A little cloudy so perhaps muddied by suspended sediment, but this shows a nose surprisingly like the 55 - full of just-ready-to-go-off raspberries, mineral, leather, and subtle meaty accents. Delicious in its way, but perhaps not quite correct.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Served blind. Two strong notes initially on the nose: ham and lapsang souchong, that gunpowdery Chinese tea. So strong that initial speculation went to South African syrah before some dried rose noes pointed in the direction of Bordeaux. Clearly past it's best days but enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
“Bordeaux 1959 – 2014 (blind)”, flight 5, wine 2. A letdown. Weird spice aromas (clove, cardamom and cinnamon) and tobacco on the nose, and red fruit, spices, cardamom, clove and tobacco on the palate, but somewhat artificial and definitely off. I wasn't able to really pinpoint what was wrong. (Berry Bros. & Rudd bottling). NR
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clearly over the top, but still some red fruits in there. Dusty with barnyard and mushroom aromas. Once exposed to air it started to collapse and the remaining fruit just dried out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I am going to go against the grain here and say I really enjoyed this! Upon opening, the cork completely and utterly crumbled, and the wine initially smelt extremely funky, mouldy and possibly corked. But with 30 minutes the funk blew off and incredibly there was some fruit coming through, along with the classic leather and smoke.
Incredibly, I left around 200ml in the fridge overnight and it improved. Becoming fruitier still.
Clearly never going to be an iconic wine, and past it’s prime, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one!
Drank with friends from AFC Squadron on my last weekend before leaving Hong Kong.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I must have owned this bottle for getting on 20 years. I've had a BBR bottling of this vintage before but not the chateau bottled. Upper shoulder. Fully mature colour with amber rim and garnet core. Weedy blackcurrants, rosehips and a touch of other red berries on the nose. A little thin at first but it developed well over 2 hours in the decanter into a classic red fruit, rounded and now fully mature 1970. Good rather than great, a touch on the light side for the vintage but classic all the same.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This fully mature Pauillac offers tobacco, smoke, cigar ash, cassis, spice and wet, forest aromas. Some rusticity is sensed in the tannins in the finish. This requires drinking as it has moved past its prime, but it is still holding to its. vibrant, cassis character.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A BBR bottling, this was definitely past its prime and over the hill, followed it for about four hours, but that did not help, the acidity and barnyard notes just became stronger. This one is over when I add the other cellartracker notes to my own impression...
That brings me to a question: how do you rate wines that are neither flawed nor defective but clearly over the hill? Do you rate it low? (This was a mid-70's experience) or do you rate it as flawed, or just not at all?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Certainly past its prime but still a little more than old bones and still enjoyable. Mineral, dusty cocoa, damp earth, faint flowers and red fruit and still good acidity. Pretty but short and that's fine by me. Tough to score a wine like this but I think it should be spared the indignity. Went surprisingly well with hawaiian pizza. Go figure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I am a fan of this chateau, but not this bottle. Color and clarity good, but it seemed coarse and simple. Not bad, but nothing I would seek out. Nothing like the '66.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner Chez Spohn (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind - medium red colour, browning at the rim. Oldest smelling wine of the bunch with notes of black licorice, balsam and fully mature red fruit. The fruit on the palate is starting to dry out a tad but there are nice spicy and cherry flavours coming through. Fully mature with some tannin, lots of acidity and decent length, this was probably better a few years ago. I’d guess this and the ’83 would have showed better had they not been served side by side with the outstanding ’82. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aromas burst out of the bottle as the intact cork is carefully popped. Top-shoulder fill. Fragrant red flowers and a deep smoky nose instantly hits as I approach the bottle (no decant). Rich classic Bordeaux nose with the chalky lead pencil scent muscularly emanating from the first glass one hour after the bottle is opened. While the nose is splendidly fragrant, the first taste is rather thin. A very nice, agreeable wine with a balanced sweetness and a dusting of tart black cherries. A lovingly long finish greatly adds to the enjoyment of this bottle. Final verdict: Strong out of the gate with a wonderfully opulent nose, thin though flavorful in the body and a nice long finish. Excellent wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The physical appearance of this bottle was dreadful; I had purchsed at auction for a song some years back. Top shoulder fill, tattered label and the cork was on its last legs, but the seal was sound and I was able to extract it in one piece. Pop and pour. A ruby hue with no browing at the edge -- a welcome surprise -- and notes of cedary dark fruits (cassis), dry aged beef and leather. Medium to full bodied, with layers of flavor, nice delineation and good grip; a long, focused finish. Did not really evolve much in the glass, and the acidity was more noticeable than with my last bottle three years ago. Drink up!