peel, leather bureau and cedar spice. Tannin has completely melted away and acidity held in check. A contemplative drink. Paired it with steak. Overpowered by the food. Drinks better on its own or with milder meat like veal chop.
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Stood up for 4 days, decanted off sediment at 5:20 and back into bottle, drank at about 8. The aromatics were more pungent sooner after the decant, but still were lovely and graceful old stewed red fruit, leather, and soil aromas, feels very much a classic old claret on the nose. Expressive and vibrant still, and perfectly balanced on the palate. Drunk next to (after) 59 and 66 Palmer, and did not show the exceptionally punch of the 66, or the completeness of the 59. But very, very good.
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Earthy, with loads of cigar box, cedar chest, tobacco leaf, red fruits and a touch of flowers, the wine is medium-bodied with an elegant touch to the fruit. This has moved past full maturity and should be drunk over the next 5 years.
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Wine Flock Champagne Gala (Park Ridge CC): Served blind. Immediately went to 70s Bordeaux. Great earth and dried herb aromas. A bit muddled on the palate. Fully mature. Far preferred the nose vs. the palate.
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Fading fruit. I didn't decant. Nose is pleasant. Not powerful at all. Acidic initially but this softened over the course of the hour in the glass. Su bois. Mushroom. I have had 3 of these. 1 corked and 2 as written above. It was good to taste the processes from the 1970s that created this wine. Less sophistication but they still got it done. The wine is just becoming more and more past its prime so I would rec to enjoy. I won't be buying more.
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I found this a bit four-square and unyielding. Fruit was moving toward the savoury end of the spectrum with a touch of furniture polish and walnut on the nose which was not very appealing. I can understand that this might be one of the better left bank wines of the 1970 vintage but I think this is more of historical interest, birth year wine present than drinking pleasure. Need to drink these up or sell them if anyone still has unopened cases!
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My last bottle was corked or overoxidized. The actual cork structure of this one was better intact although fill level was similar to prior bottle. After a short decant the wine is pleasant, the acid overpowers the remaining fruit but not in a completely detrimental way. I'm not sure I would buy more of these personally except for educational purposes to compare to other vintages. I drank over 2 days keeping the other half in the bottle. It was still drinking well the 2nd day.
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I have a nice souvenir Mahler-Besse bottle 1970. Corked. Purchased from Courtier. I have one more from Courtier and one from Acker Merell. We shall see.
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Mag with great fill. Pleasantly surprised after reading some CT notes saying tired. I thought the wine was showing very strong for what it is. While never be one of the better vintages if Palmer, it certainly was delicious. Good showing from the mag!
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It’s just too tired, clearly past its fabulous best of 10 or 20 years ago. Color shows definite brown. Very nice dark berry aroma that fades in an out, just like the focus is going on and out. Flat finish. Time to say goodbye.
low fill, rather oxidized. dusty, dullish, flat nose improves a bit with air to simple ok fruit but with some tca. drinkable and fairly good at first, but declines
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Jordan's Fine Wine Dinner (Boka - Chicago IL): In 70/83/89 vertical. Glorious aromas for the initial 20-30 minutes in glass. Fully mature black fruit, sweet liqueur, black truffle, earth and sweet spice. Similar palate with a good start, but slightly drying finish. Slowly started fading after some time in glass, and much less interesting after 30 minutes.
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Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with orange rims. The medium intensity nose put forth violets, dried rose, and some minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was medium bodied with fine-grained acidity, light tannins, and very good length.
While nice, this wine seemed like it was filtered as it lacked a bit of complexity and punch. I have had mixed experiences with this wine that suggest bottle variation.
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Cellar Devils with Jeff Leve; 10/23/2018-10/24/2018 (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): Drank blind The suprise of the night. It was close to perfection and "beat" the famous 1961. This is the good thing in blind tastings. But in this case the 61 was not in best condition, so evrybody loved the 1970. Great extract sweetness without being awkward. Strawberry jogurt and sweet cherries. Pristine and sublime concentration. 99
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1st of a 3 bottle auction lot. Top shoulder fill. When i removed the capsule there was a black gunk cover the cork but I was able to pull it with a Durand with no problem. Still dark and brooding red. Didn't bother to decant given the age. Started to open up after about 15 minutes with a subtle floral nose with a hint of cigar. The palate was still richly fruited but with a hint of acid on the back end along with a great mouth feel. The only negative was a slight acid note on the back end. This is as good as it will get and is probably just past its peak but not going anywhere fast.
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I found a few bottles of this wine last year, so here's an assessment 5 years on from my last encounter. (Likely that either wine, me, or both, have evolved since then.) Initial reaction: OK this is an old wine. And I say this in the kindest possible way. It has the sweet-smelling aromatic patina of desiccated berries, dried flowers and early-autumn hay. On the palate, it is light, almost floating. The tannin is mild but still present, which helps explain why this wine still clings tightly to life. But there isn't a lot of complexity, just wine. I'll save one last bottle for 2020, its 50th anniversary. (I'm not sure if any bottles are worth keeping after that!)
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Fully mature, the nose, with its blend of flowers, cigar wrapper and ripe cherry, with herb nuances was really on fire. This bottle, on the palate, was a little more advanced than the previously tasted example. Soft, silky, fresh and elegant, the red plums were ripe, with a touch of tart as well. Pop and pour worked perfectly.
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An evening with wine geeks (@Private location, Frankfurt): Glass: Gabriel Gold Tasted blind. Clear, deep ruby-tawny color. Clean, intense, fully developed nose with some blood, mint, herbs, truffles. Perfect integrated acidity, wonderful balance, still wonderful red and black fruit, silky, medium+ tannin. Long finish. Good length. Wonderful mature at its (or a bit past peak). 93
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Premier Cru bottle. Very good color. Harsh and coarse on the nose. Velvety texture. Plenty of power but deficient in elegance. Slightly astringent. Became more coarse with air.
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Chinese food and old Bordeaux? Sure! (Q by Peter Chang): Popped and poured. A bit of volatile, at first. But, like an old summer house you have not visited for a year (or several years?), it mostly blows off as one enters a most delicate and elegant palate: a yesteryear wine, with no “Alter Ego” existing, and of higher yields. And of course 1970 was a bumper crop, so yields were high. Distinct notes of mint and basil, some light truffle and forest floor aspects, with a hint of bandaid – just a hint – remaining. Overall refined and smooth on the palate. Expands a bit in glass, with optimal drinking about one hour later in glass. It thens turns quite minty in profile. A fine bottle, and a lovely expression, if not as concentrated as, say, the 1966 I had enjoyed in December 2016. Thanks to Chris Bublitz for this fine bottle.
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Bordeaux and Peking Duck (Q by Peter Chang - Bethesda, Maryland): Fully mature soft yet expressive nose displaying subtle red fruit, strawberry, plum, strong mint, cedar, thyme and slightly metallic mineral. Fully integrated palate, medium concentration, subtle red fruit, silky, soft and round, subtle acidity, good mineral presence and a medium to long subtle red fruit driven finish. We agree that the yield must have been high and the grapes were not uniformly ripe. Nevertheless, it is a classic claret that is very enjoyable. However, this needs to be drunk up.
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Boston Palmer Tasting (South End - Boston, MA): Nose: Blackberry, white flowers and some evident wood notes. Kirsch an coffee? maybe as it opened more. Palate: Quite angular to start, but as this opened and had time to sit the edges came off of it and a rather elegant wine emerged. Nice blackberry and walnut accented by notes of pine forest, caramelized cherries and touches of florals. Finish: Tannin may never fully integrate here, but provides a more elegant finish than you might expect from most 70's.
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The Boston Palmerathon: Even the Palmer elegance and luminosity can't quite overcome the stubborn, taciturn 1970 vintage. Though the nose is relatively inexpressive and inelegant (particularly cf the 1966), you appreciate a wall of black fruit, walnut, cedar, and the faintest hint of violet. I hoped this would unwind with air, but it ended up transitioning into a very coffee and vanilla-dominated nose. Hm. From a base neck fill with a flush cork.
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A beautiful blend of freshly picked flowers and tobacco kick things off. Medium/full bodied, with a sublime, elegant and refined character. The wine feels light on its feet, but don't let that fool you. The finish is long, fresh and packed with sweet, ripe, red fruits that offer a fabulous sense of purity and grace. Fully mature, there is no reason to consider further aging, but I suspect, this will age continue to perform at this high-level for at least another 10-15 years or so, if well stored.
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Château Palmer vertical tasting dinner (3030 Ocean, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): From the get-go, this vintage was out-classed by the 1961 and 1966 on this evening. You could just tell it was off its peak. There was lots of funkiness, and it was a bit rustic in style. Truffled red fruits, barnyard, and dried roses on the nose. The finish was very straightforward, and with average length. I found this bottle to be quite interesting, as I recently drank a bottle of 1970 Palmer while in Bordeaux; that bottle had come directly from the Mähler-Besse cellar, and had not moved since bottling. That bottle seemed so young that you could have guessed it was from the 1980s! It emphasized again how each bottle takes a different evolutionary path influenced by its history, and in the case of these two bottles, an amazingly divergent path!
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Château Palmer Vertical: I have been fortunate to have enjoyed many bottles of 1970 Palmer in the past since it was one of the first Bordeaux I pursued since the late '70s. But perhaps now it is time to bid it a fond farewell. This bottle was representative of how it has been showing lately. It's drying out and the acidity is too prominent, even from a well preserved bottle. So sad. Maybe perfect bottles still in the Mahler-Besse cellars are better, I hope so.
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As this wine came directly from the Mähler-Besse cellar, this was of course a perfect specimen. Having tasted this wine a number of times, I would have never guessed this as a 1970 Palmer in a blind tasting. It just seemed so vibrant and youthful. There was lots of fresh blackberry, black currant, cigar box, truffle, fresh flowers, and dark chocolate on the nose. Silky textured with smooth, round tannins. Quite intense on the palate, with serious structure. The mouth-watering acidity was in near-perfect balance on the finish. From this bottle, it appears that perfectly stored bottles of this wine could drink well for at least another decade or two.
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Juicy, lots of sediment, stewed fruits and cassis, touch of earth, no tannins left (they're all at the bottle of the bottle), nice medium finish. Not a bad wine, but on the other side. Day after dregs from BB at MP
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Showing both lush berries and ash/tobacco. A very good bottle. This wine is and has been fully mature, and while they are drinking nicely I'm still inclined to drink these up over the next five years.
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It has an incredibly perfumed floral nose, with vibrant red fruit, cherry, cedar, leather.
During the first 30 minutes, it's overtly floral and acidic. But 30 minutes of decanting help develop the primary and tertiary flavours. The palate is floral-driven, with cherry, lavender, mint, chocolate, cassis, cigar box and spice. It is nicely balanced by refreshingly high acidity. The tannins are silky and well integrated. It doesn't taste of alcohol at all. The aftertaste is sweet and floral. The finish keeps lingering for 60+ seconds.
I've kept the wine in the fridge (vacuum pumped) for 4 nights. I am utterly impressed that the flavours only started to deteriorate on the 4th day. It's an unforgettable experience.
I am particularly impressed by its restrained elegance, like the subtle and effortless charm of a well poised lady. It is very complete and nothing is in excess. It has almost everything that I ask for, and far exceeds my expectations. It is one of the few wines that gives me the urge of telling people about it.
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Bordeaux dinner at Ripple with live rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Fully mature slightly shy nose displaying soft red fruit, cherry, strawberry, plum, lead pencil, cedar and a hint of ash. Fully integrated palate, soft red fruit driven palate impression, silky, soft and round and a medium to long finish. Very charming claret that is drinking beautifully. In slow decline, need to be drunk up.
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Fit for a wine loving Groundhog: Bordeaux back to 1970, by way of a 1982 trio (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): Tasted side-by-side with the Lynch Bages of the same vintage, this at first had a faded flower aspect, with dusty tannins - just like Lynch Bages. At first, I preferred the superior grip of the Lynch Bages, but with time in glass (the bottle was popped and poured), a pleasing sense of sweet cocoa powder and more floral notes arose and made it more pleasing and quite enjoyable to drink, with a subtle finish.
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1970s Bordeaux tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): After the 70 Latour, this was a welcome change. Perhaps not at its peak, but still drinking extremely well. Rusted ruby color, with some light amber at the edges. The nose was drop-dead gorgeous, with ripe black currant, black cherry, cedar, leather, herbs, and violets. It was certainly an intoxicating nose. Mid-weight and nicely balanced on the palate. Improved with air. Long finish and nice freshness. Will drink well for a number of years, but I would open if you have this since it's so enjoyable now.
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This was a fantastic bottle. i have always loved this wine and the hit parade continues. Very nuanced, complex and multilayered with fruit and spice coming in waves. Very delicious. Has some time left
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A beautifully matured wine and while has likely come off its peak, this is still drinking extremely well. Fill was very high shoulder and cork was fully intact. Color was rusted ruby, with some light amber at the edges. The nose was a nice mixture of red cherry, cedar, leather, tobacco, and violets. The nose kept evolving and revealing new aromas over several hours. A mid-weight wine that was really elegant on the palate. It seemed to keep improving as it aerated. Finish was quite long, with great freshness. Acidity just in the right place. This should continue to drink well for a number of years, and while there is no rush to open this now, there is also no reason to wait any longer on this.
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Château Palmer Vertical: Tough go on the nose, not a lot here, thin and tired, dry cranberry. A little woody. Red cherry coming through. Tired on the palate too. Fruit has browned and the tannin remains. Not flawed, but a weak bottle.
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Annual Chicago winos visit - Pearl Clutcher, coche, drc, rousseau, D'Yquem and etc. (The Grill Room at Rosewood DC): Very youthful example. A classic claret nose displaying bright subtle red fruits, cherry, plum, strong spearmint and eucalyptus. Lead pencil and a hint of ash. Fully integrated subtle harmonious palate, silky and polished, shy cool red fruit driven palate impression and a long clean finish with spearmint at the end. A classic claret that is very clean.
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This bottle was ex-Mahler Besse, 2007 and appeared to be in excellent condition. All the more disappointing that it did not show well. Color was excellent and the immediate fragrance from the bottle was that of classic "Margauxberry." Unfortunately it was evanescent, to be replaced by a generic old wine leather and furniture polish smell. On the palate, decent energy and focus, tannins resolved. The overall impression is one of fatigue for a wine that was better a decade or two ago.
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This was a well preserved bottle. The colour was still vibrant red with browning on the edges. The nose was still had somewhat fresh fruits among the dried herbs and cherries. The palate was very suave and classy with a structured mid palate and long seamless finish. I felt the acidity was rather high and did take away some of the tasting pleasure. Drank with the 1970 L'Eglise Clinet and was very youthful compared to the L'Eglise's matured state. I felt it wasn't as nuanced as the Pomerol. Would have been much better if not for the protruding acidity.
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A great wine still drinking well. My experience was NOT popping the cork and enjoying the old wine–much more drama than that. While normally a rare wine like this would be served only in house, we decided to have corkage at a fine restaurant. To decide if the wine was even drinkable, I did a pre-corkage at home:
1. Opened the wine and carefully removed the still intact but crumbly cork. Decanted the wine and tasted. While there were not fatal flaws, the overall wine was not very good; Light fruit aroma, very unpleasant taste strong acidic. The important aspect at this early stage is that the wine was strong (in aroma and taste) with no fatal flaws of old wines such as port characteristics or other undesirable smells and tastes.
2. Wine was obviously not flawed, but had objectionable acid aftertaste and not much development. Poured wine back from decanter to cleaned out bottle. Use new cork to seal it and took it to restaurant.
3. Restaurant trip was delayed and we had to arrive 1 hour late. The wine, now open for 5 hours, was decanted. It obviously was gaining excellent qualities; nose was intensely flowery with cherry and lavender characteristics. The wine was classic old Bordeaux with strong delightful chutney dried fig leather flavors. Long aftertaste. Very good experience. The wine never felt faded or subject to age flaws. It absolutely needed a long opening to develop into a memorable aged Bordeaux experience.
4.I kept this wine in my wine cellar basement for 20years plus. Writing in the summer of 2016, I suggest that this wine is still good and very drinkable if time is given to it to come to life from its opening to a delayed service that will allow this classic wine to still provide much pleasure so many years from its harvest year.
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Two visitors, three birthdays and seventeen wines from all over. (ABA Turkish Restaurant): From magnum and normally one of my top five or six favorite vintages of Palmer, I found this bottle a bit wanting. Suave and elegant in persona, there's wonderful earth, herb and cherry flavors and aromas and the complex secondary development one would expect from a top Bordeaux of this age, but there's usually more fruit and flesh showing and I certainly expected there to be more than there was from magnum. The acids also were rather high and stuck out a little. Not bad, but I expected more. B+.
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Jims Large Format Dinner From magnum. I love this wine, even though it is approaching the end of its life. Incredibly elegant, pure, big bright fruits on an amazing attack. i thought this held up well. Bob thought it might be the WOTN, George thought it was drying out in the middle. I will drink my last bottle soon. One of my favorite Palmer vintages
Georges Notes: Very deeply scented, initial aromas of dark chocolate, smoke, and earth, with a deep layer of ripe black fruits aromas of plums and blackberries, touch of leather, a very sumptuous nose; sweet and ripe on the first taste, rich black plum and berry flavors; touch of spices and black pepper; in the mid-mouth this wine suffers from the usual issues with this vintage now, drying out and thinning out; more red fruit flavors emerge with rather sharp and intrusive acidity; pretty much the same on the finish; there is little future for this wine as it will continue to dry out more, but it is still a nice complement to food. (17.5)
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While the perfume moves from roses to violets, the cigar box, earth and sweet cassis aromas remain constant. Elegant in style, the sweet, fresh cherry and tobacco on the palate is silky and refined. This is fully mature and unless your bottle is a large format or amazingly well stored, there is no reason not to be opening your bottles. This was popped and poured and barley improved in the glass, so I would not decant this wine if you're planning on popping a cork. The wine was made from a blend of 44% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petit Verdot and 9% Cabernet Franc. The harvest took place from September 26, finishing October 16.