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wife's birthday. Splash decanted and poured. At first I feared that this was DOA. It had little nose beyond a hint of forest floor, and the palate had bottle sweetness but not much else. With about 45 minutes this really improved. The nose is still fairly faint with wet earth and vanilla. The palate, however, is much better. The palate still shows sweetness, but it now shows some minerality, fruit and spicy tannins. I suspect that the tannins will win the battle eventually, but the fruit is hanging in there for now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The 1970 Claret Vintage (John G's): Big nose of dark red fruit and potting soil. Lots of black and red cherries. Tart, and still somewhat tannic. Some soil minerality providing a nice underbelly to the fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With MPL at Singer & Foy survey of '70s Claret. Great dark ruby color. Excellent. Excellent chocolate/cocoa nose. I love this. On the palate, a tad dry--especially in the finish--and probably going round the bend. But initially pretty good. Too bad it wasn't drunk earlier. 5-12-10-5: 82/100.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With MPL, BLR and Amy at MPL's house. Color was not good as it could have been, even should have been, for such a great year. Nose was way past it, even objectionable, and the flavor wasn't far behind. Not good--Michael used it to water the flowers. In fairness, the fill was only mid-shoulder. 73/100.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With MPL at Singer & Foy tasting of '70 Bordeaux. Dark ruby. Nose a bit neutral, though somewhat attractive with coffee scents. Better on the palate. Nice fruit (though still somewhat lean and austere). 5-10-15-6: 86/100.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
1/7/2023 - Jon Mills Likes this wine: 89 Points
Hint of tobacco and cedar. Tasty and savoury. Still in good shape for a wine of this maturity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/2/2020 - RussK wrote: 90 Points
Russk. Had at Mark's house. Very mature.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/20/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 90 Points
A little cloudy so perhaps muddied by suspended sediment, but this shows a nose surprisingly like the 55 - full of just-ready-to-go-off raspberries, mineral, leather, and subtle meaty accents. Delicious in its way, but perhaps not quite correct.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2017 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Served blind. Two strong notes initially on the nose: ham and lapsang souchong, that gunpowdery Chinese tea. So strong that initial speculation went to South African syrah before some dried rose noes pointed in the direction of Bordeaux. Clearly past it's best days but enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2016 - PSPatrick wrote:
“Bordeaux 1959 – 2014 (blind)”, flight 5, wine 2. A letdown. Weird spice aromas (clove, cardamom and cinnamon) and tobacco on the nose, and red fruit, spices, cardamom, clove and tobacco on the palate, but somewhat artificial and definitely off. I wasn't able to really pinpoint what was wrong. (Berry Bros. & Rudd bottling). NR
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2016 - Tom Henriksveen wrote:
Clearly over the top, but still some red fruits in there. Dusty with barnyard and mushroom aromas. Once exposed to air it started to collapse and the remaining fruit just dried out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2015 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 92 Points
I am going to go against the grain here and say I really enjoyed this! Upon opening, the cork completely and utterly crumbled, and the wine initially smelt extremely funky, mouldy and possibly corked. But with 30 minutes the funk blew off and incredibly there was some fruit coming through, along with the classic leather and smoke.
Incredibly, I left around 200ml in the fridge overnight and it improved. Becoming fruitier still.
Clearly never going to be an iconic wine, and past it’s prime, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one!
Drank with friends from AFC Squadron on my last weekend before leaving Hong Kong.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2014 - kevin h wrote: 89 Points
I must have owned this bottle for getting on 20 years. I've had a BBR bottling of this vintage before but not the chateau bottled. Upper shoulder. Fully mature colour with amber rim and garnet core. Weedy blackcurrants, rosehips and a touch of other red berries on the nose. A little thin at first but it developed well over 2 hours in the decanter into a classic red fruit, rounded and now fully mature 1970. Good rather than great, a touch on the light side for the vintage but classic all the same.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/23/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
This fully mature Pauillac offers tobacco, smoke, cigar ash, cassis, spice and wet, forest aromas. Some rusticity is sensed in the tannins in the finish. This requires drinking as it has moved past its prime, but it is still holding to its. vibrant, cassis character.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/5/2014 - G_H wrote:
A BBR bottling, this was definitely past its prime and over the hill, followed it for about four hours, but that did not help, the acidity and barnyard notes just became stronger. This one is over when I add the other cellartracker notes to my own impression...