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Chateau Palmer Dinner (La Trompette, Chiswick): Deep colour. Quite youthful, black fruit, tobacco, touch of leafiness, gravel. Medium/full bodied, tobaccoey black fruit, fine tannins, touch of earth, good length finish with just a trace of tannin at the tail end. Excellent, in really good shape. ****1/2.
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Ian A's Palmer @ Trompette (La Trompette, London): Lovely deep garnet. Palmer nose with a vintage overlay of slightly fresh greenness. A touch of leaf. Fresh and savoury. Fruit just about hanging in against the tannin-led spine. Slightly less evolved than a similarly good bottle a couple of years ago. ****
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Started off poorly. Thin. Acidic. Touch metallic. With some air it really opened up. Great smooth palate. Tannins are aodt but still there. I don't think improves any. Not the best bottle we have had but still enjoyable.
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While this bottle was perfectly sound, it was not one of the better showings for 1970 Palmer. The condition was outstanding, the color deep and the fill to just below the neck. Upon opening, there was a hint of the beautiful Margaux (Palmer) fragrance of mulberry and plum. On the palate, the wine was medium body with decent texture. But the fruit was muted, even accounting for age, and the acidity was prominent. Bottle variation is to be expected with even well preserved Bordeaux of this age.
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Bright ruby core with a bouquet of mature red fruits, tobacco, spice and earthy layers. The palate was silky, fresh and quite vibrant. Well delineated with acidity, balanced and a lively finish. Still going strong 3 hours later. A very fine example of a 45 year old Palmer. The richest wine of the night.
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Year 3: Super Tastings Round 1 of 5; Dave Does Birth Year Wines (Dave's House): Popped and poured. Light translucent ruby in the glass, with significant bricking at the rim. On the nose, again there is a metallic overlay that is distracting, with long distant memories of fruit; dried, decaying; still some pyrazine and earthy elements there, but overall, this is past it. On the palate, quite simple and tired. Lean and dry, with the acid totally taking over. Really unfortunate.
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Year 3 - Super Tasting 1 of 5 - Dave does Birth Year Wines: Very difficult showing here from the '70 Palmer. Quite advanced with heavy bricking. The nose is entirely tertiary of soil, old furniture and an odd noxious gas aroma. While this was recently sourced from a reputable retailer I suspect there are better bottles of this out there.
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Year 3 - Super Tasting 1 of 5 - David does Birth Year Wines (Dave's House, Kitchener, ON): I have had some very majestic vintages of Palmer over the years.....1961, 1978, 1983, 1989, 2000 etc. so have very high hopes when we had a new person joining our tasting group that was born in 1970.... Needless to say...the 1970 Palmer did not show up to the party. Nose showed some traces of fruit but this was really over the hill with a dominant metallic note. The palate was thin, metallic and boring....what a waste. DOA
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Second Sunday Group: Margaux (M's): Faded brick color, obviously the oldest in the flight. Initial aromas of sweat socks, red fruit and horse blanket. The horse blanket quality follows through on the palate, along with sweet red fruit. Develops aromas of black tea leaf, berries and lavender. Nice acid, with red fruit and tea on the palate.
My #7, Domino's #3 Group #3, 44 pts
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Properly stored from purchase upon release until consumed. beautiful color, no brown at the edges. Initial bottle funk blew off quickly. Lovely fruit-influenced perfume at first sniff. The fruit never resolved into identifiable elements, but the overall bouquet was red fruit and lovely. Perhaps most interesting for its longevity, youth and beauty. I suspect the fruit which was once there in abundance is fading, and any more of these should be drunk now.
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This bottle is very well preserved, being ex-Mahler-Besse 2007 and I bought it a number of years ago from Acker retail. Level is VTS, almost neck. The cork is black and very moist but sound, surely the original. Color is garnet, some bricking at the very edge. What is so impressive is the way it simply refused to fade in the glass over a 2+ hour period. The bouquet is modest, but lovely, full of red fruit, berry and cherry. The signature 1970 acidity keeps it fresh, although just a bit too much much for perfection. If not for the acidity, this would be sweet and mellow. Nevertheless it's a beautiful wine at age 44 with absolutely no sign of fatigue.
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Fully mature, this is not a wine to hold for more development. What you get is a sensuous, silky, velvet textured, sweet, fresh, vibrant wine with sensations of sweet, ripe cherries, plum, tobacco, truffle, forest floor and wet earth. If you want to get an idea on where your 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010 will be with 40 years of age, the 1970 Palmer provides a perfect indicator.
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TTTG Blind: Absolutely beautiful, captivating nose. Floral, leather, savory, soy, tobacco, bright red fruit. The palate certainly played second fiddle to the nose, especially as it faded with air. Light bodied, a slight bitter note, and somewhat drying with a medium-minus finish. However, the nose was worth the price of admission. My 2/6.
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CT Tasting Group (Spencer's HOuse): My WOTN - Beautiful nose that jumps out of the glass, showing funk, leather and powerful fruit / currant. Palate shows similarly with well integrated and fresh red and dark fruit taking center stage , framed by well-aged earthy flavors. Tannins are still present and show consistently from entry through finish. Finished medium to medium-plus. This was best right from the bottle and did lose some of its presence and with air.
Excellent
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An outstanding showing. Totally seamless, layers of red fruit, earth, tobacco, dried flowers and some leathery funk all coming together on the nose and palate with a very silken, graceful mouthfeel. The structure's fully resolved here, and it shows at its best right out of the bottle, fading a little with more air - but this is a really lovely bottle and one of the best Palmers I've had.
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From 750: Getting a little tired, from this bottle at least. Not the wine I last had ten years ago. Perhaps would have sored higher had I not had '78 Robert Arnoux Les Suchots the night before. Decadent voluptuous nose leads to a somewhat disappointing palate. Plenty of fruit remains but tastes almost over ripe. Lacks acidity and the tannic grip to provide focus and balance the fruit. Fair finish. This wine was bought at auction 10 years ago. Fill was very top shoulder, and the cork seal was adequate. Perhaps the previous owner (or owners) did not have good storage conditions.
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At the Mandarin Grill in HK for a Palmer vertical. A lovely wine that gave the '61 a run for its money on the night. This wine had it all, great nose, body and length. Most enjoyable.
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A small impromptu dinner - Bordeaux and Champagne (Washington D.C.): The same source as the last two bottles but this is fresh and clean. Sweet red fruits, red cherries, cedar, sweet spices and earth. Fully matured, sweet red fruit driven palate impression, fully resolved tannins and good length. Really tasty.
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Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red/purple center with oranging rims. The medium+ intensity nose of black cherries, violets, brown spices, and soil was very nice. Unfortunately, this bottle was just slightly corked.
In the mouth, this wine was very refined with a fine-grained structure. It was ripe but very subtle. It had light rounded tannin and very good length.
While this wine is at its peak, it will last here for quite a few years.
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Bordeaux Wimps (La Trompette, Chiswick): Medium garnet, medium pale mahogany rim. Earthy, mineral nose, a hint of something slightly musty (though certainly not corked), red fruits, fresh, slightly lean on the finish. ***
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Two bottles, from a case I've owned for a long time. Drank well, but the 70 seems to have peaked, and I'm putting the rest of these into near term drinking.
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More austere and tired than the 1966, 1961 or 1978 versions of this wine. Took a very long time to open. Initially pretty dirty nose, with a borderline TCA sort of taint. Grew into something more fleshy and satisfying, with largely tertiary characteristic. Nice, but could think of much better ways to spend £100 on wine...
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Very expressive, open nose, with black and a little red currant, mint, tobacco, and a foresty note. Light-middle weight, no obtrusive tannin left. Fresh and generous in the mouth, though not much texture to speak of--this is more about the smell than the taste.
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Catena Zapata Winemaker Dinner (Betony): Just gorgeous. The nose shows lots of loamy, earthy qualities, violets, and beautiful deep cassis fruit underneath. Medium-bodied, beautifully elegant and silky, the fruit has faded just a touch and this is more savory, but there's enough fruit to cover the tannic structure, and the tannins are incredibly rich and smooth. Beautiful wine.
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VEO tasting - Mature Claret (Restaurant Bordewijk, Amsterdam, NL): Crushed red fruit and minerals, almost Pinot Noir like elegance and fragrance, stunningly stylish, supremely elegant, almost on a par with the (much richer) 1961, so fresh and harmonious, still has the tannic grip and the balance to live to a distinguished old age. Incredibly delicious.
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Stored in cold cellar since release. Fill bottom neck - cork broke perfect condition. For the genuine article only 73 cl. Elegance, complextity, finesse, length but no power. Perfect and classic. Will see 50 with ease. For those luckily born in 1970 a wine for sixty.
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Stored in cold cellar since release.Bottom neck. Cork broke but perfect condition. Great Margaux from a great(?) vintage: elegance,finesse,complexity and length (3+ minutes): no power but that's Margaux For those who want the genuine article only 73cl! Will last to 50 with ease if properly kept. 40+ years ago I read in awe those who '28 and '29: all this can be blamed on English enthusiasts from Saintsbury onwards. Now I'm the same
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Stored in cold cellar since release.Bottom neck. Cork broke but perfect condition. Great Margaux from a great(?) vintage: elegance,finesse,complexity and length (3+ minutes): no power but that's Margaux For those who want the genuine article only 73cl! Will last to 50 with ease if properly kept. 40+ years ago I read in awe those who '28 and '29: all this can be blamed on English enthusiasts from Saintsbury onwards
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Very well preserved bottle: level very top shoulder. Showing well from opening. Color and rim suggest 20 years, not 43. Nose is light, but elegant, floral and pleasant. Just some hints of tertiary notes, still some fruit (blackberries, prunes), cedar, tobacco, leather, hay and the typical old Bordeaux metal/mineral/smoke identity. Good length, no signs of fatal tiredness. Well preserved bottles should continue to drink well for 5-10 more years.
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Another brilliant showing for this perfectly preserved bottle, sourced from Premier Cru many years ago. Great color, just the slightest hint of orange at the rim. The rather faint yet pretty floral bouquet leads to a marvelously sweet rush of very lively taste of blue and black berry with no tobacco or smoke. Silky smooth and perfectly balanced thanks to a very slight fruit acid finish. When Palmer gets it right, it is absolutely the equivalent of Chateau Margaux itself. It's perfectly logical when you see how the vineyards interdigital on the hallowed ground.
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This fully mature Margaux offers an expressive nose of forest floor, earth, cinnamon, tobacco, cassis, stone and cedar wood aromas. With the texture of silk, wrapped in velvet, this elegant Chateau Palmer ends with a refined, plush, earthy, cassis and spice finish. This is fully mature. If well stored, there is no hurry to drink it. But it is probably not going to improve.
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Dinner at home with Mrs L, Thomas and Carman (Hong Kong): I have a curious fondness for the 1970 vintage and try to buy every bottle I come across -- which these days isn't many. It's been 10 years since I first tasted a 1970 Palmer, and happily this particular bottle didn't show much aging relative to that last one. The nose is still beautifully fruity and floral in the usual charming Palmer style. Bright notes of red berries, sandal wood, dried orange peel give the fruity mid-palate a nice lift and vibrancy. There is plenty of life yet -- and a noticeable grip -- in the 30 sec+ finish. It's great to see you again 1970 Palmer old friend, let's meet again in 2023 -- let's see what shape we're both in by then!
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Ian's Blind @ Medlar (The Medlar, London): Blind. Bright, light, some fruit behind this, sweet and evolved. Lifted. Light, bright acidity. Fragrant. Left bank, St Julien, maybe 79? No. Palmer70. Now, with 20-20 vision there is a richness to it, but it's fading and the acidity becoming more prominent. Holding ok, but time to drink up. (*)***
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Precise, structured, and for me the best of the seven 1970's we had on this night. Always a great wine. I do think that these are past their peak, and while they will drink well for many years, should be put into rotation.
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Decanted and drank over 3 hours. Somewhat muted nose dark fruit, mushrooms and tobacco. The palate matchedand just seemed a little flat and rustic. Medium tannic finish. I wanted to like this more.
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Alvin’s 60th Birthday Dinner (Le Gavroche): Similar colour to the ’81. This had a beautifully mature nose with notes of cedar, tobacco, earth, cherry and spice. At first the fruit on the palate was slightly dried out, but as it sat in the glass this 42 year old Palmer started to improve, becoming softer and silkier with perfectly mature ripe cassis and cherry fruit. The amount of acidity had this bottle ever so slightly out of balance, but that’s nitpicking. Solid length with some drying tannins on the backend. This definitely isn’t going to get any better so time to drink up. Excellent.
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With older wines, it's always a gamble. Fortunately, this bet paid off in spades! With a perfume that deserves to be bottled and sold, due to its floral, truffle, tobacco, cassis, earth, cigar box, cherry and spice scented nose, the wine really took off on the palate. Sensuous, soft, sexy, silky textures and a beautiful, ripe, sweet, tobacco and cherry finish made this a stellar tasting experience. Splash decanted moments before serving, the wine remained at the same high level for 2 hours. It might have stayed in the sweet spot longer, but that was about as much savoring as we were able to do, with a wine that delicious.
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Perhaps the best Palmer I have had. Two different bottles from two owners and both were gorgeous. Had side by side with 1983 and I preferred the 1970, thought the 83 is also a favorite. At its peak with no sign of fading
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Maybe a bit past its prime, or maybe just a bottle with some storage issues. It was okay, but I sensed it should have been much better. To be fair, I tasted this alongside other varietals I prefer.
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A perfect bottle of this great wine. Beautiful ruby color with hardly any fading. Very Margaux on the palate with a taut finesse and elegant texture. Then plenty of stuffing in the mid-palate with mature flavors of sandlewood, violets, spice and black fruits. Finishes so very complex with notes of tobacco, all kinds of spice and minerals. Peaking now and has the balance to hold for quite some time.
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from and excellent looking bottle with a VTS fill, this wine look in the zone with a deep red center and tawny rims. The medium+ intensity nose showed plum, black cherries, gravel, and brown spices.
As usual, this wine needed 4+ hours to show its best. It was fantastically silky, complex and had excellent length for such a subtle wine. This wine was the definition of balance with soft, integrated tannin. While I doubt it will get any better, it will certainly last for many years at this level.
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This bottle, sourced from Premier Cru years ago and with neck level, was the best example of '70 Palmer I have had in years. Most of the others were somewhat dry and fruit-deficient. Not this one. Beautiful mulberry and violet fragrance was obvious although I wanted even more. Excellent mid palate presence and true finish. Almost delicate yet the beautiful soft berry fruit is exceptionally attractive. Very lively and no fade in the glass for over 2 hours.
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NR- There was something off with this bottle, loads of iodine and tart fruits. There was something underneath that kept it interesting but not what this wine is meant to be.
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Drank at a Jazz club with a pasta dish; very powerful wine- up-front with less tannic than expected, even given age. Lengthy finish with hints of many different but indistinguishable spices.
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From a vhs shoulder bottle, this wine looked strong with a deep red center and some orange at the rim. The high- intensity nose was captivating with black fruit, violets, minerals, a hint of led pencil.
In the mouth, this wine was soft and lush at first. Over the course of 3 hours, it developed a firm spine that was always fully balanced by lush, round fruit. This wine had super length and tons of class.
It was great to see this wine perform so well after an underwhelming magnum this spring.
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Acker Merrall Inaugural Chicago Auction (Trump International Hotel): Served by Bernard de Laage from Chateau Palmer, somewhat of a "warm up" for me for our Palmer dinner the next night. Mostly secondary aromas with good floral elements. Some more black primary flavors on the palate, also showing good spice. Lean finish. This convinced me to find my 1971 Palmer to bring to dinner the following night, in addition to the 1955 i was already planning to bring.
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Again drank on Mackie's birthday. The level was low but .tThis bottle was exceptional. Beautiful nose of an aged bordeaux, pencil lead, tobacco, hints of soy wrap round by dark fruits giving layers of aromas. Silky on the palate. Very feminine, smooth tannins that holds the wine toether so well. Fruits showing well despite its age.
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Top shoulder/bottom neck fill, cork in good shape, came out in one piece, no evidence of seepage. Popped, breathed in bottle 90 minutes, consumed over next two hours. Fabulous aroma and flavors of lead pencil, tobacco shop, layers of red and black fruits, iron, savory herbs, lavender, nice acidity, some smooth light tannin in finish, lots of life left -- drinking wonderfully.
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Restrained nose at the beginning, but later this started to come up nicely. Complex all across with persistent tertiary flavors. Very much alive and rocking- nice tannins and texture. I think this is just perfect to be enjoyed now. We decided to decant this wine to avoid sediment but this also helped to open it up. It would probably help to have decanted for longer period. The last glass was much more generous than the first- and this was about 40min after we opened. I would decant this wine for 1h to start. Really great!
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bottle seemed to be in good shape (VTS), but wine was in decline. Rusty, lost most of its ruby color, sour and one dimensional old taste. Did improve slightly during the two hours or so, but this bottle was definitely years past its prime. Pity.
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from a well stored bottle that was in excellent condition: fill level at the base of neck.
Medium color, no amber at the edge. The nose was reticent at first and after an hour or two began to open up a little...red fruit and acidity was clearly detectable, but no real nuance or added dimensions. The taste was similar. I struggled to find any true defining characteristic to the wine, it was very simple and no length to speak of. Acidity was present and by the end (3 hours later) overshadowed the fruit.
it was pleasant drinking, nothing objectionable, but feels to me this is past its peak
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From an excellent looking magnum with a bottom neck fill, this wine looked solid with a deep red center and oranging rims. It is worth noting that the cork crumbled but I don't think this was an issue. As usual, this wine was in a bit of a funk when it was first decanted. The nose was sour and the wine tasted acidic with a slight cardboard/cork flavor.
The wine slowly got better and, after 3 hours, it developed a medium intensity nose of dusty cherry fruit, soil, thyme, and brown spices. In the mouth, the wine was silky, round and lush on the attack but it had good acidity and notable rounded tannins. The flavors noted in the nose lingered in my mouth in the sneakily long finish. In fact, as the wine aired, the tannins became firmer to the point where the wine seemed just a bit astringent.
Based on this one sample, I would say this wine needed a bit more meat on the bones to make it to a Parker 95. Clearly, this wine will last for decades but it is unclear to me how much better it will get.
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Top shoulder bottle but otherwise ok and from the trusted cellar of Aubrevoir in Athens. Needs decanting as there is a ton of sediment and the wine benefited from 30 minutes aeration. Colour is youthfull. The nose is open and beautiful. Very old style bordeaux. The palate is alive and vibrant for a 41yr old. Fully matured and very elegant. Really a joy to have this but unfortunately not a cheap excercise.
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STG End of Year (Roy's): tasted blind herbally fruited and very lovely, with a lightly chalked mouthfeel. quite amazing, and I did not guess it was the oldest in the flight. Superb wine, WOTF.
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KH's 40th birthday dinner (Bloom/Lily): mature and evolved. lovely nose of cherries with hints of its trademark tobacco leaf. good structure and balance on the palate.
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Finally a '70 Palmer that lived up to its lofty but often unfulfilled reputation. I purchased this bottle from Golden West many years ago. Level low neck. Mature but deep garnet. Terrific Palmer perfume at it's best, a flower garden of violets and all shades of roses. Velvety texture, firm entry and intense finish. It's hard to believe this wine is 40 years old but so vigorous there are no tertiary characteristics.
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Seems to be a fair degree of bottle variation here, had some spectacular bottles, this one however was very nice, but did not reach the heights I've seen in others. Leaner and less aromatic.
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1970 Palmer opened with smoke, truffle, earth, leather, blackberry and cassis aromatics. This bottle offered textures on the lean side. The wine finished with spicy cassis and strawberry flavors. I've tasted better, fresher examples of this wine. It reminded me of what the 95 will probably taste like at full maturity.
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Pristine bottle with into neck fill. Captivating bouquet of licorice and black fruit. In the mouth everything is in harmony, lovely fruit and soft tannins and the after taste goes on for a while. lovely.
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A great bottle of Bordeaux, but perhaps not worthy of reputation. 12 bottles tasted, all bottom neck. Cedar, tobacco, currant, blood orange and dusty leaf nose. Complex but lacking a bit of intensity on the nose. Slightly lacking in fruit on the palate for the acidity level. Great wine overall.
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Definite brown; Cedar, old drawer, tea; Fresh acidity, quite elegant, the acidity carries the wine – not tannins or body. The acidy has a twist of black currant (albeit not in a fruity way). Definite and archetypical bdx
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I was quite worried about the mid shoulder condition of this auction bottle. Initially mostly aged orange peel. After an hour recorked in bottle, much more impressive. Ethereal, earthy, tobacco and complex. Acidity, fruit and alcohol are well harmonized. Perhaps not as stupendous in the mouth as the nose suggested. A civilized drink compared with the preceding 99 Brunello Riserva. No, not quite the same league as the 83 Margaux or for that matter the 89. But at 40 years of age, this is drinking well and will not hesitate to buy more on auction.
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Pre-Auction Tasting - Chateau Palmer 1970-1983; 5/7/2010-5/12/2010 (Edmonton, AB): Ullage just below shoulder.Attractive medium ruby/garnet in colour; initial aromas required some coaxing in the glass, but included some black currant fruit along with smells of freshly cut cedar; continued to open up with more swirling; elegant and stylish - nicely structured and showing fine harmony of the elements; with excellent sweet currant fruit; glides over the palate, where the sweet black currant fruit is mouthfilling, some spicy accents; and extending out to a long finish. Still evidence of some soft tannins
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Decanted for one hour. Top shoulder fill and signs of past seepage. Garnet core with a brick rim. Beautiful and seductive nose of leather, black fruit, loamy currant, licorice, sweet tobacco and hot stones. Surprisingly youthful. I am enamored with this fountain-of-youth-Margaux. Truly the best Palmer that I have had (Never had '61 or '05). The layers are evident and very egalitarian. Soft tannins and a minute long finish. This is an exceptional bottle and lives up to it's legendary status. Bottles in great condition will still have at least ten more years. The mid-palate is perfect. There's still a decent amount of fruit and over the course of three hours this stupendous claret really developed. I would have guessed this to be from '86 meets '88. Drink now - 2020.
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Decanted & served immediately. Lt color w/orange tinge. Perfumed nose lasting an hr. Well balanced - tannins are soft, fruit, acid, alch all in balance. Finish soft, elegant, lush. Fantastic wine and still holding up.
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Terrific. Dark with some bricking. It's big with tobacco, sweet leather, cedar, black fruit and a dusting of lavender. Complex with depth, length and a long finish.
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Cork way down (3cm) so I guess it turned out ok for the way the bottle has been kept. Nose was great with ripe fruit, cassis, cigar box and floral notes (mainly violets). Soft and velvety, high acidity, finish is slightly metallic but improved with time.
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New Year's Eve 2009-2010 (Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)): This is very good but (this bottle at least) may be on its last legs. A bit oxidized. Leather, tobacco and red fruit on the nose. Good acidity and red fruit on the palate. Very interesting development here for 40 year old wine. A slight bit bitter at the back end of the palate. Moderate finish.
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New Years Eve (Collingswood and Philadelphia): I dont have too much experience with Bordeaux of this age. The cork was not in good shape, having almost fallen into the bottle, but the wine seemed in good condition. very secondary, white black pepper, leather, and tobacco notes dominating. A little bit sour late on the midpalate, and a bitter finish.
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Certainly a wonderful drink, but it suffered in comparison to the '66 we drank along side it. This bottle was in great condition, VTS level, long moist cork which came out in one piece. The bouquet was pleasant enough, with the ususal cedar, blackcurrent and spice, but I detected a hint of alcohol on the nose although not on the palate. Full bodied, intense but not as absolutely pure as the best examples can be. It's excellent, but not stunning. Could the '70 Palmer be in decline?
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What an outstanding wine. Still fresh with plenty of fruit I was guessing it to be a wine that was 15 years younger. The nose was incredibley complex; classic Margaux "perfume" with a myriad of undertones that ranged from forest floor to mint and a bit of plum. Two others at the table picked up notes of licorice (though I must confess, I did not). The mouthfeel was feminine, elegant and sexy. Not a powerhouse, but not lacking anything either. The finish was long and smooth. This wine was beautifully balanced. I keep coming back to its' aromatics which were riveting. Highly recommended and at peak drinking.
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Mmm, this is stellar wine. Not decanted until we got to the restaurant. This immediately greeted me with lovely notes of tobacco. As it aerated there was a hint of mint, plum cake, and sandalwood. Soft as silk, indescribably complex, utterly delicious. We followed the bottle for 2.5 hours. Just textbook Bordeaux at a lovely point of maturity.
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We drank this yesterday for Mackie's birthday along side Grange 88 and Latour 88. 3 very different wines with such contrasting characters. We started with the Grange and it did not disappoint. Such a sweet nose. Very feminine but very forward with all the fruits and floral notes showing up front. Good length to prolong the enjoyment. This should be a good lead into the Palmer. The nose was wonderful, light floral notes, frehness of the forest floor - interesting for such an old wine - and on entry it initially surprises us with its 'weakness'. On airing, it opened to be expressive and though it lacked the fullness fo the Grange, the subtle femininess was most enjoyable. Probably deserves a higher rating.
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Recent auction purchase. Bottle in great condition, great fill. Black fruit everywhere, shockingly fresh. Cigarbox and almost sweet spice. Very good length. Stayed fresh and persistent all evening.
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This bottle was ex-Mahler-Besse 2007 and it looked pristine. I decanted it for about an hour and a half, but in retrospect, that was not enough. There were no flaws in the wine - it was excellent - yet it somehow never reached the heights, either in aroma or flavor, of the very best examples of '70 Palmer. There was more acidity than usual but not excessively so. It improved in the glass over a couple of hours at the restaurant. I quite liked it, but did not fall in love.
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With tobacco, truffle, cassis, spice, blackberry and floral aromatics, this concentrated wine filled your mouth with elegant, dark berries, cherry and coco. Fleshy, rich and round, this mature wine is still young and will only get better from here.
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(Ex- Mahler-Besse 2007, original cork, VTS level). Good color for age, very firm cork which came out intact. I tried to get something thrilling out of this bottle since by reputation (and past experience) the '70 Palmer can be magnificent in both fragrance and palate, but it was not to be. The high acidity characteristic of the vintage was there which kept it fresh over the 2 hours we sampled it. The tannins were slightly coarse though and the fruit was muted and unfocused. Could it have been very slightly corked despite appearance and pedigree?
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This bottle was sourced from Golden West (SF) so I must have purchased it many years ago. The condition was excellent, with a VTS level. The cork was firm and moist and came out intact. There was not much on the nose here; certainly none of the famous "margauxberry" perfume this wine can sometimes have. But on the palate, it was very satisfying indeed; rich, intense and long. Firm tannins, notes of blackcurrent/cassis and tobacco. Really good stuff but perhaps a bit too stern.
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This example lacked the elegance and complexity found in the best bottles. Ruby with bricking and offering more of a bright fruit profile than is usually found in 70 Palmer, this bottle was not a perfect example
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While just about outstanding, I had greater hope for this recent Acker Internet purchase since it was a recent release from Mähler-Besse. Mildly pleasant to smell, but no resemblance the the famously beautiful Palmer bouquet at its best. Nice weight and texture, totally integrated by now of course and without fatigue. Pleasant dark berry flavors of some complexity. A very, very nice wine but by no means spectacular.
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Cork solid but wet all the way through, and label was soiled, but wine was fine. Heady nose of sweet fruit and raisin. Slight bitterness and acidity on the palate after some breathing, gradually softens into the slightly syrupy sweet fruit of balanced fine aging merlot.
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Hugh's magnum, excellent appearance, but surprisingly dull in a bad night for Bordeaux at the Cataldos food and wine blowout weekend. Nothing out of place, not corked or oxidized, but surprisingly mute and modest.
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Château Palmer Vertical (Morton's): Very different from the other ’70s-era Palmers, this one is surprisingly tannic and feels a little hollow. Couldn’t hold my interest in this company.
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Palmer vertical at Morton's, NYC: Nice maturity. Full with a sweet middle and some firm acidic structure that doesn't overwhelm. Solid wine, if a little high toned acidity. Very nice. A-
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IWFSC Governors Lunch (Custom House): Tasted from three separate bottles and all were in excellent (and consistent) shape - surprising! Lovely crimson red color. Nice lush round nose of black fruit and some spice. Beautiful floral black fruit palate with a long cedar finish. Drinking perfectly.
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Very youthful in color and appearence.... great core of fruit... I opened this decanted and poured it to the group blind along with the '75, '83 & '89 in a vertical. One very experienced Bordeaux taster thought it might have been a '90. It had the band-aid nose that is most often associated with the Cordier label and that through some off track. Cold at first after 1/2 hour in the glass and warming up it began to develop secondary and tertiary flavors. A very solid showing, additional well stored bottles will last for many years..... I purchased this bottle in London in '94 while studing at the London School of Economics.
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This was a late night opening as Justin was still thirsty. Lovely bottle. Opens up with the dirty smells, but after half an hour this blows off. Gorgeously supple and complex wine that is only a year younger than me. Very distinct spice and leather on the nose. Amazing texture and fruit. This kept opening, deepening and sweetening for a few hours. My favorite wine of the evening.
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Popped and recorked at home, 1/2 hour later decanted and drank immediately at the restaurant. The bottle had good levels and the cork was in good condition. Very youthful color despite being a 37 year old wine. Very nice, seductive nose of cassis, lilies and a touch of earth and herbs. In the mouth, very pleasant and rounded. Great acidity which should mean that it can last a bit longer but somehow I thought this bottle was a bt "tired" and lacked that extra depth.
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JF's Birthday (JF's place, Tucson): Beautiful, elegant, floral notes on the nose. On the palate, this is wonderful and gorgeous. Beautiful fruits - plums mostly. Leather. Great earth and minerals. Just a gorgeous wine! My WOTN. Group's #2 WOTN
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Sheesh, this wine is an utter knockout! It's hard to believe this is 36 years old, as it drinks like a baby. A stunning nose of flowers, leather, soy, hoisin, quite fresh actually despite the heavy Asian descriptors. The palate is loaded with ripe fruit, plums, tobacco yet with a nice edge of acidity and is just toothsome. Man oh man, this is about as good as any Palmer I have ever tasted. Wow!
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This is by a long way the best example of '70 Palmer I have had in many years. It was purchased from Chicago Wine Company eons ago; very, very top shoulder fill and deep ruby color almost to the edge. Really splendid in the mouth; velvety, floral (violets), sweet and persistent. Strangely, there was almost no aroma, but what little could be coaxed out of the glass was enticingly beautiful with that very special Margaux flower garden perfume. This bottle seemed young, with many more years of life.
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Dinner at Mina's with Wilf and Peter Marks, MW. This showed much better than I had ever imagined. Has to be one of the stars of the much heralded vintage that never came around. This is a beautiful expression of Margaux terroir. Silky smooth. Time to drink though.
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The 1970 Claret Vintage (John G's): WOW! Gorgeous wine. Youthful, vibrant and acidic. Nose is gorgeous with loads of sweet ripe red plums. Great strawberries, gravel, slate, and a touch of earth. Really wonderfully complex, with great tannins. Outstanding wine.
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Another underwhelming showing for this formerly fabulous Palmer. Seems disjointed and unfriendly. This bottle from Chicago Wine Company, so I must have purchased it a very long time ago.
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This is the best bottle of this wine I have had in years, mostly because it had the perfume and vigor it displayed a decade ago. Marvelous violet flower fragrance is the best part; the cliche "perfume" is not an exaggeration here. Losing color as might be expected at age 35, but on the palate there is a surprising amount of energy and the finish is clean if not especially long. Too bad they are not all like this one. Gently fading but this bottle refuses to lose its pulse.
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Château Palmer: Attractive medium ruby/garnet in colour; slightly vegetal nose disappeared on swirling, and began to exhibit more cedar and deep fruit; initially somewhat reticcnt in showing its depth and concentration of fruit, but it opened up with more time; elegant and stylish; harmoniously structured with excellent sweet currant fruit; glides effortlessly over the palate, extending out to a long finish; fruit and spice continue, with still some tannins evident to assure longer life.
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This rating is for a magnum Hugh brought to Trina for our Bordeaux tasting. It does indeed taste about 5 years younger than the same wine out of 750s, so merits an outstanding rating for its richly plummy merlot dominated fruitiness, more than decent bouquet and positive finish. Even so, I think this wine is past its outstanding best. This is a wine that is/was more enjoyable for its pure fruitiness than its secondary nuances, attractive as they are.
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Hugh’s bottle. Pleasant Palmer fragrance of violets and Spring flowers but never really blossomed; rather, it faded. Medium full. Very good concentration of fruit. Strong finish. Sound but far from dazzling. Past its best.
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Light red colour with clear browning at the rim. Scents of camphor and dried leaves. Wonderfully soft and round in the mouth with an orange truffle -> orange peel like flavour impression. Perfectly mature for drinking now, and not showing any signs of going downhill. There was an interesting and very attractive inky character to the taste - sounds weird but it was very nice. There seemed to be plenty of structure for further aging. Great balance and style. 91 points
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Verticale of Chateau Palmer (Toulouse, France): My notes are not that precise any more since we have started with the lunch. The nose is old, past its peak, and the wine is fluid, lacking and slightly oxydized. Still rather nice palate and long finish. I am a bit puzzled and try '71, and I am shocked when I learn it's the '70. Another disappointment after the '86 - on the other hand, oxydized doesn't sound too good...
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Opened for Tracy's belated birthday celebration. Wow, might suffice for this wine. Beneath the capsule there was lots of mold and mildew. The cork, however, came out completely intact. The enormous nose was present from first open. It displayed what I consider the classic Bordeux nose, cedar, lead pencil, bramble, and black cherry. I could have just enhaled this aroma all night. The palate was also classic, with cedar, super sweet red and black fruit, and a touch of chocolate. At first, this wine was a touch thin for a great Bordeaux, but after an hour in the decanter it had picked up tremendous body. This wine is fully mature and ready to drink. Wow.
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Wine tasting. Good floral elements on nose work well with some lingering fruit and good mushroom aromatics. Wine still has a tannic backbone as well as lots of energy. Palate still has some good black cherry fruit. everything really works together. Quite impressive. Gently weakening but not quickly.
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Golden West bottle. Perfect appearance and cork. Medium color. Not much happening on the nose. Dark currants. Slightly dull. Good texture. Past its best.
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Golden West bottle, level into neck. Good color. One of the best ‘70 Palmers in quite a while. The nose is reticent but correct. Good weight. Positive attack. Interesting elusive mixed berry mid palate. Clean finish. Interesting. Not tired at all. Held well in the glass.
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Hugh’s bottle. Excellent color. Subdued but firm classic bouquet of cedar and mulberry. Medium weight. Some acidity in the finish. A very good example but the wine is not as flashy as 5 years ago.
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Bright disc. Deep red-brown with orange rim. Clean nose, with moderately-intense (after 10 minutes of aeration in decanter) leather, earth, cigar box and ripe plum. After 30 minutes of aeration, vanilla appears. The wine is medium-bodied on the palate, and the tannins have largely melted away. The flavors are complex and similar to those on the nose. The finish is long and smooth. This wine is very pleasant now and should remain pleasant for a few more years, but I would have preferred to have had it at a more youthful point.
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Aged top Bordeaux with my local tasting club (@ My place): Still a lot of berry fruits in the bouquet as well as the taste. Little pepper, beautiful oak and some sweetness. Complex and beautiful harmonious wine. Still going strong.
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Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Excellent appearance, very top shoulder fill. Medium ruby. Pleasant enough bouquet at first, too bad it disappeared in 15 minutes. Medium weight. Modest fruit. Short. Flat, not spoiled. Meh.
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Richard’s bottle, imported by Sichel but not Mähler-Besse. Not one of the best examples of this frustratingly irregular wine. The usual Palmer elegance but not the complexity, perfume or length of this wine at its best. But not tired.
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Andy’s bottle. Splendid. Not a gigantic bouquet but lovely mulberry/plum. Beautifully rounded, smooth and sweet. Unfortunately turned astringent after 45 minutes.
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Disappointing again. Excellent color. A nice whiff of that special Palmer flower but quickly shut down. Somewhat coarse. Good fruity attack but faded quickly before the finish line. Atypical.
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Not a good showing this time. Advanced medium garnet color. Sweet floral fragrance of classy Palmer but thinning out. Decent finish but just “good plus” overall.
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Probably Crown Liquor bottle, mid shoulder fill. Drunk at Maxaluna Boca Raton. All about texture. Muffled bouquet. Fully mature. Soft sweet Merlot. Not a lot of grip and the finish is brief but still a beauty in the ultra feminine style Palmer does so well.
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Probably Crown Liquor bottle, imported by Staccole. Medium garnet, edge is verging on brown. Obviously a very advanced bottle. Beautiful Margaux fragrance dominated by Merlot. Silky smooth. Extremely elegant. Long, warm, inviting finish. Delicate and feminine. A delight to savor.
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Unfair to rate this. Poured into filthy glasses at Marada Bar and Grill. (It was too dark to seat first.) Despite that, the silky smooth texture and finish were evident. But the bouquet and even the flavor were totally muted.
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Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Deep ruby. Modest aroma of black cherry and blackcurrant. Medium body. Dusty. Good, not great, fruit. Unbalanced due to excess acidity and unresolved tannins.
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Medium color. Undistinguished nose. A little anonymous. Modest concentration. Not much depth. Short finish. A major disappointment in this tasting of 1970 Bordeaux.
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Regional Wine and Sprit Rare Wine Tasting: more youthful looking than the Petrus 1970 - still some dark red tones. On the nose not as compelling as the Petrus 1970 (perhaps due to the amount of CS?) - some vanilla, licorice, smoke, earth and VA. The wine has a velvet texture, not great structure and is not very long - seems a bit watery in the finish - showing its tannins - drink up.
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Somewhat disappointing but still good. Healthy medium garnet. Pinched nose. Only moderate fruit although the balance and breed are there. Good finish. A delicate wine.
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Gorgeous wine. Medium color, trace of amber, no brown. Beautiful complex basket of fruit bouquet. Delicate and elegant. Medium body. Good finish. Still some tannin. Sweet ripe fruit. Clearly ready. Not quite in a class with the ‘61 but still a great vintage of Palmer.
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4/19/2024 - Wine Canuck wrote: 96 Points
Perfect bottle with a high fill into the neck. This pours medium ruby in the glass with faint bricking. The nose is just soaring with classic Margaux perfume showing violets, plum, barnyard, charcoal, tobacco, and wet soil. The palate is youthful and silky showing loads of plum and violets with silky medium tannin and medium acid. The finish is long and layered replaying the classic violets and plums. All in all this was an incredible and regal showing from the 1970 Palmer. About as I good as I could imagine it showing. Just a hair behind the incredible 1983 and 1989 I've had. What's particularly amazing here is the amount of life this 54 year old wine is showing. Should easily make it another 54 years and beyond.
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4/2/2024 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Slightly perhaps its best days, yet, if well stored, this is a beauty. The perfume delivers its smoke, cassis, dried flowers, cedar and earthy notes easily. Medium-bodied, finesse in style, with a black cherry, and spice note in the finish. No decanting needed, just pop and pour. Drink from 2024-2028.
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2/25/2024 - pavel_p wrote:
Don’t think I have finished a bottle in worse condition than this 70 Palmer. Cork sunken in and leaking fairly recently into the OWC, hence low shoulder. Managed to remove the cork with the Durand and with the white mold on top of the cork too. Initially moldy notes with plenty of mushroom on nose and attack but not outright oxidized. After a few hours of slow ox, this blew off though and the wine was still holding up, showing dark fruit, integrated tannins and a short finish. Bottles in good condition will show much better for sure
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2/20/2024 - beatles wrote: 91 Points
Gatecrashing the competition. This is a very vertical, classic Palmer, dark berries, pronounced tobacco, very dry, dusty, more than decent length. Declining, Drink up.
#Møntergade#Ib&Ole
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2/9/2024 - ankitmehra Likes this wine: 96 Points
Four Decades of Left Bank Bordeaux with Friends (New York): Crisis averted as, despite using a Durand, the cork was doing us no favours on this bottle, forcing our hand to strain the wine into a decanter. To our surprise, the wine actually benefited from the decant, opening up to be a gem over the duration we enjoyed it. The nose had a brilliant balance of tertiary components as forest floor and tobacco were counteracted by mint and red cherries. The palate, though, evolved to represent the elegance we so often associate with wine from Margaux. An upfront that lures you in with notes of chocolate, plum and dark cherries shifted into a tertiary mid-palate of cedar wood, earthy funk and licorice before a gamey finish came in that elongated the wine's silkiness. Château Palmer regularly impresses me, and with this being the oldest example I've had to date, it really showed the prowess of the château.
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1/13/2024 - GrapeScott wrote: 90 Points
Upper mid-shoulder fill, Mahler-Besse. Cork was in good condition and came out in one piece, but there were signs of previous seepage. Not as good as a previous, stunning bottle but still very enjoyable. Margaux elegance, with plum, cedar and cassis notes, a bit oxidized on the finish.
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1/1/2024 - The Wine Monkeys wrote: flawed
Sadly. The cork was trashed and the wine was toast.
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11/24/2023 - Bronson Meadows wrote:
Beautiful balance and carry through. Cork disintegrated but wine was perfect.
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11/8/2023 - Eric wrote: 91 Points
54th birthday dinner. Near birth year. This started slowly, surprisingly dark and dusky, not very forthcoming at first. But oh the depth! Layers and layers of chocolate covered cherry and mineral with impressive freshness and structure. I have had better bottles, and this wine has seen better days, but it is still an impressive Margaux. Deep, red fruit. Deep minerality. Smoke. Surprisingly structured and austere.
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10/7/2023 - JulianSkeels wrote:
Corked. Decent looking material underneath
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9/9/2023 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bought two of these, drank the worst looking one about a year ago and it was an ethereal delight.
This one's a touch more straightforward. Light in color, candied red fruit nose; leather, varnish, rosemary and a lovely meaty note. Tons of other stuff going on- this is really complex.
Palate is not quite as good. Quite sweet, acid is pleasant and not overbearing, but the tannins have faded a bit too much and the wine seems a bit tired.
When it's on song this is the second best wine of the vintage after the Latour. This wasn't quite up to scratch though.
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9/6/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
Quite mature and perhaps in decline but it showed a lovely lithe texture and good complexity with notes of balsamic, subdued black fruits and soy sauce. Drink up! At NYC Commanderie Dinner, L'Appart.
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9/5/2023 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still the same as the last notes I took 6 years ago brought to CdB dinner and was the wine of the night. Smooth and silky but a slight dryness after the finish. I thought that was a sign of aging in 2017 but it’s exactly the same now. Had dinner with the CEO of Palmer and he thought it would be the same for at least another decade.
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3/12/2023 - Dionysos55 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Robe bien évoluée.Bouquet d'une belle intensité sans être grandiose mais surtout d'une très belle complexité.Une belle panoplie d'arômes défile à tour de rôle suivant l'aération du vin: cassis,cerise,menthol,réglisse,sous-bois,épices,café.C'est vraiment virevoltant et enthousiasmant.La bouche est d'une suavité magnifique,d'une élégance magistrale.Ce qui fait que la cote reste à 95 c'est la longueur qui est certes bien présente mais pas grandiose.Un vrai délice néanmoins !!!!
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2/20/2023 - fclarity wrote: 94 Points
From a magnum, this wine had a deep red center and puce rims. The medium intensity nose offered up cherries, violets, soil and some brown spices.
In the mouth, this wine was refined and nicely integrated. It had notable rounded tannin and great acidity. While it was not wildly complex, it wasn't boring either.
While there is certainly no reason to wait, this wine should hang in there at this level, particularly in magnum, for 5 years or so.
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11/21/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Wine Workshop: Chateau Palmer (Benoit): A surprise for me in this tasting. I do think of 1970 as being one of the more drinkable years of Bordeaux but I don't think of anything from that decade being a truly great wine and this was much closer to great than just drinkable. Very fresh, lots of black fruits, the slight green/earthy notes you might get from a crisp spring day outdoors. Very nice.
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9/18/2022 - GrapeScott wrote: 94 Points
High shoulder fill with a crumbling cork. Not decanted and this was fairly reticent upon opening, but this really blossomed with about an hour of air time. Very Margaux, elegant and refined, with floral/violet notes, cassis, plum and some cedar notes. So sauve, this was just fantastic at the 2h mark. This is definitely the best BDX from the vintage that I've tried.
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8/19/2022 - Herb K wrote:
Took about 20-minutes for this wine to open up, becoming floral and full of perfume with velvety, soft tannins.
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7/2/2022 - englishman's claret wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind, the tension between the soft Merlot fruit and the structure imparted by the Cabernet Sauvignon really shines through. This shows red and black cherry with tobacco accents through no recognizable floral elements. According to Broadbent, this was only 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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6/10/2022 - Wrighty Likes this wine: 91 Points
This felt like it had seen better days at the start but slowly opened up during the evening. Never quite hit the heights of the Batailley but showed complexity and balance.
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5/14/2022 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 94 Points
Atera - odv - 1970 Jaboulet - 1970 Yquem
Superb min 1
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10/27/2021 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
Great nose. Woody and so deep. Complex layers of full flavors. 93
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10/8/2021 - frenchiecagowine wrote:
60 years of Chateau Palmer (Torali): Part of a flight of Chateau Palmer, this is probably the one that didn't seem at its best. No rating since some thought it may have a slight TCA taint. I think this bottle might have been off.
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7/21/2021 - ohearsey Likes this wine: 93 Points
I was slightly worried that this would be past it but I need not have worried. Cork in good shape and very little sediment when decanted. Opened up over an hour, paired with ribeye and chips, what more could I ask for. This has plenty of time left in it with fruit still there but that sublime balance that old claret can deliver. Wonderful.
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6/13/2021 - jmoore431 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Brought to dinner out by a marauding visitor from “the Windy City”: despite being dragged through airports in checked luggage within the prior 72 hours, this showed very nicely. No formal notes but it was evolved, graceful and elegant with wonderful complexity.
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4/4/2021 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 95 Points
Easter Sunday lunch, medium red, a lesson in elegance & balance, beautiful mature Palmer, a very good bottle, lovely & classic Palmer, the 67 Gaja Barbaresco & this where purely meditative wines
95
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3/19/2021 - Raizes Likes this wine: 91 Points
开瓶以石墨、皮毛和泥土的气息为主,后期乌梅、山楂的红色水果香气和三级香气轮流主导,富有变化性。酸度充足,尽管已经不再年轻,但结构依然硬朗而非瘦弱。单宁细腻,回味中悠长的烟熏味令人愉悦。
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2/16/2021 - oz11779 Likes this wine: 94 Points
The last time I tried the 70 it was a disappointment - nothing wrong, but nothing special. This bottle was a different story, despite the mid-shoulder ullage. Deep colour, little fading. A beguiling nose - chocolate, plum, mint, cedar. A rich texture, peppermint, silky and very long. An excellent complement to a chicken stir fry - and probably much else besides.
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12/11/2020 - ilee Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dinner at home with TH, the girls & 3 Palmers (At home, Hong Kong): Medium ruby, with an orange rim. Faintly pleasant nose of dried flowers, red berries and dusty gravel road. Light-medium body, with just enough fruit to tease and tickle the palate a little. Most of the wine's tannins have melted away, as has a lot of its alcohol, leaving just a sliver of earthy complexity that floats away all too quickly in the finish. And as the evening wore on, the wine quietly collapsed into a heap of ancient grape juice. This was my last bottle. Goodbye 1970 Palmer old friend, it's been a fun journey.
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12/10/2020 - vagrantone Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened last minute.
Slowly seeping cork, low to mid shoulder fill.
Crumbling cork that disintegrated during extraction.
The wine certainly was not shown under optimal conditions but still highly enjoyable.
Fairly deep color for a mature Medoc.
Beautiful nose with the typical cigar box, cedary, plum, spicy notes along with a minty side.
Still substantial textural richness made this a great pairing with pork chops. Exquisite balance but clearly time to drink this wine.
Beautiful, classic Margaux.
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10/30/2020 - beatles wrote: 92 Points
Mature. The weakest if the lot - albeit in tough competition. Smooth, open, quite broad, not as vertical as the other vintages, notes of chocolate, coffee, toast, tobacco.
#IB#Palmer1961-night
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10/23/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
At full-maturity, this is not a wine for further aging. But that is just fine. It is already 50 years old. Still, if you are lucky enough to have a bottle, you can find an earthy, tobacco laden, cherry-filled wine with earth, cedar and cigar box notes. This is medium-bodied, silky and refined with a gentle, bright finish. If you are sitting on any, you should be consuming your bottles over the next 5 years or so.
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10/2/2020 - schan109 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bottle breathe for 1.5 hours. Opened up in glass after 10-15 min. Matured fruit nose with very integrated palate with cigarette, tea, some fruit. Very smooth. Medium finishing. Best after 30 min in the glass, and it lasted for around 1.5 hours.
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7/29/2020 - ccn wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding bottle. Opened in advance but not decanted. At first a very complex and subtle nose of mushrooms and sous bois. Over two hours built to a rich, long and complex wine with tobacco leaf, smoke, and a surprisingly rich mid-palate. Still quite dark red and seems like this go on for quite a bit more time — though no reason to wait.
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6/7/2020 - LGBH Likes this wine: 93 Points
Was slightly worried as bottle had a bit of fungus under the foil top and cork was very damp. Managed to gently pry out the very fragile cork but was rewarded with a beautiful balanced, fully mature but still surprisingly fresh claret. What a treat! Clearly orange on the rim. Finish was quietly lingering and wonderful to savour. Classy and elegant would be the key words I would use. Am going to hunt myself down a few more bottles!
As ACheng noted , drink this all by itself and enjoy! Food will just overpower it.
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5/26/2020 - acheng wrote: 91 Points
Still drinking well after 50 years. In fact, this bottle drank better than the last one I had. Well into the tertiary spectrum. I decanted half and left half in bottle. Surprisingly, the portion in the decanter drank better than that in the bottle after 4 hours. Dried orange peel, leather bureau and cedar spice. Tannin has completely melted away and acidity held in check. A contemplative drink. Paired it with steak. Overpowered by the food. Drinks better on its own or with milder meat like veal chop.
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1/21/2020 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
Stood up for 4 days, decanted off sediment at 5:20 and back into bottle, drank at about 8. The aromatics were more pungent sooner after the decant, but still were lovely and graceful old stewed red fruit, leather, and soil aromas, feels very much a classic old claret on the nose. Expressive and vibrant still, and perfectly balanced on the palate. Drunk next to (after) 59 and 66 Palmer, and did not show the exceptionally punch of the 66, or the completeness of the 59. But very, very good.
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1/19/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Earthy, with loads of cigar box, cedar chest, tobacco leaf, red fruits and a touch of flowers, the wine is medium-bodied with an elegant touch to the fruit. This has moved past full maturity and should be drunk over the next 5 years.
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12/21/2019 - Nanda wrote:
Wine Flock Champagne Gala (Park Ridge CC): Served blind. Immediately went to 70s Bordeaux. Great earth and dried herb aromas. A bit muddled on the palate. Fully mature. Far preferred the nose vs. the palate.
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12/15/2019 - dbenglis Likes this wine: 89 Points
Fading fruit. I didn't decant. Nose is pleasant. Not powerful at all. Acidic initially but this softened over the course of the hour in the glass. Su bois. Mushroom. I have had 3 of these. 1 corked and 2 as written above. It was good to taste the processes from the 1970s that created this wine. Less sophistication but they still got it done. The wine is just becoming more and more past its prime so I would rec to enjoy. I won't be buying more.
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11/17/2019 - dchain wrote: 89 Points
I found this a bit four-square and unyielding. Fruit was moving toward the savoury end of the spectrum with a touch of furniture polish and walnut on the nose which was not very appealing. I can understand that this might be one of the better left bank wines of the 1970 vintage but I think this is more of historical interest, birth year wine present than drinking pleasure. Need to drink these up or sell them if anyone still has unopened cases!
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11/11/2019 - Jammy Wine wrote: flawed
Unfortunately this bottle was maderized and tasted like it was from the 50s. Left bank Bordeaux? (50/100)
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7/28/2019 - dbenglis Likes this wine: 89 Points
My last bottle was corked or overoxidized. The actual cork structure of this one was better intact although fill level was similar to prior bottle. After a short decant the wine is pleasant, the acid overpowers the remaining fruit but not in a completely detrimental way. I'm not sure I would buy more of these personally except for educational purposes to compare to other vintages. I drank over 2 days keeping the other half in the bottle. It was still drinking well the 2nd day.
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6/12/2019 - englishman's claret wrote:
2019 Palmerathon: bouchonee
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6/7/2019 - dbenglis wrote: flawed
I have a nice souvenir Mahler-Besse bottle 1970. Corked. Purchased from Courtier. I have one more from Courtier and one from Acker Merell. We shall see.
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5/1/2019 - SommStags Likes this wine:
Mag with great fill. Pleasantly surprised after reading some CT notes saying tired. I thought the wine was showing very strong for what it is. While never be one of the better vintages if Palmer, it certainly was delicious. Good showing from the mag!
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3/19/2019 - sdr Does not like this wine: 88 Points
It’s just too tired, clearly past its fabulous best of 10 or 20 years ago. Color shows definite brown. Very nice dark berry aroma that fades in an out, just like the focus is going on and out. Flat finish. Time to say goodbye.
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2/28/2019 - logos wrote: 54 Points
low fill, rather oxidized. dusty, dullish, flat nose improves a bit with air to simple ok fruit but with some tca. drinkable and fairly good at first, but declines
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11/28/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Jordan's Fine Wine Dinner (Boka - Chicago IL): In 70/83/89 vertical. Glorious aromas for the initial 20-30 minutes in glass. Fully mature black fruit, sweet liqueur, black truffle, earth and sweet spice. Similar palate with a good start, but slightly drying finish. Slowly started fading after some time in glass, and much less interesting after 30 minutes.
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11/24/2018 - fclarity wrote: 93 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with orange rims. The medium intensity nose put forth violets, dried rose, and some minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was medium bodied with fine-grained acidity, light tannins, and very good length.
While nice, this wine seemed like it was filtered as it lacked a bit of complexity and punch. I have had mixed experiences with this wine that suggest bottle variation.
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11/17/2018 - hprphf wrote: 92 Points
Acker 2018/11 (Marea): Strawberry, meaty, cigar, star anise, herbal. Deep nose but palate is a bit forward. 92
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10/24/2018 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 99 Points
Cellar Devils with Jeff Leve; 10/23/2018-10/24/2018 (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): Drank blind
The suprise of the night. It was close to perfection and "beat" the famous 1961. This is the good thing in blind tastings. But in this case the 61 was not in best condition, so evrybody loved the 1970. Great extract sweetness without being awkward. Strawberry jogurt and sweet cherries. Pristine and sublime concentration. 99
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10/22/2018 - g-man wrote: 92 Points
1st of a 3 bottle auction lot. Top shoulder fill. When i removed the capsule there was a black gunk cover the cork but I was able to pull it with a Durand with no problem. Still dark and brooding red. Didn't bother to decant given the age. Started to open up after about 15 minutes with a subtle floral nose with a hint of cigar. The palate was still richly fruited but with a hint of acid on the back end along with a great mouth feel. The only negative was a slight acid note on the back end. This is as good as it will get and is probably just past its peak but not going anywhere fast.
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10/20/2018 - ilee Likes this wine: 90 Points
I found a few bottles of this wine last year, so here's an assessment 5 years on from my last encounter. (Likely that either wine, me, or both, have evolved since then.) Initial reaction: OK this is an old wine. And I say this in the kindest possible way. It has the sweet-smelling aromatic patina of desiccated berries, dried flowers and early-autumn hay. On the palate, it is light, almost floating. The tannin is mild but still present, which helps explain why this wine still clings tightly to life. But there isn't a lot of complexity, just wine. I'll save one last bottle for 2020, its 50th anniversary. (I'm not sure if any bottles are worth keeping after that!)
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10/7/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Fully mature, the nose, with its blend of flowers, cigar wrapper and ripe cherry, with herb nuances was really on fire. This bottle, on the palate, was a little more advanced than the previously tasted example. Soft, silky, fresh and elegant, the red plums were ripe, with a touch of tart as well. Pop and pour worked perfectly.
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9/24/2018 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 93 Points
An evening with wine geeks (@Private location, Frankfurt): Glass: Gabriel Gold
Tasted blind. Clear, deep ruby-tawny color. Clean, intense, fully developed nose with some blood, mint, herbs, truffles.
Perfect integrated acidity, wonderful balance, still wonderful red and black fruit, silky, medium+ tannin. Long finish. Good length. Wonderful mature at its (or a bit past peak). 93
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8/2/2018 - sdr Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Premier Cru bottle. Very good color. Harsh and coarse on the nose. Velvety texture. Plenty of power but deficient in elegance. Slightly astringent. Became more coarse with air.
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1/29/2018 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 93 Points
Chinese food and old Bordeaux? Sure! (Q by Peter Chang): Popped and poured. A bit of volatile, at first. But, like an old summer house you have not visited for a year (or several years?), it mostly blows off as one enters a most delicate and elegant palate: a yesteryear wine, with no “Alter Ego” existing, and of higher yields. And of course 1970 was a bumper crop, so yields were high. Distinct notes of mint and basil, some light truffle and forest floor aspects, with a hint of bandaid – just a hint – remaining. Overall refined and smooth on the palate. Expands a bit in glass, with optimal drinking about one hour later in glass. It thens turns quite minty in profile. A fine bottle, and a lovely expression, if not as concentrated as, say, the 1966 I had enjoyed in December 2016. Thanks to Chris Bublitz for this fine bottle.
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1/28/2018 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux and Peking Duck (Q by Peter Chang - Bethesda, Maryland): Fully mature soft yet expressive nose displaying subtle red fruit, strawberry, plum, strong mint, cedar, thyme and slightly metallic mineral. Fully integrated palate, medium concentration, subtle red fruit, silky, soft and round, subtle acidity, good mineral presence and a medium to long subtle red fruit driven finish. We agree that the yield must have been high and the grapes were not uniformly ripe. Nevertheless, it is a classic claret that is very enjoyable. However, this needs to be drunk up.
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1/19/2018 - paulst Likes this wine: 95 Points
Earth and mature sweet cherry-blackberry; smooth and layered; supple and balanced with long elegant finish.
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1/15/2018 - RockinCabs wrote: 92 Points
Boston Palmer Tasting (South End - Boston, MA): Nose: Blackberry, white flowers and some evident wood notes. Kirsch an coffee? maybe as it opened more. Palate: Quite angular to start, but as this opened and had time to sit the edges came off of it and a rather elegant wine emerged. Nice blackberry and walnut accented by notes of pine forest, caramelized cherries and touches of florals. Finish: Tannin may never fully integrate here, but provides a more elegant finish than you might expect from most 70's.
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1/14/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
The Boston Palmerathon: Even the Palmer elegance and luminosity can't quite overcome the stubborn, taciturn 1970 vintage. Though the nose is relatively inexpressive and inelegant (particularly cf the 1966), you appreciate a wall of black fruit, walnut, cedar, and the faintest hint of violet. I hoped this would unwind with air, but it ended up transitioning into a very coffee and vanilla-dominated nose. Hm. From a base neck fill with a flush cork.
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11/8/2017 - STEVEN@WINECELLARCLUB.COM wrote: 95 Points
Very delicate nose. Improved with 30 min air, as did the flavors. Very delicate, old, but not gone - yet.
I should drink what I have in 5 years or sell it.
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11/2/2017 - kenv wrote: flawed
WCC Margaux AOC Blind Tasting (Home of Chef Andrew Plummer, East Greenbush, NY): [Pop and pour.] Big smoky sherry-like nose. A little interesting flavor left, but sadly OTH with noticeable oxidation.
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10/5/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
A beautiful blend of freshly picked flowers and tobacco kick things off. Medium/full bodied, with a sublime, elegant and refined character. The wine feels light on its feet, but don't let that fool you. The finish is long, fresh and packed with sweet, ripe, red fruits that offer a fabulous sense of purity and grace. Fully mature, there is no reason to consider further aging, but I suspect, this will age continue to perform at this high-level for at least another 10-15 years or so, if well stored.
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8/12/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 89 Points
Château Palmer vertical tasting dinner (3030 Ocean, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): From the get-go, this vintage was out-classed by the 1961 and 1966 on this evening. You could just tell it was off its peak. There was lots of funkiness, and it was a bit rustic in style. Truffled red fruits, barnyard, and dried roses on the nose. The finish was very straightforward, and with average length. I found this bottle to be quite interesting, as I recently drank a bottle of 1970 Palmer while in Bordeaux; that bottle had come directly from the Mähler-Besse cellar, and had not moved since bottling. That bottle seemed so young that you could have guessed it was from the 1980s! It emphasized again how each bottle takes a different evolutionary path influenced by its history, and in the case of these two bottles, an amazingly divergent path!
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8/12/2017 - sdr wrote: 89 Points
Château Palmer Vertical: I have been fortunate to have enjoyed many bottles of 1970 Palmer in the past since it was one of the first Bordeaux I pursued since the late '70s. But perhaps now it is time to bid it a fond farewell. This bottle was representative of how it has been showing lately. It's drying out and the acidity is too prominent, even from a well preserved bottle. So sad. Maybe perfect bottles still in the Mahler-Besse cellars are better, I hope so.
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5/19/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
As this wine came directly from the Mähler-Besse cellar, this was of course a perfect specimen. Having tasted this wine a number of times, I would have never guessed this as a 1970 Palmer in a blind tasting. It just seemed so vibrant and youthful. There was lots of fresh blackberry, black currant, cigar box, truffle, fresh flowers, and dark chocolate on the nose. Silky textured with smooth, round tannins. Quite intense on the palate, with serious structure. The mouth-watering acidity was in near-perfect balance on the finish. From this bottle, it appears that perfectly stored bottles of this wine could drink well for at least another decade or two.
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5/13/2017 - peternelson wrote: 90 Points
Juicy, lots of sediment, stewed fruits and cassis, touch of earth, no tannins left (they're all at the bottle of the bottle), nice medium finish. Not a bad wine, but on the other side. Day after dregs from BB at MP
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5/10/2017 - BradE wrote:
Showing both lush berries and ash/tobacco. A very good bottle. This wine is and has been fully mature, and while they are drinking nicely I'm still inclined to drink these up over the next five years.
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4/26/2017 - tinybubbles wrote:
Bottle largely faded with slightly off bitter notes on the finish.
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3/12/2017 - vinhslee Likes this wine: 99 Points
Bottled by Mahler-Besse.
Medium garnet on appearance.
It has an incredibly perfumed floral nose, with vibrant red fruit, cherry, cedar, leather.
During the first 30 minutes, it's overtly floral and acidic. But 30 minutes of decanting help develop the primary and tertiary flavours. The palate is floral-driven, with cherry, lavender, mint, chocolate, cassis, cigar box and spice. It is nicely balanced by refreshingly high acidity. The tannins are silky and well integrated. It doesn't taste of alcohol at all. The aftertaste is sweet and floral. The finish keeps lingering for 60+ seconds.
I've kept the wine in the fridge (vacuum pumped) for 4 nights. I am utterly impressed that the flavours only started to deteriorate on the 4th day. It's an unforgettable experience.
I am particularly impressed by its restrained elegance, like the subtle and effortless charm of a well poised lady. It is very complete and nothing is in excess. It has almost everything that I ask for, and far exceeds my expectations. It is one of the few wines that gives me the urge of telling people about it.
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2/2/2017 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux dinner at Ripple with live rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Fully mature slightly shy nose displaying soft red fruit, cherry, strawberry, plum, lead pencil, cedar and a hint of ash. Fully integrated palate, soft red fruit driven palate impression, silky, soft and round and a medium to long finish. Very charming claret that is drinking beautifully. In slow decline, need to be drunk up.
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2/2/2017 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fit for a wine loving Groundhog: Bordeaux back to 1970, by way of a 1982 trio (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): Tasted side-by-side with the Lynch Bages of the same vintage, this at first had a faded flower aspect, with dusty tannins - just like Lynch Bages. At first, I preferred the superior grip of the Lynch Bages, but with time in glass (the bottle was popped and poured), a pleasing sense of sweet cocoa powder and more floral notes arose and made it more pleasing and quite enjoyable to drink, with a subtle finish.
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2/1/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
1970s Bordeaux tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): After the 70 Latour, this was a welcome change. Perhaps not at its peak, but still drinking extremely well. Rusted ruby color, with some light amber at the edges. The nose was drop-dead gorgeous, with ripe black currant, black cherry, cedar, leather, herbs, and violets. It was certainly an intoxicating nose. Mid-weight and nicely balanced on the palate. Improved with air. Long finish and nice freshness. Will drink well for a number of years, but I would open if you have this since it's so enjoyable now.
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12/12/2016 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was a fantastic bottle. i have always loved this wine and the hit parade continues. Very nuanced, complex and multilayered with fruit and spice coming in waves. Very delicious. Has some time left
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11/26/2016 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
A beautifully matured wine and while has likely come off its peak, this is still drinking extremely well. Fill was very high shoulder and cork was fully intact. Color was rusted ruby, with some light amber at the edges. The nose was a nice mixture of red cherry, cedar, leather, tobacco, and violets. The nose kept evolving and revealing new aromas over several hours. A mid-weight wine that was really elegant on the palate. It seemed to keep improving as it aerated. Finish was quite long, with great freshness. Acidity just in the right place. This should continue to drink well for a number of years, and while there is no rush to open this now, there is also no reason to wait any longer on this.
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11/1/2016 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 89 Points
Château Palmer Vertical: Tough go on the nose, not a lot here, thin and tired, dry cranberry. A little woody. Red cherry coming through. Tired on the palate too. Fruit has browned and the tannin remains. Not flawed, but a weak bottle.
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9/30/2016 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Annual Chicago winos visit - Pearl Clutcher, coche, drc, rousseau, D'Yquem and etc. (The Grill Room at Rosewood DC): Very youthful example. A classic claret nose displaying bright subtle red fruits, cherry, plum, strong spearmint and eucalyptus. Lead pencil and a hint of ash. Fully integrated subtle harmonious palate, silky and polished, shy cool red fruit driven palate impression and a long clean finish with spearmint at the end. A classic claret that is very clean.
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9/30/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Rosewood Hotel Dining Room - Washington DC): Great color, condition and fill (in neck). Close to fully mature black fruit with an alluring mint note, this continues to be a top performing 1970. Great spice as well. Moderate length, wonderful nuance.
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9/17/2016 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
This bottle was ex-Mahler Besse, 2007 and appeared to be in excellent condition. All the more disappointing that it did not show well. Color was excellent and the immediate fragrance from the bottle was that of classic "Margauxberry." Unfortunately it was evanescent, to be replaced by a generic old wine leather and furniture polish smell. On the palate, decent energy and focus, tannins resolved. The overall impression is one of fatigue for a wine that was better a decade or two ago.
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9/14/2016 - Nicholas81 wrote: 92 Points
This was a well preserved bottle. The colour was still vibrant red with browning on the edges. The nose was still had somewhat fresh fruits among the dried herbs and cherries. The palate was very suave and classy with a structured mid palate and long seamless finish. I felt the acidity was rather high and did take away some of the tasting pleasure. Drank with the 1970 L'Eglise Clinet and was very youthful compared to the L'Eglise's matured state. I felt it wasn't as nuanced as the Pomerol. Would have been much better if not for the protruding acidity.
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7/21/2016 - astro Likes this wine: 95 Points
A great wine still drinking well. My experience was NOT popping the cork and enjoying the old wine–much more drama than that. While normally a rare wine like this would be served only in house, we decided to have corkage at a fine restaurant. To decide if the wine was even drinkable, I did a pre-corkage at home:
1. Opened the wine and carefully removed the still intact but crumbly cork. Decanted the wine and tasted. While there were not fatal flaws, the overall wine was not very good; Light fruit aroma, very unpleasant taste strong acidic. The important aspect at this early stage is that the wine was strong (in aroma and taste) with no fatal flaws of old wines such as port characteristics or other undesirable smells and tastes.
2. Wine was obviously not flawed, but had objectionable acid aftertaste and not much development. Poured wine back from decanter to cleaned out bottle. Use new cork to seal it and took it to restaurant.
3. Restaurant trip was delayed and we had to arrive 1 hour late. The wine, now open for 5 hours, was decanted. It obviously was gaining excellent qualities; nose was intensely flowery with cherry and lavender characteristics. The wine was classic old Bordeaux with strong delightful chutney dried fig leather flavors. Long aftertaste. Very good experience. The wine never felt faded or subject to age flaws. It absolutely needed a long opening to develop into a memorable aged Bordeaux experience.
4.I kept this wine in my wine cellar basement for 20years plus. Writing in the summer of 2016, I suggest that this wine is still good and very drinkable if time is given to it to come to life from its opening to a delayed service that will allow this classic wine to still provide much pleasure so many years from its harvest year.
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6/4/2016 - tinybubbles wrote:
Not a bad bottle but not worth rating. Slightly fading on edges but otherwise has depth of soil and fruit
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4/26/2016 - BradKNYC wrote:
Two visitors, three birthdays and seventeen wines from all over. (ABA Turkish Restaurant): From magnum and normally one of my top five or six favorite vintages of Palmer, I found this bottle a bit wanting. Suave and elegant in persona, there's wonderful earth, herb and cherry flavors and aromas and the complex secondary development one would expect from a top Bordeaux of this age, but there's usually more fruit and flesh showing and I certainly expected there to be more than there was from magnum. The acids also were rather high and stuck out a little. Not bad, but I expected more. B+.
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4/9/2016 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Jims Large Format Dinner
From magnum. I love this wine, even though it is approaching the end of its life. Incredibly elegant, pure, big bright fruits on an amazing attack. i thought this held up well. Bob thought it might be the WOTN, George thought it was drying out in the middle. I will drink my last bottle soon. One of my favorite Palmer vintages
Georges Notes: Very deeply scented, initial aromas of dark chocolate, smoke, and earth, with a deep layer of ripe black fruits aromas of plums and blackberries, touch of leather, a very sumptuous nose; sweet and ripe on the first taste, rich black plum and berry flavors; touch of spices and black pepper; in the mid-mouth this wine suffers from the usual issues with this vintage now, drying out and thinning out; more red fruit flavors emerge with rather sharp and intrusive acidity; pretty much the same on the finish; there is little future for this wine as it will continue to dry out more, but it is still a nice complement to food. (17.5)
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2/20/2016 - tinybubbles wrote:
Fruit had largely faded. Acid dominated on the finish. Certainly not one of the fresher bottles out there.
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2/18/2016 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Mostly FGs Bordeaux dinner - 82 & 86 Mouton, 00 Pavie, 86 & 95 Lafite, 96 Margaux and 95 Latour (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Fully mature claret, sweet red fruits, cedar dominates, also mint and eucalyptus. Fully mature palate with lovely balance. Really enjoyable. At this stage, mostly tertiary.
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12/19/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
While the perfume moves from roses to violets, the cigar box, earth and sweet cassis aromas remain constant. Elegant in style, the sweet, fresh cherry and tobacco on the palate is silky and refined. This is fully mature and unless your bottle is a large format or amazingly well stored, there is no reason not to be opening your bottles. This was popped and poured and barley improved in the glass, so I would not decant this wine if you're planning on popping a cork. The wine was made from a blend of 44% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petit Verdot and 9% Cabernet Franc. The harvest took place from September 26, finishing October 16.
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11/12/2015 - Paul D wrote:
Chateau Palmer Dinner (La Trompette, Chiswick): Deep colour. Quite youthful, black fruit, tobacco, touch of leafiness, gravel. Medium/full bodied, tobaccoey black fruit, fine tannins, touch of earth, good length finish with just a trace of tannin at the tail end. Excellent, in really good shape. ****1/2.
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11/12/2015 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Ian A's Palmer @ Trompette (La Trompette, London): Lovely deep garnet. Palmer nose with a vintage overlay of slightly fresh greenness. A touch of leaf. Fresh and savoury. Fruit just about hanging in against the tannin-led spine. Slightly less evolved than a similarly good bottle a couple of years ago. ****
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11/7/2015 - Jason wrote:
Started off poorly. Thin. Acidic. Touch metallic. With some air it really opened up. Great smooth palate. Tannins are aodt but still there. I don't think improves any. Not the best bottle we have had but still enjoyable.
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10/17/2015 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
While this bottle was perfectly sound, it was not one of the better showings for 1970 Palmer. The condition was outstanding, the color deep and the fill to just below the neck. Upon opening, there was a hint of the beautiful Margaux (Palmer) fragrance of mulberry and plum. On the palate, the wine was medium body with decent texture. But the fruit was muted, even accounting for age, and the acidity was prominent. Bottle variation is to be expected with even well preserved Bordeaux of this age.
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6/11/2015 - paul195 wrote: 93 Points
Old Bordeaux Tasting en Magnum (Brooklyn Wine Exchange (BWe)): All wines were en magnum and double decanted for an hour before
Bright ruby core with a bouquet of mature red fruits, tobacco, spice and earthy layers. The palate was silky, fresh and quite vibrant. Well delineated with acidity, balanced and a lively finish. Still going strong 3 hours later. A very fine example of a 45 year old Palmer. The richest wine of the night.
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5/23/2015 - alittle wrote: flawed
Year 3: Super Tastings Round 1 of 5; Dave Does Birth Year Wines (Dave's House): Popped and poured. Light translucent ruby in the glass, with significant bricking at the rim. On the nose, again there is a metallic overlay that is distracting, with long distant memories of fruit; dried, decaying; still some pyrazine and earthy elements there, but overall, this is past it. On the palate, quite simple and tired. Lean and dry, with the acid totally taking over. Really unfortunate.
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5/23/2015 - Wine Canuck wrote: flawed
Year 3 - Super Tasting 1 of 5 - Dave does Birth Year Wines: Very difficult showing here from the '70 Palmer. Quite advanced with heavy bricking. The nose is entirely tertiary of soil, old furniture and an odd noxious gas aroma. While this was recently sourced from a reputable retailer I suspect there are better bottles of this out there.
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5/23/2015 - Dave Canada wrote:
Year 3 - Super Tasting 1 of 5 - David does Birth Year Wines (Dave's House, Kitchener, ON): I have had some very majestic vintages of Palmer over the years.....1961, 1978, 1983, 1989, 2000 etc. so have very high hopes when we had a new person joining our tasting group that was born in 1970....
Needless to say...the 1970 Palmer did not show up to the party. Nose showed some traces of fruit but this was really over the hill with a dominant metallic note. The palate was thin, metallic and boring....what a waste. DOA
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2/22/2015 - AllRed wrote: 88 Points
Second Sunday Group: Margaux (M's): Faded brick color, obviously the oldest in the flight. Initial aromas of sweat socks, red fruit and horse blanket. The horse blanket quality follows through on the palate, along with sweet red fruit. Develops aromas of black tea leaf, berries and lavender. Nice acid, with red fruit and tea on the palate.
My #7, Domino's #3
Group #3, 44 pts
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12/27/2014 - Wine_Bear Likes this wine: 94 Points
Properly stored from purchase upon release until consumed. beautiful color, no brown at the edges. Initial bottle funk blew off quickly. Lovely fruit-influenced perfume at first sniff. The fruit never resolved into identifiable elements, but the overall bouquet was red fruit and lovely. Perhaps most interesting for its longevity, youth and beauty. I suspect the fruit which was once there in abundance is fading, and any more of these should be drunk now.
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12/20/2014 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
This bottle is very well preserved, being ex-Mahler-Besse 2007 and I bought it a number of years ago from Acker retail. Level is VTS, almost neck. The cork is black and very moist but sound, surely the original. Color is garnet, some bricking at the very edge. What is so impressive is the way it simply refused to fade in the glass over a 2+ hour period. The bouquet is modest, but lovely, full of red fruit, berry and cherry. The signature 1970 acidity keeps it fresh, although just a bit too much much for perfection. If not for the acidity, this would be sweet and mellow. Nevertheless it's a beautiful wine at age 44 with absolutely no sign of fatigue.
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10/30/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Fully mature, this is not a wine to hold for more development. What you get is a sensuous, silky, velvet textured, sweet, fresh, vibrant wine with sensations of sweet, ripe cherries, plum, tobacco, truffle, forest floor and wet earth. If you want to get an idea on where your 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010 will be with 40 years of age, the 1970 Palmer provides a perfect indicator.
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9/18/2014 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
TTTG Blind: Absolutely beautiful, captivating nose. Floral, leather, savory, soy, tobacco, bright red fruit. The palate certainly played second fiddle to the nose, especially as it faded with air. Light bodied, a slight bitter note, and somewhat drying with a medium-minus finish. However, the nose was worth the price of admission. My 2/6.
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9/18/2014 - WMWG Likes this wine:
CT Tasting Group (Spencer's HOuse): My WOTN - Beautiful nose that jumps out of the glass, showing funk, leather and powerful fruit / currant. Palate shows similarly with well integrated and fresh red and dark fruit taking center stage , framed by well-aged earthy flavors. Tannins are still present and show consistently from entry through finish. Finished medium to medium-plus. This was best right from the bottle and did lose some of its presence and with air.
Excellent
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9/18/2014 - salil wrote: 93 Points
An outstanding showing. Totally seamless, layers of red fruit, earth, tobacco, dried flowers and some leathery funk all coming together on the nose and palate with a very silken, graceful mouthfeel. The structure's fully resolved here, and it shows at its best right out of the bottle, fading a little with more air - but this is a really lovely bottle and one of the best Palmers I've had.
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9/5/2014 - curtr wrote:
Fruit was a bit thin. Nice bouquet. Bottle that was on the downward slope. Perhaps bad storage before I purchased.
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8/29/2014 - melzar wrote: 90 Points
From 750: Getting a little tired, from this bottle at least. Not the wine I last had ten years ago. Perhaps would have sored higher had I not had '78 Robert Arnoux Les Suchots the night before. Decadent voluptuous nose leads to a somewhat disappointing palate. Plenty of fruit remains but tastes almost over ripe. Lacks acidity and the tannic grip to provide focus and balance the fruit. Fair finish. This wine was bought at auction 10 years ago. Fill was very top shoulder, and the cork seal was adequate. Perhaps the previous owner (or owners) did not have good storage conditions.
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8/22/2014 - KoalaHK wrote:
At the Mandarin Grill in HK for a Palmer vertical. A lovely wine that gave the '61 a run for its money on the night. This wine had it all, great nose, body and length. Most enjoyable.
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8/13/2014 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
A small impromptu dinner - Bordeaux and Champagne (Washington D.C.): The same source as the last two bottles but this is fresh and clean. Sweet red fruits, red cherries, cedar, sweet spices and earth. Fully matured, sweet red fruit driven palate impression, fully resolved tannins and good length. Really tasty.
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8/8/2014 - fclarity wrote: 93 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red/purple center with oranging rims. The medium+ intensity nose of black cherries, violets, brown spices, and soil was very nice. Unfortunately, this bottle was just slightly corked.
In the mouth, this wine was very refined with a fine-grained structure. It was ripe but very subtle. It had light rounded tannin and very good length.
While this wine is at its peak, it will last here for quite a few years.
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6/30/2014 - Paul D wrote:
Bordeaux Wimps (La Trompette, Chiswick): Medium garnet, medium pale mahogany rim. Earthy, mineral nose, a hint of something slightly musty (though certainly not corked), red fruits, fresh, slightly lean on the finish. ***
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5/8/2014 - BradE wrote:
Two bottles, from a case I've owned for a long time. Drank well, but the 70 seems to have peaked, and I'm putting the rest of these into near term drinking.
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4/18/2014 - peternelson wrote: flawed
French Wine Tasting Dinner at Renée's: Renée's: In great shape, but unfortunately it was corked.
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4/16/2014 - tcarter Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drinking perfectly. Fantastic bottle!
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4/13/2014 - don_quichotte Likes this wine: 90 Points
More austere and tired than the 1966, 1961 or 1978 versions of this wine. Took a very long time to open. Initially pretty dirty nose, with a borderline TCA sort of taint. Grew into something more fleshy and satisfying, with largely tertiary characteristic. Nice, but could think of much better ways to spend £100 on wine...
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3/2/2014 - aagrawal wrote: 91 Points
1970s Bordeaux Horizontal (Golden Gate Yacht Club, San Francisco): Red cherry fruit, floral; red fruit, cinnamon, spice, still tannins. Finish short-medium. More about the aromatics than the palate. 91
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1/4/2014 - BradE wrote:
This was opulent, full blown, and not at all the precise wine I've had previously. Nonetheless, it was excellent, and a crowd favorite.
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12/11/2013 - cooberp Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very expressive, open nose, with black and a little red currant, mint, tobacco, and a foresty note. Light-middle weight, no obtrusive tannin left. Fresh and generous in the mouth, though not much texture to speak of--this is more about the smell than the taste.
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12/10/2013 - coremill wrote: 93 Points
Catena Zapata Winemaker Dinner (Betony): Just gorgeous. The nose shows lots of loamy, earthy qualities, violets, and beautiful deep cassis fruit underneath. Medium-bodied, beautifully elegant and silky, the fruit has faded just a touch and this is more savory, but there's enough fruit to cover the tannic structure, and the tannins are incredibly rich and smooth. Beautiful wine.
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12/2/2013 - godx wrote: flawed
MNF Dinner at Tommy's (Vancouver, BC): Corked.
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11/8/2013 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 95 Points
VEO tasting - Mature Claret (Restaurant Bordewijk, Amsterdam, NL): Crushed red fruit and minerals, almost Pinot Noir like elegance and fragrance, stunningly stylish, supremely elegant, almost on a par with the (much richer) 1961, so fresh and harmonious, still has the tannic grip and the balance to live to a distinguished old age. Incredibly delicious.
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10/18/2013 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 95 Points
Stored in cold cellar since release. Fill bottom neck - cork broke perfect condition. For the genuine article only 73 cl.
Elegance, complextity, finesse, length but no power. Perfect and classic.
Will see 50 with ease. For those luckily born in 1970 a wine for sixty.
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10/13/2013 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 95 Points
Stored in cold cellar since release.Bottom neck. Cork broke but perfect condition. Great Margaux from a great(?) vintage: elegance,finesse,complexity and length (3+ minutes): no power but that's Margaux
For those who want the genuine article only 73cl!
Will last to 50 with ease if properly kept.
40+ years ago I read in awe those who '28 and '29: all this can be blamed on English enthusiasts from Saintsbury onwards. Now I'm the same
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10/8/2013 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 95 Points
Stored in cold cellar since release.Bottom neck. Cork broke but perfect condition. Great Margaux from a great(?) vintage: elegance,finesse,complexity and length (3+ minutes): no power but that's Margaux
For those who want the genuine article only 73cl!
Will last to 50 with ease if properly kept.
40+ years ago I read in awe those who '28 and '29: all this can be blamed on English enthusiasts from Saintsbury onwards
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10/7/2013 - svdheijden wrote: 93 Points
Very well preserved bottle: level very top shoulder. Showing well from opening. Color and rim suggest 20 years, not 43. Nose is light, but elegant, floral and pleasant. Just some hints of tertiary notes, still some fruit (blackberries, prunes), cedar, tobacco, leather, hay and the typical old Bordeaux metal/mineral/smoke identity. Good length, no signs of fatal tiredness. Well preserved bottles should continue to drink well for 5-10 more years.
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8/10/2013 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Another brilliant showing for this perfectly preserved bottle, sourced from Premier Cru many years ago. Great color, just the slightest hint of orange at the rim. The rather faint yet pretty floral bouquet leads to a marvelously sweet rush of very lively taste of blue and black berry with no tobacco or smoke. Silky smooth and perfectly balanced thanks to a very slight fruit acid finish. When Palmer gets it right, it is absolutely the equivalent of Chateau Margaux itself. It's perfectly logical when you see how the vineyards interdigital on the hallowed ground.
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6/2/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
This fully mature Margaux offers an expressive nose of forest floor, earth, cinnamon, tobacco, cassis, stone and cedar wood aromas. With the texture of silk, wrapped in velvet, this elegant Chateau Palmer ends with a refined, plush, earthy, cassis and spice finish. This is fully mature. If well stored, there is no hurry to drink it. But it is probably not going to improve.
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5/23/2013 - ilee Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dinner at home with Mrs L, Thomas and Carman (Hong Kong): I have a curious fondness for the 1970 vintage and try to buy every bottle I come across -- which these days isn't many. It's been 10 years since I first tasted a 1970 Palmer, and happily this particular bottle didn't show much aging relative to that last one. The nose is still beautifully fruity and floral in the usual charming Palmer style. Bright notes of red berries, sandal wood, dried orange peel give the fruity mid-palate a nice lift and vibrancy. There is plenty of life yet -- and a noticeable grip -- in the 30 sec+ finish. It's great to see you again 1970 Palmer old friend, let's meet again in 2023 -- let's see what shape we're both in by then!
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5/16/2013 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Ian's Blind @ Medlar (The Medlar, London): Blind. Bright, light, some fruit behind this, sweet and evolved. Lifted. Light, bright acidity. Fragrant. Left bank, St Julien, maybe 79? No. Palmer70. Now, with 20-20 vision there is a richness to it, but it's fading and the acidity becoming more prominent. Holding ok, but time to drink up. (*)***
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5/1/2013 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Bernard Burtschy dinner at Taberna del Alabardero (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): The same source as the 66. Very pale color, DOA.
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2/15/2013 - BradE wrote:
Precise, structured, and for me the best of the seven 1970's we had on this night. Always a great wine. I do think that these are past their peak, and while they will drink well for many years, should be put into rotation.
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12/1/2012 - Blake Brown Likes this wine: 85 Points
This pleases with its smoothness, has a little earthy quality, some mint, wild mushroom, spice and mature black fruit.
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11/16/2012 - johnh1001 wrote: 88 Points
Decanted and drank over 3 hours. Somewhat muted nose dark fruit, mushrooms and tobacco. The palate matchedand just seemed a little flat and rustic. Medium tannic finish. I wanted to like this more.
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11/15/2012 - godx wrote: 91 Points
Alvin’s 60th Birthday Dinner (Le Gavroche): Similar colour to the ’81. This had a beautifully mature nose with notes of cedar, tobacco, earth, cherry and spice. At first the fruit on the palate was slightly dried out, but as it sat in the glass this 42 year old Palmer started to improve, becoming softer and silkier with perfectly mature ripe cassis and cherry fruit. The amount of acidity had this bottle ever so slightly out of balance, but that’s nitpicking. Solid length with some drying tannins on the backend. This definitely isn’t going to get any better so time to drink up. Excellent.
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11/14/2012 - BradE wrote:
Beautiful. Drank perfectly.
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11/10/2012 - Jason wrote:
Not a good bottle. Past it's prime. Have had much better bottles.
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11/8/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
With older wines, it's always a gamble. Fortunately, this bet paid off in spades! With a perfume that deserves to be bottled and sold, due to its floral, truffle, tobacco, cassis, earth, cigar box, cherry and spice scented nose, the wine really took off on the palate. Sensuous, soft, sexy, silky textures and a beautiful, ripe, sweet, tobacco and cherry finish made this a stellar tasting experience. Splash decanted moments before serving, the wine remained at the same high level for 2 hours. It might have stayed in the sweet spot longer, but that was about as much savoring as we were able to do, with a wine that delicious.
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10/30/2012 - jlgnml wrote: 91 Points
Good for its age, a bit bricking and darker color, muted nose, but good flavor with the food.
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10/30/2012 - KenK wrote: 91 Points
Grapes for Great Causes (Goosefoot Restaurant, Chicago): From Magnum: Dark, dry lean rustic nose.
Shows flavors of tobacco leaf, black fruit and sleek sweetness. Good depth with rounded mouthfeel. Herbal finish.
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10/27/2012 - ricknat1 wrote: flawed
Corked was soaked through. a bottle earlier int he week from the same lot was perfect
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10/24/2012 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perhaps the best Palmer I have had. Two different bottles from two owners and both were gorgeous. Had side by side with 1983 and I preferred the 1970, thought the 83 is also a favorite. At its peak with no sign of fading
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10/11/2012 - fournet wrote: 85 Points
Maybe a bit past its prime, or maybe just a bottle with some storage issues. It was okay, but I sensed it should have been much better. To be fair, I tasted this alongside other varietals I prefer.
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9/29/2012 - dream wrote: 95 Points
A perfect bottle of this great wine. Beautiful ruby color with hardly any fading. Very Margaux on the palate with a taut finesse and elegant texture. Then plenty of stuffing in the mid-palate with mature flavors of sandlewood, violets, spice and black fruits. Finishes so very complex with notes of tobacco, all kinds of spice and minerals. Peaking now and has the balance to hold for quite some time.
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8/23/2012 - wineloverkang wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic bottle that still has time left in it.
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6/9/2012 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
Still youthful and a great balance - 1983 with just slightly fewer sparkles
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5/13/2012 - fclarity wrote: 94 Points
from and excellent looking bottle with a VTS fill, this wine look in the zone with a deep red center and tawny rims. The medium+ intensity nose showed plum, black cherries, gravel, and brown spices.
As usual, this wine needed 4+ hours to show its best. It was fantastically silky, complex and had excellent length for such a subtle wine. This wine was the definition of balance with soft, integrated tannin. While I doubt it will get any better, it will certainly last for many years at this level.
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5/5/2012 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
This bottle, sourced from Premier Cru years ago and with neck level, was the best example of '70 Palmer I have had in years. Most of the others were somewhat dry and fruit-deficient. Not this one. Beautiful mulberry and violet fragrance was obvious although I wanted even more. Excellent mid palate presence and true finish. Almost delicate yet the beautiful soft berry fruit is exceptionally attractive. Very lively and no fade in the glass for over 2 hours.
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4/13/2012 - SimonK wrote: 96 Points
N: red currant,, lemonpeel, coffee. spearmint, peaches
P: Blackberry, Morellos, Leather, "merde",peaches
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3/25/2012 - pakabear wrote: flawed
NR- There was something off with this bottle, loads of iodine and tart fruits. There was something underneath that kept it interesting but not what this wine is meant to be.
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3/25/2012 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Youthful Bordeauxs at Ruth’s Chris, Tysons including two 100 pointers (Ruth’s Chris, Tysons corner, VA): A bit of controversy as whether the wine is corked. It has the typical characters of the matured Bordeauxs that weren’t ideally kept, showing a lot of brett, ash and dirty sox. There is also attractive red fruit, cedar and mint quality. Not a correct bottle.
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3/25/2012 - astrauss wrote: flawed
corked - over the hill. loads of iodine. bad bottle.
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2/14/2012 - saxual wrote: 94 Points
Drank at a Jazz club with a pasta dish; very powerful wine- up-front with less tannic than expected, even given age. Lengthy finish with hints of many different but indistinguishable spices.
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12/6/2011 - rnellans wrote: 94 Points
Lovely wine. Fully mature. Floral and tobacco notes. Good balance of remaining fruit with acid. Finish a bit short, but a very nice wine.
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11/26/2011 - fclarity wrote: 94 Points
From a vhs shoulder bottle, this wine looked strong with a deep red center and some orange at the rim. The high- intensity nose was captivating with black fruit, violets, minerals, a hint of led pencil.
In the mouth, this wine was soft and lush at first. Over the course of 3 hours, it developed a firm spine that was always fully balanced by lush, round fruit. This wine had super length and tons of class.
It was great to see this wine perform so well after an underwhelming magnum this spring.
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10/22/2011 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Acker Merrall Inaugural Chicago Auction (Trump International Hotel): Served by Bernard de Laage from Chateau Palmer, somewhat of a "warm up" for me for our Palmer dinner the next night. Mostly secondary aromas with good floral elements. Some more black primary flavors on the palate, also showing good spice. Lean finish. This convinced me to find my 1971 Palmer to bring to dinner the following night, in addition to the 1955 i was already planning to bring.
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9/1/2011 - t-slow wrote: 96 Points
Again drank on Mackie's birthday. The level was low but .tThis bottle was exceptional. Beautiful nose of an aged bordeaux, pencil lead, tobacco, hints of soy wrap round by dark fruits giving layers of aromas. Silky on the palate. Very feminine, smooth tannins that holds the wine toether so well. Fruits showing well despite its age.
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8/24/2011 - rsbeck wrote: 96 Points
Top shoulder/bottom neck fill, cork in good shape, came out in one piece, no evidence of seepage. Popped, breathed in bottle 90 minutes, consumed over next two hours. Fabulous aroma and flavors of lead pencil, tobacco shop, layers of red and black fruits, iron, savory herbs, lavender, nice acidity, some smooth light tannin in finish, lots of life left -- drinking wonderfully.
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7/25/2011 - Dubie wrote: 93 Points
A lovely bottle, classic Palmer. As good as it gets!
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5/21/2011 - fandj wrote: 90 Points
Showing a bit of age,but was a lovely wine.
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4/21/2011 - Lombardi wrote: 93 Points
Restrained nose at the beginning, but later this started to come up nicely. Complex all across with persistent tertiary flavors. Very much alive and rocking- nice tannins and texture. I think this is just perfect to be enjoyed now. We decided to decant this wine to avoid sediment but this also helped to open it up. It would probably help to have decanted for longer period. The last glass was much more generous than the first- and this was about 40min after we opened. I would decant this wine for 1h to start. Really great!
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4/18/2011 - svdheijden wrote:
bottle seemed to be in good shape (VTS), but wine was in decline. Rusty, lost most of its ruby color, sour and one dimensional old taste. Did improve slightly during the two hours or so, but this bottle was definitely years past its prime. Pity.
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3/30/2011 - kr522 wrote: 90 Points
from a well stored bottle that was in excellent condition: fill level at the base of neck.
Medium color, no amber at the edge. The nose was reticent at first and after an hour or two began to open up a little...red fruit and acidity was clearly detectable, but no real nuance or added dimensions. The taste was similar. I struggled to find any true defining characteristic to the wine, it was very simple and no length to speak of. Acidity was present and by the end (3 hours later) overshadowed the fruit.
it was pleasant drinking, nothing objectionable, but feels to me this is past its peak
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3/12/2011 - fclarity wrote: 91 Points
From an excellent looking magnum with a bottom neck fill, this wine looked solid with a deep red center and oranging rims. It is worth noting that the cork crumbled but I don't think this was an issue. As usual, this wine was in a bit of a funk when it was first decanted. The nose was sour and the wine tasted acidic with a slight cardboard/cork flavor.
The wine slowly got better and, after 3 hours, it developed a medium intensity nose of dusty cherry fruit, soil, thyme, and brown spices. In the mouth, the wine was silky, round and lush on the attack but it had good acidity and notable rounded tannins. The flavors noted in the nose lingered in my mouth in the sneakily long finish. In fact, as the wine aired, the tannins became firmer to the point where the wine seemed just a bit astringent.
Based on this one sample, I would say this wine needed a bit more meat on the bones to make it to a Parker 95. Clearly, this wine will last for decades but it is unclear to me how much better it will get.
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1/27/2011 - Papies wrote: 93 Points
Top shoulder bottle but otherwise ok and from the trusted cellar of Aubrevoir in Athens. Needs decanting as there is a ton of sediment and the wine benefited from 30 minutes aeration.
Colour is youthfull. The nose is open and beautiful. Very old style bordeaux. The palate is alive and vibrant for a 41yr old. Fully matured and very elegant. Really a joy to have this but unfortunately not a cheap excercise.
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1/21/2011 - tarheel17 wrote: 96 Points
STG End of Year (Roy's): tasted blind
herbally fruited and very lovely, with a lightly chalked mouthfeel. quite amazing, and I did not guess it was the oldest in the flight. Superb wine, WOTF.
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12/23/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote: 93 Points
KH's 40th birthday dinner (Bloom/Lily): mature and evolved. lovely nose of cherries with hints of its trademark tobacco leaf. good structure and balance on the palate.
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12/18/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Finally a '70 Palmer that lived up to its lofty but often unfulfilled reputation. I purchased this bottle from Golden West many years ago. Level low neck. Mature but deep garnet. Terrific Palmer perfume at it's best, a flower garden of violets and all shades of roses. Velvety texture, firm entry and intense finish. It's hard to believe this wine is 40 years old but so vigorous there are no tertiary characteristics.
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10/11/2010 - PatrikO wrote: 93 Points
Seems to be a fair degree of bottle variation here, had some spectacular bottles, this one however was very nice, but did not reach the heights I've seen in others. Leaner and less aromatic.
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9/20/2010 - PatrikO wrote: flawed
Good, but not as great as the previous bottle I've just had, slightly more austere and not as opulent. Think bottle might have been slightly flawed.
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9/10/2010 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 93 Points
Amazingly rich, youthful, savoury - outstanding.
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8/31/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
1970 Palmer opened with smoke, truffle, earth, leather, blackberry and cassis aromatics. This bottle offered textures on the lean side. The wine finished with spicy cassis and strawberry flavors. I've tasted better, fresher examples of this wine. It reminded me of what the 95 will probably taste like at full maturity.
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8/31/2010 - PatrikO wrote: 95 Points
Pristine bottle with into neck fill. Captivating bouquet of licorice and black fruit. In the mouth everything is in harmony, lovely fruit and soft tannins and the after taste goes on for a while. lovely.
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7/30/2010 - jmguidi wrote: flawed
Flaw...w hat a bummer.
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6/26/2010 - dgaiser wrote: 91 Points
A great bottle of Bordeaux, but perhaps not worthy of reputation. 12 bottles tasted, all bottom neck. Cedar, tobacco, currant, blood orange and dusty leaf nose. Complex but lacking a bit of intensity on the nose. Slightly lacking in fruit on the palate for the acidity level. Great wine overall.
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5/26/2010 - LWI wrote: 91 Points
Definite brown; Cedar, old drawer, tea; Fresh acidity, quite elegant, the acidity carries the wine – not tannins or body. The acidy has a twist of black currant (albeit not in a fruity way). Definite and archetypical bdx
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5/26/2010 - acheng wrote: 93 Points
I was quite worried about the mid shoulder condition of this auction bottle. Initially mostly aged orange peel. After an hour recorked in bottle, much more impressive. Ethereal, earthy, tobacco and complex. Acidity, fruit and alcohol are well harmonized. Perhaps not as stupendous in the mouth as the nose suggested. A civilized drink compared with the preceding 99 Brunello Riserva. No, not quite the same league as the 83 Margaux or for that matter the 89. But at 40 years of age, this is drinking well and will not hesitate to buy more on auction.
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5/12/2010 - Hank Gillespie wrote:
Pre-Auction Tasting - Chateau Palmer 1970-1983; 5/7/2010-5/12/2010 (Edmonton, AB): Ullage just below shoulder.Attractive medium ruby/garnet in colour; initial aromas required some coaxing in the glass, but included some black currant fruit along with smells of freshly cut cedar; continued to open up with more swirling; elegant and stylish - nicely structured and showing fine harmony of the elements; with excellent sweet currant fruit; glides over the palate, where the sweet black currant fruit is mouthfilling, some spicy accents; and extending out to a long finish. Still evidence of some soft tannins
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4/25/2010 - Matt Scott wrote: 97 Points
(Janine's birthday weekend)
Decanted for one hour. Top shoulder fill and signs of past seepage. Garnet core with a brick rim. Beautiful and seductive nose of leather, black fruit, loamy currant, licorice, sweet tobacco and hot stones. Surprisingly youthful. I am enamored with this fountain-of-youth-Margaux. Truly the best Palmer that I have had (Never had '61 or '05). The layers are evident and very egalitarian. Soft tannins and a minute long finish. This is an exceptional bottle and lives up to it's legendary status. Bottles in great condition will still have at least ten more years. The mid-palate is perfect. There's still a decent amount of fruit and over the course of three hours this stupendous claret really developed. I would have guessed this to be from '86 meets '88. Drink now - 2020.
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4/24/2010 - STEVEN@WINECELLARCLUB.COM wrote: 97 Points
Decanted & served immediately. Lt color w/orange tinge. Perfumed nose lasting an hr. Well balanced - tannins are soft, fruit, acid, alch all in balance. Finish soft, elegant, lush. Fantastic wine and still holding up.
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4/9/2010 - Anonymous Likes this wine: 96 Points
Terrific. Dark with some bricking. It's big with tobacco, sweet leather, cedar, black fruit and a dusting of lavender. Complex with depth, length and a long finish.
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3/25/2010 - Dubie wrote: 90 Points
Bottle with impeccable provenance and in perfect condition. A perfumed yet earthy nose, buy a touch flat in the mouth. Drink up.
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3/7/2010 - french16 wrote:
Cork way down (3cm) so I guess it turned out ok for the way the bottle has been kept.
Nose was great with ripe fruit, cassis, cigar box and floral notes (mainly violets). Soft and velvety, high acidity, finish is slightly metallic but improved with time.
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2/4/2010 - Le Musigny wrote: 93 Points
Love this wine. Mature Bordeaux flavors. Held its own against all the other 70's at the dinner.
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12/31/2009 - jrobs7777 wrote: 90 Points
New Year's Eve 2009-2010 (Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)): This is very good but (this bottle at least) may be on its last legs. A bit oxidized. Leather, tobacco and red fruit on the nose. Good acidity and red fruit on the palate. Very interesting development here for 40 year old wine. A slight bit bitter at the back end of the palate. Moderate finish.
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12/31/2009 - ews3 wrote: 88 Points
New Years Eve (Collingswood and Philadelphia): I dont have too much experience with Bordeaux of this age. The cork was not in good shape, having almost fallen into the bottle, but the wine seemed in good condition. very secondary, white black pepper, leather, and tobacco notes dominating. A little bit sour late on the midpalate, and a bitter finish.
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11/28/2009 - sdr wrote: 91 Points
Certainly a wonderful drink, but it suffered in comparison to the '66 we drank along side it. This bottle was in great condition, VTS level, long moist cork which came out in one piece. The bouquet was pleasant enough, with the ususal cedar, blackcurrent and spice, but I detected a hint of alcohol on the nose although not on the palate. Full bodied, intense but not as absolutely pure as the best examples can be. It's excellent, but not stunning. Could the '70 Palmer be in decline?
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11/3/2009 - Stirling wrote: 96 Points
What an outstanding wine. Still fresh with plenty of fruit I was guessing it to be a wine that was 15 years younger. The nose was incredibley complex; classic Margaux "perfume" with a myriad of undertones that ranged from forest floor to mint and a bit of plum. Two others at the table picked up notes of licorice (though I must confess, I did not). The mouthfeel was feminine, elegant and sexy. Not a powerhouse, but not lacking anything either. The finish was long and smooth. This wine was beautifully balanced. I keep coming back to its' aromatics which were riveting. Highly recommended and at peak drinking.
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9/3/2009 - Eric wrote: 96 Points
Mmm, this is stellar wine. Not decanted until we got to the restaurant. This immediately greeted me with lovely notes of tobacco. As it aerated there was a hint of mint, plum cake, and sandalwood. Soft as silk, indescribably complex, utterly delicious. We followed the bottle for 2.5 hours. Just textbook Bordeaux at a lovely point of maturity.
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8/31/2009 - t-slow wrote: 93 Points
We drank this yesterday for Mackie's birthday along side Grange 88 and Latour 88. 3 very different wines with such contrasting characters. We started with the Grange and it did not disappoint. Such a sweet nose. Very feminine but very forward with all the fruits and floral notes showing up front. Good length to prolong the enjoyment. This should be a good lead into the Palmer. The nose was wonderful, light floral notes, frehness of the forest floor - interesting for such an old wine - and on entry it initially surprises us with its 'weakness'. On airing, it opened to be expressive and though it lacked the fullness fo the Grange, the subtle femininess was most enjoyable. Probably deserves a higher rating.
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7/3/2009 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Recent auction purchase. Bottle in great condition, great fill. Black fruit everywhere, shockingly fresh. Cigarbox and almost sweet spice. Very good length. Stayed fresh and persistent all evening.
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5/2/2009 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
This bottle was ex-Mahler-Besse 2007 and it looked pristine. I decanted it for about an hour and a half, but in retrospect, that was not enough. There were no flaws in the wine - it was excellent - yet it somehow never reached the heights, either in aroma or flavor, of the very best examples of '70 Palmer. There was more acidity than usual but not excessively so. It improved in the glass over a couple of hours at the restaurant. I quite liked it, but did not fall in love.
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4/2/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
With tobacco, truffle, cassis, spice, blackberry and floral aromatics, this concentrated wine filled your mouth with elegant, dark berries, cherry and coco. Fleshy, rich and round, this mature wine is still young and will only get better from here.
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2/7/2009 - sdr wrote: 87 Points
(Ex- Mahler-Besse 2007, original cork, VTS level). Good color for age, very firm cork which came out intact. I tried to get something thrilling out of this bottle since by reputation (and past experience) the '70 Palmer can be magnificent in both fragrance and palate, but it was not to be. The high acidity characteristic of the vintage was there which kept it fresh over the 2 hours we sampled it. The tannins were slightly coarse though and the fruit was muted and unfocused. Could it have been very slightly corked despite appearance and pedigree?
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1/15/2009 - momoisan wrote: 93 Points
Discreet, elegant wine given the age - well balanced fruit / acidity
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7/6/2008 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
This bottle was sourced from Golden West (SF) so I must have purchased it many years ago. The condition was excellent, with a VTS level. The cork was firm and moist and came out intact. There was not much on the nose here; certainly none of the famous "margauxberry" perfume this wine can sometimes have. But on the palate, it was very satisfying indeed; rich, intense and long. Firm tannins, notes of blackcurrent/cassis and tobacco. Really good stuff but perhaps a bit too stern.
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7/1/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
This example lacked the elegance and complexity found in the best bottles. Ruby with bricking and offering more of a bright fruit profile than is usually found in 70 Palmer, this bottle was not a perfect example
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5/31/2008 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
While just about outstanding, I had greater hope for this recent Acker Internet purchase since it was a recent release from Mähler-Besse. Mildly pleasant to smell, but no resemblance the the famously beautiful Palmer bouquet at its best. Nice weight and texture, totally integrated by now of course and without fatigue. Pleasant dark berry flavors of some complexity. A very, very nice wine but by no means spectacular.
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5/25/2008 - princeton wrote:
Cork solid but wet all the way through, and label was soiled, but wine was fine. Heady nose of sweet fruit and raisin. Slight bitterness and acidity on the palate after some breathing, gradually softens into the slightly syrupy sweet fruit of balanced fine aging merlot.
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5/9/2008 - sdr wrote:
Hugh's magnum, excellent appearance, but surprisingly dull in a bad night for Bordeaux at the Cataldos food and wine blowout weekend. Nothing out of place, not corked or oxidized, but surprisingly mute and modest.
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3/27/2008 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 81 Points
Château Palmer Vertical (Morton's): Very different from the other ’70s-era Palmers, this one is surprisingly tannic and feels a little hollow. Couldn’t hold my interest in this company.
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3/27/2008 - MRichman wrote:
Palmer vertical at Morton's, NYC: Nice maturity. Full with a sweet middle and some firm acidic structure that doesn't overwhelm. Solid wine, if a little high toned acidity. Very nice.
A-
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3/22/2008 - french16 wrote: flawed
Oxidized
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2/20/2008 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
IWFSC Governors Lunch (Custom House): Tasted from three separate bottles and all were in excellent (and consistent) shape - surprising! Lovely crimson red color. Nice lush round nose of black fruit and some spice. Beautiful floral black fruit palate with a long cedar finish. Drinking perfectly.
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1/2/2008 - Alpine wrote: 94 Points
Very youthful in color and appearence.... great core of fruit... I opened this decanted and poured it to the group blind along with the '75, '83 & '89 in a vertical. One very experienced Bordeaux taster thought it might have been a '90. It had the band-aid nose that is most often associated with the Cordier label and that through some off track. Cold at first after 1/2 hour in the glass and warming up it began to develop secondary and tertiary flavors. A very solid showing, additional well stored bottles will last for many years..... I purchased this bottle in London in '94 while studing at the London School of Economics.
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12/15/2007 - BradE wrote:
Great bottle, great wine.
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12/9/2007 - Eric wrote: 96 Points
This was a late night opening as Justin was still thirsty. Lovely bottle. Opens up with the dirty smells, but after half an hour this blows off. Gorgeously supple and complex wine that is only a year younger than me. Very distinct spice and leather on the nose. Amazing texture and fruit. This kept opening, deepening and sweetening for a few hours. My favorite wine of the evening.
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10/7/2007 - cortoncharlie wrote: 93 Points
Popped and recorked at home, 1/2 hour later decanted and drank immediately at the restaurant. The bottle had good levels and the cork was in good condition. Very youthful color despite being a 37 year old wine. Very nice, seductive nose of cassis, lilies and a touch of earth and herbs. In the mouth, very pleasant and rounded. Great acidity which should mean that it can last a bit longer but somehow I thought this bottle was a bt "tired" and lacked that extra depth.
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3/29/2007 - sdr wrote:
At Equinox. This is Mahler-Besse 2006 stock. Superb, beautiful, full of life.
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3/17/2007 - Deadbird wrote: 96 Points
great fruit.
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2/17/2007 - trankin wrote: 97 Points
JF's Birthday (JF's place, Tucson): Beautiful, elegant, floral notes on the nose. On the palate, this is wonderful and gorgeous. Beautiful fruits - plums mostly. Leather. Great earth and minerals. Just a gorgeous wine! My WOTN. Group's #2 WOTN
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2/1/2007 - Eric wrote: 98 Points
Sheesh, this wine is an utter knockout! It's hard to believe this is 36 years old, as it drinks like a baby. A stunning nose of flowers, leather, soy, hoisin, quite fresh actually despite the heavy Asian descriptors. The palate is loaded with ripe fruit, plums, tobacco yet with a nice edge of acidity and is just toothsome. Man oh man, this is about as good as any Palmer I have ever tasted. Wow!
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1/26/2007 - sdr wrote: 93 Points
This is by a long way the best example of '70 Palmer I have had in many years. It was purchased from Chicago Wine Company eons ago; very, very top shoulder fill and deep ruby color almost to the edge. Really splendid in the mouth; velvety, floral (violets), sweet and persistent. Strangely, there was almost no aroma, but what little could be coaxed out of the glass was enticingly beautiful with that very special Margaux flower garden perfume. This bottle seemed young, with many more years of life.
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12/13/2006 - G SQUARED wrote: 94 Points
Dinner at Mina's with Wilf and Peter Marks, MW. This showed much better than I had ever imagined. Has to be one of the stars of the much heralded vintage that never came around. This is a beautiful expression of Margaux terroir. Silky smooth. Time to drink though.
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7/27/2006 - trankin wrote: 95 Points
The 1970 Claret Vintage (John G's): WOW! Gorgeous wine. Youthful, vibrant and acidic. Nose is gorgeous with loads of sweet ripe red plums. Great strawberries, gravel, slate, and a touch of earth. Really wonderfully complex, with great tannins. Outstanding wine.
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6/20/2006 - Eric wrote:
An unreal tasting of Château Palmer and Château Margaux with Thomas Duroux of Palmer (Los Angeles, CA): More closed than the 1966. Some orange peel on the nose. This improved, but it was always pretty tannic and chewy. Given the reputation of the wine, it was safe to say this was not a great example.
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4/27/2006 - Rupert wrote:
Lots of small tastes of some very grand wines (Royal Academy, London): Sweeter and rounder than the 1966, lovely, but gentler [93]
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3/30/2006 - sdr wrote: 85 Points
Another underwhelming showing for this formerly fabulous Palmer. Seems disjointed and unfriendly. This bottle from Chicago Wine Company, so I must have purchased it a very long time ago.
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11/17/2005 - sdr wrote: 92 Points
This is the best bottle of this wine I have had in years, mostly because it had the perfume and vigor it displayed a decade ago. Marvelous violet flower fragrance is the best part; the cliche "perfume" is not an exaggeration here. Losing color as might be expected at age 35, but on the palate there is a surprising amount of energy and the finish is clean if not especially long. Too bad they are not all like this one. Gently fading but this bottle refuses to lose its pulse.
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6/9/2005 - Hank Gillespie wrote:
Château Palmer: Attractive medium ruby/garnet in colour; slightly vegetal nose disappeared on swirling, and began to exhibit more cedar and deep fruit; initially somewhat reticcnt in showing its depth and concentration of fruit, but it opened up with more time; elegant and stylish; harmoniously structured with excellent sweet currant fruit; glides effortlessly over the palate, extending out to a long finish; fruit and spice continue, with still some tannins evident to assure longer life.
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5/28/2005 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
An easy afternoon with close friends; Paul's 50th birthday (@ PdV): Beautiful complex bouquet. Soft and good juice. Mature and beautiful soft tannin. Wonderful wine.
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5/14/2005 - sdr wrote: 91 Points
This rating is for a magnum Hugh brought to Trina for our Bordeaux tasting. It does indeed taste about 5 years younger than the same wine out of 750s, so merits an outstanding rating for its richly plummy merlot dominated fruitiness, more than decent bouquet and positive finish. Even so, I think this wine is past its outstanding best. This is a wine that is/was more enjoyable for its pure fruitiness than its secondary nuances, attractive as they are.
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12/1/2004 - sdr Likes this wine: 88 Points
Hugh’s bottle. Pleasant Palmer fragrance of violets and Spring flowers but never really blossomed; rather, it faded. Medium full. Very good concentration of fruit. Strong finish. Sound but far from dazzling. Past its best.
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10/17/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 91 Points
Light red colour with clear browning at the rim. Scents of camphor and dried leaves. Wonderfully soft and round in the mouth with an orange truffle -> orange peel like flavour impression. Perfectly mature for drinking now, and not showing any signs of going downhill. There was an interesting and very attractive inky character to the taste - sounds weird but it was very nice. There seemed to be plenty of structure for further aging. Great balance and style.
91 points
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5/22/2004 - Will wrote:
Verticale of Chateau Palmer (Toulouse, France): My notes are not that precise any more since we have started with the lunch. The nose is old, past its peak, and the wine is fluid, lacking and slightly oxydized. Still rather nice palate and long finish. I am a bit puzzled and try '71, and I am shocked when I learn it's the '70. Another disappointment after the '86 - on the other hand, oxydized doesn't sound too good...
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11/23/2003 - Jason wrote: 96 Points
Opened for Tracy's belated birthday celebration. Wow, might suffice for this wine. Beneath the capsule there was lots of mold and mildew. The cork, however, came out completely intact. The enormous nose was present from first open. It displayed what I consider the classic Bordeux nose, cedar, lead pencil, bramble, and black cherry. I could have just enhaled this aroma all night. The palate was also classic, with cedar, super sweet red and black fruit, and a touch of chocolate. At first, this wine was a touch thin for a great Bordeaux, but after an hour in the decanter it had picked up tremendous body. This wine is fully mature and ready to drink. Wow.
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10/1/2003 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
At last, an excellent bottle. Mature color. Expressive aroma of dark red berries. Full, vigorous and well balanced. Clean finish.
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3/22/2003 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Wine tasting. Good floral elements on nose work well with some lingering fruit and good mushroom aromatics. Wine still has a tannic backbone as well as lots of energy. Palate still has some good black cherry fruit. everything really works together. Quite impressive. Gently weakening but not quickly.
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12/1/2002 - sdr Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Golden West bottle. Perfect appearance and cork. Medium color. Not much happening on the nose. Dark currants. Slightly dull. Good texture. Past its best.
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12/1/2002 - sdr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Golden West bottle, level into neck. Good color. One of the best ‘70 Palmers in quite a while. The nose is reticent but correct. Good weight. Positive attack. Interesting elusive mixed berry mid palate. Clean finish. Interesting. Not tired at all. Held well in the glass.
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11/1/2001 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
Hugh’s bottle. Excellent color. Subdued but firm classic bouquet of cedar and mulberry. Medium weight. Some acidity in the finish. A very good example but the wine is not as flashy as 5 years ago.
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9/5/2001 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
Bright disc. Deep red-brown with orange rim. Clean nose, with moderately-intense (after 10 minutes of aeration in decanter) leather, earth, cigar box and ripe plum. After 30 minutes of aeration, vanilla appears. The wine is medium-bodied on the palate, and the tannins have largely melted away. The flavors are complex and similar to those on the nose. The finish is long and smooth. This wine is very pleasant now and should remain pleasant for a few more years, but I would have preferred to have had it at a more youthful point.
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4/1/2001 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
Golden West bottle, level into neck. Medium color. Correct but muted bouquet. Medium weight. Velvety mid palate but a touch dry on the finish. Fine.
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8/1/2000 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Premier Cru bottle, very top shoulder fill. Ruby. Not ideally perfumed. But excellent mid palate grip and finish. Still some tannin. Youthful.
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9/26/1999 - mdefreitas wrote: 90 Points
Pre Auction Wine Tasting w/ Angelus/Palmer/La Mission Haut Brion (NYC): Soft and velvety wine. Earth and leather. My pour had quite a bit of sediment in it, so it was tough to evaluate. Seemed a bit thin on fruit, but very enjoyable.
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5/1/1999 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
Premier Cru bottle, top shoulder. Medium color. Good, not great. Pleasing, not thrilling. Still, it’s Palmer so it’s enjoyable even when sub par.
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12/1/1998 - sdr Does not like this wine: 82 Points
Premier Cru bottle. A weak showing. Not exactly flawed but weak and coarse. Good texture but totally lacking in class and beauty. Is it too old?
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12/13/1997 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Aged top Bordeaux with my local tasting club (@ My place): Still a lot of berry fruits in the bouquet as well as the taste. Little pepper, beautiful oak and some sweetness. Complex and beautiful harmonious wine. Still going strong.
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2/1/1997 - sdr Does not like this wine: 83 Points
Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Excellent appearance, very top shoulder fill. Medium ruby. Pleasant enough bouquet at first, too bad it disappeared in 15 minutes. Medium weight. Modest fruit. Short. Flat, not spoiled. Meh.
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1/1/1997 - sdr wrote: 86 Points
Richard’s bottle, imported by Sichel but not Mähler-Besse. Not one of the best examples of this frustratingly irregular wine. The usual Palmer elegance but not the complexity, perfume or length of this wine at its best. But not tired.
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3/1/1996 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Andy’s bottle. Splendid. Not a gigantic bouquet but lovely mulberry/plum. Beautifully rounded, smooth and sweet. Unfortunately turned astringent after 45 minutes.
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4/1/1995 - sdr wrote: 85 Points
Disappointing again. Excellent color. A nice whiff of that special Palmer flower but quickly shut down. Somewhat coarse. Good fruity attack but faded quickly before the finish line. Atypical.
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9/1/1994 - sdr wrote: 87 Points
Not a good showing this time. Advanced medium garnet color. Sweet floral fragrance of classy Palmer but thinning out. Decent finish but just “good plus” overall.
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1/1/1994 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Splendid. Really classy. Long, stylish, fragrant. Beautiful expression of Merlot.
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1/25/1993 - tomandlu wrote: 96 Points
Drank with Easley Blackwood and Alex Matro.
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8/1/1992 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Probably Crown Liquor bottle, mid shoulder fill. Drunk at Maxaluna Boca Raton. All about texture. Muffled bouquet. Fully mature. Soft sweet Merlot. Not a lot of grip and the finish is brief but still a beauty in the ultra feminine style Palmer does so well.
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2/1/1992 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Probably Crown Liquor bottle, imported by Staccole. Medium garnet, edge is verging on brown. Obviously a very advanced bottle. Beautiful Margaux fragrance dominated by Merlot. Silky smooth. Extremely elegant. Long, warm, inviting finish. Delicate and feminine. A delight to savor.
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1/1/1992 - sdr wrote:
Unfair to rate this. Poured into filthy glasses at Marada Bar and Grill. (It was too dark to seat first.) Despite that, the silky smooth texture and finish were evident. But the bouquet and even the flavor were totally muted.
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1/1/1991 - sdr wrote: 87 Points
Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Deep ruby. Modest aroma of black cherry and blackcurrant. Medium body. Dusty. Good, not great, fruit. Unbalanced due to excess acidity and unresolved tannins.
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1/1/1991 - sdr wrote: 86 Points
Medium color. Undistinguished nose. A little anonymous. Modest concentration. Not much depth. Short finish. A major disappointment in this tasting of 1970 Bordeaux.
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12/5/1990 - Marc wrote: 88 Points
Regional Wine and Sprit Rare Wine Tasting: more youthful looking than the Petrus 1970 - still some dark red tones. On the nose not as compelling as the Petrus 1970 (perhaps due to the amount of CS?) - some vanilla, licorice, smoke, earth and VA. The wine has a velvet texture, not great structure and is not very long - seems a bit watery in the finish - showing its tannins - drink up.
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10/1/1989 - sdr Likes this wine: 85 Points
Somewhat disappointing but still good. Healthy medium garnet. Pinched nose. Only moderate fruit although the balance and breed are there. Good finish. A delicate wine.
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6/1/1988 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Gorgeous wine. Medium color, trace of amber, no brown. Beautiful complex basket of fruit bouquet. Delicate and elegant. Medium body. Good finish. Still some tannin. Sweet ripe fruit. Clearly ready. Not quite in a class with the ‘61 but still a great vintage of Palmer.
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12/25/1987 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 95 Points
From two 730ml bottles.
Big nose. Lovely round palate with superb balance and great structure. Excellent.
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