That brings me to a question: how do you rate wines that are neither flawed nor defective but clearly over the hill? Do you rate it low? (This was a mid-70's experience) or do you rate it as flawed, or just not at all?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/19/2013 - DollarMenunaire wrote:
Certainly past its prime but still a little more than old bones and still enjoyable. Mineral, dusty cocoa, damp earth, faint flowers and red fruit and still good acidity. Pretty but short and that's fine by me. Tough to score a wine like this but I think it should be spared the indignity. Went surprisingly well with hawaiian pizza. Go figure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/22/2013 - vespasian wrote: 89 Points
(BBR bottling)
Very good colour for the age; volatile nose a little like Musar; quite slight on the palate, nice wine but at the end of the road
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/8/2012 - vindictive wrote:
I am a fan of this chateau, but not this bottle. Color and clarity good, but it seemed coarse and simple. Not bad, but nothing I would seek out. Nothing like the '66.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2012 - Blake Brown Likes this wine: 81 Points
Decent wine with some tertiary fruit and a touch of mint.; somewhat abrupt finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2012 - godx wrote: 88 Points
Dinner Chez Spohn (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind - medium red colour, browning at the rim. Oldest smelling wine of the bunch with notes of black licorice, balsam and fully mature red fruit. The fruit on the palate is starting to dry out a tad but there are nice spicy and cherry flavours coming through. Fully mature with some tannin, lots of acidity and decent length, this was probably better a few years ago. I’d guess this and the ’83 would have showed better had they not been served side by side with the outstanding ’82. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/23/2012 - kevinpatrick wrote: 92 Points
Aromas burst out of the bottle as the intact cork is carefully popped. Top-shoulder fill. Fragrant red flowers and a deep smoky nose instantly hits as I approach the bottle (no decant). Rich classic Bordeaux nose with the chalky lead pencil scent muscularly emanating from the first glass one hour after the bottle is opened. While the nose is splendidly fragrant, the first taste is rather thin. A very nice, agreeable wine with a balanced sweetness and a dusting of tart black cherries. A lovingly long finish greatly adds to the enjoyment of this bottle. Final verdict: Strong out of the gate with a wonderfully opulent nose, thin though flavorful in the body and a nice long finish. Excellent wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/14/2011 - cooberp wrote: 90 Points
Notable sediment, light crimson. Rich nose of spice and tobacco. Still some tannin and dark fruit. Going strong.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2011 - Paul D wrote: flawed
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste (The Ledbury, London): Difficult to get past the cheesy, petrolly nose. Similar on the palate. NR
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/14/2009 - tbabes wrote: 90 Points
The physical appearance of this bottle was dreadful; I had purchsed at auction for a song some years back. Top shoulder fill, tattered label and the cork was on its last legs, but the seal was sound and I was able to extract it in one piece. Pop and pour. A ruby hue with no browing at the edge -- a welcome surprise -- and notes of cedary dark fruits (cassis), dry aged beef and leather. Medium to full bodied, with layers of flavor, nice delineation and good grip; a long, focused finish. Did not really evolve much in the glass, and the acidity was more noticeable than with my last bottle three years ago. Drink up!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/22/2008 - jaystewart1 wrote:
faded out early....past its peak
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2007 - Jason wrote: 89 Points
Wife's birthday. Splash decanted and poured. At first I feared that this was DOA. It had little nose beyond a hint of forest floor, and the palate had bottle sweetness but not much else. With about 45 minutes this really improved. The nose is still fairly faint with wet earth and vanilla. The palate, however, is much better. The palate still shows sweetness, but it now shows some minerality, fruit and spicy tannins. I suspect that the tannins will win the battle eventually, but the fruit is hanging in there for now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/27/2006 - trankin wrote: 89 Points
The 1970 Claret Vintage (John G's): Big nose of dark red fruit and potting soil. Lots of black and red cherries. Tart, and still somewhat tannic. Some soil minerality providing a nice underbelly to the fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/22/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 82 Points
With MPL at Singer & Foy survey of '70s Claret. Great dark ruby color. Excellent. Excellent chocolate/cocoa nose. I love this. On the palate, a tad dry--especially in the finish--and probably going round the bend. But initially pretty good. Too bad it wasn't drunk earlier. 5-12-10-5: 82/100.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/11/1990 - MicklethePickle Does not like this wine: 73 Points
With MPL, BLR and Amy at MPL's house. Color was not good as it could have been, even should have been, for such a great year. Nose was way past it, even objectionable, and the flavor wasn't far behind. Not good--Michael used it to water the flowers. In fairness, the fill was only mid-shoulder. 73/100.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/6/1989 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 86 Points
With MPL at Singer & Foy tasting of '70 Bordeaux. Dark ruby. Nose a bit neutral, though somewhat attractive with coffee scents. Better on the palate. Nice fruit (though still somewhat lean and austere). 5-10-15-6: 86/100.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/1/1989 - sdr Does not like this wine: 76 Points
Odd unattractive nose, like varnish. Better on the palate but not enough fruit and the finish is sharp.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment