Everything a mature Margaux should be with an amazing silky texture and a complex, refined finish. Not a blockbuster by any means but the great Margaux elegance shows here in spades. Fully mature and ready.
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Bought as futures. Stored at 55F. Brought to dinner at NY steak restaurant. Waiter nearly lost the cork but managed to screen out wet bits away from the decanter. Moderate sediment at bottom of bottle. Amazing this one still has minimal bricking. Aromatic with muted tobacco notes. Minimal yet sufficient tannins balanced nicely with darkish fruit notes and held up well with fatty steak. This one is still in the perfect drinking zone which, honestly, you could probably still say so in 10 years. BTW, the case cost me $350 back in 1984!
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A bit darker than the '95 (even though this is a '83); minerals, iron, silky smooth, balanced, meaty, complex, I thought this was very young and youthful! (guessed 2000). Was this really a 1983? My 2nd fav of the night, 4th fav overall.
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Après une bouteille bouchonnée en 11-2023,voici la réconciliation avec cette quille.La robe reste opaque malgré les 40 ans sonnés...Bouquet phénoménal d'intensité et de complexité où la majesté du cabernet sauvignon règne en maître: cassis,cèdre,menthol,chêne,épices,mine de crayon,toute la panopli est bien présente c'est fabuleux !!!! La bouche a des airs d'une adolescente de 15 ans certes les tanins sont fondus mais c'est d'une puissance à nulle autre pareille,sans aucune faille et on perçoit une suavité magnifique,une quintessence du cépage majoritaire.Ce vin peut encore tenir plusieurs décennies...Seul bémol:le bouchon fortement imbibé,extrait avec un Durand of course.I l faut absolument le remplacer pour augurer des meilleurs auspices pour les 40 ans à venir.J'allais oublier:longueur impressionnante de plus de 25 secondes....83 a engendré des merveilles dans l'appellation Margaux je me souviens de crus bourgeois étincelants en 2003....Il m'en reste encore....
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Now is the time. Drinking perfectly. After four decades, still has beautiful color with NO bricking. Big, vibrant nose of mushrooms, underbrush, lavender and hints of dark fruit. Fantastic acidity in perfect harmony and balance with silky tannins. Near perfect.
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83 is not an exceptional vintage but for what they did here at Margaux, it’s worthy of a standing ovation. Opulently perfumed and dense nose, bursting full of dried and fresh roses, but not out of control. There is a ton of nuance here in the form of tobacco, peppers, rose water, leather, cherry fruit and ripe strawberries. The wine is full bodied, with silky resolved tannin. Not a mega blockbuster like the 86 but is so darn complex and full of minerality. Suave finish. While this is pretty much drinking at peak right now, it will probably remain in this state for quite a while still.
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20 Top Wines of the 1983 Vintage: Six Bordeaux titans. Each bottle exceeded our expectations, showcasing classic Bordeaux structures, bursting with freshness, tension, and an invigorating verve. The perfect harmony of tertiary aromas and a robust fruit core was mesmerizing. 1983 has produced some great wines drinking in their prime today. For me, the Latour, scoring a stellar 97 points, was the standout star. Yet, by a narrow margin, the group’s heart went to the Cheval Blanc.
TN: This was the best, most open 1983 Margaux I’ve had to date. Medium expressive dark fruit, earthy minerality on the nose. Screams elegance. On the palate this is more intense and more open. There are layers and layers of fine ripe dark and still some red fruit notes. Lots of esrthy notes and crushed rocks, some herbs and smoke notes. This is so elegant, light and airy, almost Pinot-esque in its stature and still with lots of intensity. While it is drinking wonderfully today, this can continue to improve for a few more years and more tertiary aromas coming forward and adding further to the complexity. 95/96pts
Decanting: Quick double decant to remove the sediment 5-6 hours prior to consumption, which seemed perfect for the wine.
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12x Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993: All wines tasted single blind. Not decanted. As anticipated, the 1983 vintage prevailed in our comparative tasting, scoring 8 to 2 wins against the 1993 vintage, with two ties. The structured, classic ’83s exhibited greater depth and harmony compared to the ‘93s, which tended to be simpler, sometimes slightly green and dry, or at their best, fresh and light. However, in both vintages, aside from a few notable labels, many wines were evidently beyond their peak. The standout was, unsurprisingly, the Margaux (94pts). Tasting the some of the same ’83s a second time a few days later with decanting showed a marked improvement, highlighting the need of aeration.
TN: On the nose, it's rather muted, revealing only subtle hints of minerality and ash, with faint dark fruit in the background. The palate is more impressive, showcasing fresh dark red fruit, cola, and minty notes. It has a fine structure, marked by good freshness and balance. Over time, it blossoms into a more expressive, round, and satin-like profile, centered around a superb, intense fruit core. While the nose remains somewhat simple, the palate is delightful. Scores 93/94pts, surpassing the 88pts of the 1993 in the next glass. The palate alone could merit 95/96pts. A second, properly decanted bottle a few days later got 96pts, confirming that the 1983 Margaux needs substantial air to fully express its qualities.
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Holiday Dinner - Mostly Bordeaux (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Beautiful floral nose displaying perfectly ripe red fruit with a hint of black, cherry, strawberry, a hint of cassis, lead pencil, rose, sweet spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of delicious red and black fruit, exceptional balance, precision and detail, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and a long generous red fruit driven finish with a hint of rose and lead pencil at the end. My wine of the flight, really floral and almost Burgundian.
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40 years on: A global 1983 retrospective: Winter spices, elegant, purple fruit, good but somehow this just didn't really hit the balance and remaind a bit bulky
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1983 vintage horizontal with >20 wines, mostly from Bordeaux. Key observations: 1/ Acceptable vintage for Champagne with DP over-delivering, 2/ Laville Haut Brion is a masterpiece among the whites, 3/ Bordeaux is going strong at 40 years of age with stand-outs Latour and Margaux. 4/ No need to chase any Napa’s from the vintage, 5/ off-piste Italians kept up impressively with Soldera an undisputed medalist.
Tasting note: Double-decanted. An extraordinarily fine and elegant wine. Fine smoky base with mineral accents, a red cherry fruit, sous-bois from aging and even a touch of sweet spice. A gracefully aged palate, still with juicy freshness, well balanced with supple tannin. This performed better than the bottle just a few days earlier. At this event this outshone a still solid Palmer ’83.
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Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993 face-off: Still quite intense with leather notes and a cherry fruit, but this already tasted unripe from the start. Slightly metallic and with a bit of imagination also a touch of menthol. The palate with solid structure, present and not as unripe of a fruit as I expected. Still rather mouthcoating tannin, even though the texture was acceptably soft. This failed to impress, but I note that another bottle a few days later performed leagues better.
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blind I guessed Margaux 82 or 83. Phantastique wine. Still not reached his peak but coming closer. Still primary fruits with nicely tertiary aromas. 98
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Great color, deep and dark. Nose was quintessential Margaux, very refined. Medium+ fruit on the mid-palate. Good backbone of fine tannin and acid. Tasted over 4 hours, began to fade and dry at the end.
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This is a thrilling and glorious vintage of Château Margaux drinking at its absolute peak. There’s a bit of tawny at the rim but the center is deeply ruby. Immediately you are hit with a blast of sweet violet, rose and blackberry fragrance. Medium full on the palate with just a trace of excess acidity if you want to pick a nit. Warm and long finish. Clearly better than the great majority of the coarser and less elegant 1982 version.
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Chateau Margaux is the wine of the vintage. The perfume, with is essence of dried and fresh flowers, cherries, plums, currants, earth, forest leaves and tobacco wrapper is backed up by the wines intensity, purity, length and silky, sensuous textures. No decanting needed. Pop, pour and enjoy this stunner for several more years. Drink from 2023-2040.
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YESSSS! This bottle is bang-on! Deep garnet, barely any bricking at all. The nose is intense, deep, concentrated, pipe tobacco, red currants, black cherries, raspberry sauce, oiled leather, freshly turned earth. It smells so pleasant, complex yet cohesive. Just wonderful.
In the mouth, body and acidity are medium, tannins are fine grained and bit drying, definitely present. Perfect balance between a tight core of red fruits along with tertiary flavors of tobacco, truffle, tilled soil, cedar. The finish is long long long, full or dark fruit flavors; I feel like I can taste this all night after a single sip.
What a fantastic wine. I've heard that there is bottle variation, but this bottle is amazing. It held up magnificently in the decanter over 4 hrs being opened and didn't fade at all. Very impressive. Tough to generalize to all bottles, but this one could have gone another 10+years easy. Perfect accompaniment to filet mignon with morel cream sauce for an early 40th bday dinner. I wish I didn't have such expensive taste...
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Deep purple with minimal fading on rim (to our surprise). Decanted 750ml bottle for 15 minutes to remove sediment. Big and generous bouquet of truffles, tobacco leaf, cedar, tarragon, strawberries, dried plums, and red currants. The palate is silky with super fine, integrated tannins with some medium-low acidity. Drank over the course of our meal (about 1.5 hours). Unless in large formats, drink now and enjoy this wonderful wine at its peak.
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Had a class at a private dinner. I would like to spend more time with this wine in the future, it is worth further investigation for sure. Pretty wine all the way around . PAULST has covered the wine details perfectly in his numerous reviews so he saved me some typing! 👍 What he said Lol!
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Out of Magnum at my 40th birthday party. This was the main event and it didn’t disappoint. Crazy fresh out of a Magnum with a fill into the neck, this shows sexy dark fruit with floral notes and an alluring inner sweetness. Really drinkable and attractive, on the precipice of true maturity. This was consumed all-too-quickly. WOTN for me, just a hair ahead of the Palmer. I have a second magnum that I’m saving for my 50th.
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Fruit is fading, a little black Currant left, cedar, graphite, mostly tertiary at first. After about an hour I thought it improved and I actually got some more dark fruits coming thru. Some floral notes as well maybe lilac.
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Top shelf 1983 Bordeaux (Chicago, IL): Very youthful and tight bottle that didn't really seem to unfurl over the course of the dinner. I didn't even get much perfume, but there was plenty of dark, black fruit and a leathery quality on the tannins. Unfortunately we couldn't really do the comparison next to the Palmer, as it probably wasn't a representative bottle.
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Wine Workshop: Chateau Margaux (Gabriel Kreuther): I have heard many times about the enjoyment of a 1983 Margaux that many say surpasses the ‘82 and many other great wines. Alas it will have to be another day when I find out if that is true as this wine wasn’t quite on the ball.
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TOP SHELF WINE WEEKEND: The nose and the palate match, with a sherry liqueur note that stays prominent throughout the delivery. Finishes with a bite. Muddled and stewed cherries, mushroom, leather, golden raisin, and pink roses. The flavors were so delicate that they were mostly overpowered by the brown whiskey and sherry type notes nipping at the palate, fading quickly.
The Cellar Tracker drinking window here says 2019-2040. I will politely raise an eyebrow with such a spectrum and simply say that it was an honor to try this wine and, as always, I am humbled and appreciate not only different styles of wine, but also their various stages of evolution. I’m seeing notes as recent as a couple of days ago that call this out as fresh and vibrant. God bless ya. My palate just isn’t programmed for that amount of tertiary flavors (rather: quaternary, quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, and denary…flavors). For me, the 1996 Margaux was much more in line with what I may desire from an aged Margaux. Regardless of any academic squabbling, this is a privilege to try indeed.
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Spectacular wine. So fresh and vibrant. Dark berries, mentol, leather, mushroom. Great depth and complexity. I would say it is drinking wonderful now. I did not decant this nor had the time to see how it would evolve with air.
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Memorial Madness at Case de Chris y Melissa - Day 1 of 2: My first every experience with old first growth. I would like to say that it was life changing and makes me want to forget Napa altogether, but this wine was clearly past its peak. Notes of decomposed earth, mushrooms kept in a brown bag, maybe even a touch of mold. With some air, this wine was trying to tell us that it is still alive, but sometimes you cannot fight time and time was not on this wine’s side. Thank you for letting us taste this Jason (IRBDW)!
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2 of 6 bought on release. Opened at 4:00, splash decanted for sediment… consumed at 7:30. Deep ruby core with lightening edge. Nose was surprisingly tight and didn’t really open up for 90 minutes or so to reveal firm dark fruits mixed with violets with hints of cedar and earthy notes. This bottle was quite firm, tannins were still present giving this bottle a more powerful profile than I usually expect from Margaux. Good acidity added energy and balance to fruit, long finish. This continued to open and improve over the evening, This well stored bottle was in early maturity and would have benefited from a longer decant.
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Wild and Crazy Memorial Weekend - Saturday (Chris' Castle aka Melissa's Manor): How can I best sum up this Bordeaux? A great wine that offers tons of tertiary pleasure, but already faded for my palate. You cannot help appreciating this wine for what it is, and even more so for what it was. Others, with a passion for older wines will still love this wine, and some may argue that it is no where close to passing its prime, however, that is not me, nor my palate. This wine started out totally dead, then miraculously came back to life, albeit on life support (as far as my palate was concerned). Yes, some sour dark cherry notes did emerge, but totally in the background, as tertiary flavors of earth, leather, mushroom and some forest floor took center stage. I will admit, you could still sense the greatness of the wine, and I have always said, regardless of how the wine shows, it is always a privilege to taste these older wines. For me, this was a 92 point wine for the faded elegance and historical pleasure this wine still provides!
As a side note, I have had this wine a couple times and the results seem to confirm it was not an "off" bottle.....just a great bottle of wine clinging to life, but unfortunately showing its age!
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Textbook beautiful old margaux. Gorgeous layered nose of forest floor and violets. Lovely easy dark fruits melt into a melodic melange. Improved a bit after 30 min but was very good from first pour and peaked at an hour or so but held its ground for three hours. Probably a bit past peak but should stay here for another decade as the stuffing is top notch.
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Spectacular, powerful and at the same time elegant, drinking so beautifully, cassis, black currants, cedar, graphite spice, integrated tannins, long finish, seems ageless
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My 40th birthday at 67 Pall Mall (67 Pall Mall): A very generous bottle from Ian. This impresses off the bat with a very correct and precise nose with dark plum, violet florals and a hint of balsamic Crisp and clean on the palate with blue plum, Parma violets. Elegant and initially a little light but puts on weight in the glass. Fabulously well made and impressive.
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Peter's 1983 extravaganza (67 Pall Mall): Obvious clarity despite its dark colour. Chiselled red fruited-nose with lift and a touch of game. Bright, fresh, and energetic on the youthful-seeming palate, with smoky dark meat, red boiled sweets and a feeling of sleek, crystalline sophistication. I loved the long, impactful finish too. The person whose bottle this was seemed a bit disappointed that it didn't show as well as the last he'd had, but to me it seemed excellent.
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Peter's 40th (67 Pall Mall, London): Crimson and correct for an 83. Nose takes a bit of coaxing and reveals perfumed aromas of violets and pot pourri. Medium bodied with luxury silky tannins and yet more violets, pot pourri and other exotic spices and red fruits on the midpalate. Exquisitely balanced and very finely poised, yet ultimately not really my cup of tea, as I would have preferred a more savoury profile. A huge treat to try and from Zalto Bordeaux.
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100 without doubt - what a wonderful perfect wine - remains many many years at this stage - after opening the bottle the wine fills the room -- I can only smell my glass the whole time
amazingly has only gotten better in the last 5 years and this case has been better than those i have shared with others. the wine is at its apogee and i dont know if it can get better but i don't see it fading
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Foil damaged, level middle shoulder. Cork extracted with one small piece missing with a Durand. Cork wet to top. Decanted for 30 minutes before serving. Small amount of fine grained sediment. Good colour garnet with only slight signs of bricking at the rim. The nose evolved over 2 hours with different aromas in evidence before they were lost and the next set emerged. Initially, mulberry, with red and back fruit and some clean mushroom. Moving on to sweet tobacco, wet stone (iodine/seaweed/tarragon), and a hint of cedar. Then forest floor, meat, mint and crème caramel. What a journey! In the mouth it was all about feel rather than taste. Very well balanced, smooth, resolved tannins and great mouthfeel. Everything in the medium range except length and acidity, both at med+. At its peak, or ever so slightly past? Too describe its elegance and freshness, somehow it only right to reach for the French, élégance et fraîcheur. English undersells it. The score grew as the aroma developed.
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Ullage was at mid shoulder. Wine cork extraction was intact. But the bottle was corked; the nose is gone. The wine still maintain its integrity of acidity and tannin.
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The 83 Margaux has an intoxicating nose immediately upon opening with pungent wet tobacco and cigar, cassis, graphite, and bright cherry. Bright and poppy palate with pixilated red fruit, suave structure and tension, and an epic long and lush finish. Elegance and power, enormous length, and just drinking phenomenally. Drink or hold but certainly in the strike zone.
(375ml) Purchased at auction and some nervous moments with a layer of black on top of the cork and wine soaked into the sides of the cork. Took about an hour for the funk to blow off. Colour relatively faded with definite bricking. Interesting nose and palate - not a lot of fruit but still some there (plum with some tobacco leaf), more tertiary notes (particularly truffles and a touch of forest floor) but still very good drinking if you like mature wines.
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This magnum drank tremendously well. Our contributor extolled 1983 Margaux over 1982, which prompted a debate between others better informed than I. All I can say was that if this were from the classic vintage of 1982, everyone would have said, "Of course, that's why it's drinking so well." But it was 1983, a vintage that should be more heralded for Margaux. This magnum was nowhere close to decline. Very vibrant and fresh yet fully in its mature phase. Unquestionably outstanding at age 40.
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Outstanding right out the gate. Beautiful color, very little signs of age. Silky smooth fruit and tannin. Near perfection - one of the best wines I drank this year. In a great spot.
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Upon opening, a lot of brooding dark fruits with strong tertiary notes. Hit a strange moment about 45 minutes in and seemed to shut down — I wondered whether we’d lost it. But the wine quickly resolved into a beautifully complex mélange of sweet mountain berries, mint, and cassis to go with those delicious dark fruits and funky earthy tertiary aromatics. Really impressive bottle. If you have one, pull the cork.
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Cork soaked through. Slight signs of dried seepage under the capsule. Decanted an hour or so before drinking. Ullage - very high shoulder. Fruit pretty much dissipated (cherry, cassis), balsamic vinegar, dominated by acidity. Flawed.
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A beauty. Cork in immaculate form. Nose resembles, berries, leather on earth notes. High complexity, great shape, and fantastic wine to be enjoyed over the next 10 years. This is the second Margaux we open at the house and it never disappoints.
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Nose: truffles, forrest floor, violet, pepper, red fruits, hint of smoke, dried leaves Notes: excellent complexity in the Margaux 1983. Quite mature by now and it is probably in the second half of its drinking window unfortunately. This certainly will not get any better with additional cellaring. The damp nose certainly is a signature of the vintage and also would suggest that this wine has had enough aging. Rating: 92 Drink: now+
Withholding rating and tasting notes due to recent covid bout impacting smell (almost back, but more like 80-90% not 100%). But even w/o the notes, I'd say 95-99 due to sheer length, massive expansion of bouquet over 4+ hours, and how long it took to peak after decant, see below. (And drank with friend, who confirmed this was a masterpiece.) Very tight at open, tannins main sensation. And then it just blossomed over the next 2, 3, 4 hours, never looking back. But did not decant long enough. Bought case years ago. Opened 7 btls at single event 3 years ago, decanted 4 hours then, sufficed. 3 yrs on, I thought 2-3 hours enough. Wrong. 4 hours in just getting better and better. We ran out at 4.5 hour mark and seemed to still accelerate. Bottle perfect condition.
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drinking alongside a 2000 quintarelli alzero, this could not be more different. an entirely more nuanced wine. the nose here is delicate and sophisticated, with iron, wet stone, flowers, earth, mushroom, leather. palate is mature, soft… flavours are mineral driven, iron, pomegranate. it puts on weight with time in the glass and with air it really seems to improve. finishes with an attractive saline chalky note.
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Another great showing for this great vintage of this archetypal Margaux of the era. Gorgeous perfume of violets, flowers, blueberry, rhubarb and pomegranate. Svelte and velvety. Perhaps a tiny fraction of excess acidity. Deeply integrated tannins. At first a 98 point experience but after a while the fruit receded a bit. At peak or perhaps just bit beyond so drink now for a glorious experience.
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Two bottles, the first arguably corked, although faintly, and the second quite excellent. Fruit is mostly clean and pure, less in the way of earth or sous bois character. Too bad we couldn’t compare it to the ’82 (also corked), but I imagine this would be neck and neck as this is fragrant and pretty. 93+
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Deep garnet, light brown on edges. Nose of leather, anise and dried blackberry. Smooth with slightly tart edges. Not a lot of tannins remaining. Medium length finish. A beautiful wine, but on the way downhill.
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Bit of funk and first, ended up decanting for 2 hours which I thought really improved it (others disagree). Prior to decant was funky and phenolic, not a lot of fruit but had subtle red fruits and cassis, mild tannins and low acid with a good bit of oak influence, medium long finish, after decant acid became noticeable and had hint of balsamic vinegar, red fruits really came out after decant and funk was completely gone, this was excellent!
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Tasted double blind. From magnum, this was drinking very well with all telltale tertiary aromas you want to have in your Bordeaux. To get to the 97-100 pts category, the aromatic intensity and especially the precision would have needed to be a bit higher/better. Anyway, this is a wonderful wine with the elegance and drinkability as the best traits. 95/96 pts.
TN: Dark berries, pencil shavings, some faint hints of truffles and wet forest floor. On the palate dark fruit, red berries, pencil minerality, some floral notes, violets. Some Merlot meaty notes. A beautiful sweetness. Fine, melted tannins but good tension and vivacity. Good, medium acidity, beautiful freshness. Very round with a beautiful intensity from start to finish. With more time, more minerality, wet forest floor and truffle come out and the gets more expressive and even better balanced.
Decanting: Decanted for two hours, which worked.
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Drinking at peak, once again, I am having a hard time picking a favorite between the 82 and the 83. But today, both are great. So here, you find a violet-infused, cherry, plum, tobacco leaf and cigar wrapper core. Full-bodied, rich, supple, fresh and elegant, the earthy, red-toned finish is long, refined and supple.
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OMG. Beautiful and graceful. Decanted for 1/2, back in the btl and then decanted again at the restaurant. Floral, perfume, green pepper, forest floor, graphite. Drink and enjoy as we did.
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In my cellar since release. Decanted at 4pm for 90 minutes then returned to bottle to bring to a restaurant, then again decanted and mostly consumed from about 7-9pm with some small tastes throughout the early stages. The wine was a brilliant medium garnet (12% ABV on the label) with no bricking. Nose was somewhat muted at first showing some brett but evolved slowly and favorably throughout the evening. At times the nose wafted gloriously with smokey red fruit, florals and graphite hints. It has bright acidity and fully resolved tannins. Palate was silky smooth with cassis, game meat, black plum and cherry and seemed at its best around the 8pm mark. Finish is long and smooth with hints of wet stones. A glorious bottle that was shockingly youthful yet mature. Not tired or washed out in any way. I see no reason to rush to open my last bottle.
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80's Bordeaux (Friend's house): This is a wine that I was really excited to try esp given we've heard from a few folks claim it is one of the best Margaux years of all time and the '89 is prob one of our favorite wines ever. So I guess net-net is the expectations were very high and I'd say this was a good wine but not quite ready to live up to the very high expectations. It's quiet and it started to open up with some time in the glass and I had meant to go back but dinner went fast and our car showed up and I never quite made it back. Some liked it more than I and I certainly liked it, but would have liked to see it perform a bit better.
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Pronounced nose intensity with notes of mushroom, earth, spices, toast, charr wood, cooked black fruits. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Tannin had been integrated and smooth. Had similar notes with 1982. Drink it side by side with vintage 1982 and the comparison was that initially the 1983 had a better nose and palate. When 1982 had enough aeration, my personal preference was 1982. There’s more structure and complexity in 1982 as compared to 1983.
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Auction purchase 12 years ago. Top shoulder fill, with corrosion around cork with evidence of ceepage. Needed the Ah-So cork remover, which properly removed the soaked, ragged cork. Initially thin, with cherry, plum, tomato leaf, and acid. Slow-ox'd for 9 hours before pairing with a medium rare rib roast. Tomato leaf now mitigated, this features a medium ruby in the glass with slight bricking at the edges. Decent nose of cherry, red alpine currant, plum, cassis, a floral element (lavender-ish), and oak spices. Medium bodied, decent acidity, but certainly no powerhouse. Was a nice pairing with the prime rib, but overall was not one of the better red Bourdeax we've consumed in 2021. Second auction bottle remaining with slightly better fill (base neck).
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Ruby color with just hints of bricking. Very complex nose of red cherries, red currant, soil and lead pencil. Very soft and balanced palate, with hints of acidity on the finish. Excellent bottle and absolutely gorgeous wine.
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From a half bottle took about an hour to open. This was good bottle but clearly the down slope as it does that match the other 80s first growths I have had from full bottles
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Deep garnet, and significantly browned and fading edges. Earthy, mossy aromas with some peppers, meats, and dried grass, as well as ripe blackberry. Tannins softened, and somewhat lean yet focused on the palate whilst some bright acids, and very developed, somewhat stewed blackberry flavours, black pepper, black florals and capsicum. Very long finish though. Glad it still shows life, but it’s a wine at its sunset already. Drink up!
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Acquired on release- Full bodied and held up throughout the night. In prime or slightly past, these need to be drank now. No need to decant. 10 min in the glass and it’s ready.
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Double decanted an hour or so before drinking (maybe 90 min or 2 hrs—I lost track of the time). But was beautiful on pnp and only better with a bit of air. Intense nose that you could sniff all day long. Prominent red fruit, cassis, earth, pencil lead. So elegant and integrated with a finish that went on forever. A real treat. Edit: had ticked the flawed box by accident. Was in perfect form
This bottle was good, but for my tastes not great, particularly contrasted to the 1983 Palmer drunk with side by side. It's a good night when 83 Margaux comes in fourth out of four Bordeaux!
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At Boka in Chicago with Rick, good opportunity to open this, it's been several years since trying this vintage. Somm was able to get the cork out clean, decanted.
Color is medium, murky/faded ,ruby and plum color. Nose showing right away with red fruits, cassis, earth, mushroom, pine cone. Palate was flat and reticent when first opened, we put aside for a bit and revisited. Started to opened after about 20 minutes showing red currant, cassis, violet/floral, herbs, faint graphite. Floral notes evident through the mid palate. Silky and elegant texture. Medium body and finish.
As noted, this was not really opened when first out of the bottle. With old wines like this it can develop and fade quickly - so we set aside but checked on it. Once it started to show there is lot going on. Continued to improve over the hour we drank it. I wouldn't recommend a decant/walk away for an hour with this. My guess is each bottle may be different at this stage. Great experience but took some coaxing. Beautiful representation of an aged Margaux.
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Tasted blind: deeply colored; shy, deep, brooding nose of plum, violets and a touch of fine cigar smoke; wonderful purity of fruit and subtle underlying power; gorgeous right now but suggests decades of life ahead of it. 95+
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Wonderful aromatics of pencil shavings and lead. Decanted for 1.5-2 hours which was sufficient as it didn’t improve that much more beyond. Elegant snd silky. Last bottle unfortunately but Wonderful bottle to have for a big birthday.
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Opened at Charlie Palmer’s New Steakhouse in Napa, CA. Was not decanted and glad I didn’t. Opens with Sois Bois, Red Currants, slight leather and oak brilliantly integrated. Opens and intrigues with more “Chateau Margaux” aromas and terroir; with mild to little tertiary aromatics (surprisingly fresh). Super silky, elegant and fruit hasn’t faded. Really, quintessential; elegant styled Bordeaux Cabernet blend that only Lafite can rival for that style. Drink now. Was 750ml with intact cork. Best Chateau Margaux I’ve ever had! Love to find a magnum.
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The nose started off slow with plethora of earth, leather but comes to complete life after 30mins with lilac, blackcurrant, coffee bursting out. The elegance in the wine was top notch as silky tannin, layers of fruit, with a tinge of coolness. Superb length.
Had A&B with 1989 Margaux, and the 83 wins by 2 points.
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Mid shoulder. Cork very soggy. Decanted 3 hrs. Some funky notes on opening. Colour blackish red, edge brownish w some paling. Very generic velvety Margaux bq, fairly large, cedar, tobacco, black currants. The bq feels a lot younger than it is! Fully ripe tannins, acidity still fresh, plenty of dark fruit. Aftertaste long and complex, with hints of sweet fruit (strawberries?). While the aftertaste does linger, the volume fades a bit. Can be kept a bit longer. A superb wine!!
Struggled with whether to rate this as it was purchased at auction and may have had heat damage.
From a 375, mid shoulder fill. Decanted for 90 minutes though tasted briefly at PNP and at 30 minutes. Color is light rust, particularly around the edges, some garnet towards the very middle.
Nose was a bit thin - some raspberry and cherry notes, a bit of light tobacco, and cedar. Palate similarly thin with red fruits, sandalwood, tobacco, and a hint of forest floor. Not as much happening here as I’d hope. Tannins are fully resolved.
Again, may have been heat damage, a bad bottle, or just past it’s prime in 375, but while no obvious oxidation or other flaws this just wasn’t that exciting.
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Bouteille ouverte 2 heures avant le repas, niveau à l'épaule. Le bouchon est imbibé aux 2 tiers. Le nez est envoûtant, sur le fruit et des notes cuirées. Belle complexité et persistance. Beaucoup de plaisir à boire cette bouteille, même si elle manquait un peu de fraîcheur comparée à la précédente bue il y a une année.
Bottle opened 2 hours before the meal, level at the shoulder. The cork is soaked in 2 thirds. Charming nose displaying fruit and leathery notes. Nice complexity and persistence. A lot of pleasure to drink this bottle, even if it lacked this freshness my last bottle had.
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Decanted in a Zalto carafe. Restrained initially but after an hour it opened up. Wood, lilac, violet, blackberry and raspberry. Very fruity still with tannins fully integrated. Lovely velvety mouthfeel, medium body and medium+ length. Wish I had kept this 5-10 years longer
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Slightly below the last bottle drunk about 6 months ago, but still an awesome wine with amazing freshness and incredible complexity. I am in love with 1983 Margaux.
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Well...unfortunately this one didn't hit the heights that I know '83 Margaux can. Not exactly closed, but quite straightforward. I suspect not enough time in the decanter. From previous experience it needs 4+ hours to really open up.
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The nose is striking with aromas of lilacs and violets on full display. The wine is rich, supple, poised and polished. Full-bodied, concentrated, silky and expansive, the voluptuous finish seamlessly goes on and on. Fully mature, this is at its apogee where well-stored bottles could remain for up to another decade.
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blind Again a beautiful perfect aged Margaux 83. The shining stars from 1983 with Palmer. Everything is at the right place. Still primary notes in nose and palate. Love this wine. 97-98
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Drank with close friends at an outdoor dinner comparing Bordeaux, Burgundy & Tuscany along with a 2005 Nicolas Potel Latricières-Chambertin representing Burgundy, a 2001 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova representing Tuscany, with a 2001 Château Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant for dessert. All decanted. Perfect cork. 37 years old and the wine still had a deep ruby color, with some bricking at the edges. The nose started off a bit musky, which quickly blew off revealing a stupendous classic Margaux nose of currant, cherry, tobacco, cedar. Silky smooth with the tannins fully integrated and a finish that just kept going. Over the course of a three-hour dinner, the Ch. Margaux just kept opening up and getting better and better. Clearly, much life ahead. Completely outclassed the other red wines, which in any other setting would have shone brightly. Started off the evening as 97, but ended as a 99. Easily my red WOTN and WOTY.
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Magnificent wine, absolutely stunning and sublime in any way. The best Chateau Margaux I have tasted so far. Way better than my last bottle (rated 94 points two years ago), which shows important variation from a bottle to another.
Amazingly young, this will age for further decades effortlessly. Extremely focused, perfectly balanced, aromas of cedar and graphite on the nose, vivid and fresh on the palate, long and subtle, huge complexity, great freshness. This was truly awesome. One of the very finest wines I have tasted in a long time.
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Great and intense nose full of black fruits and spices. Medium bodied, medium length, elegant and smooth, although less smooth than expected - it has still some tannins and freshness. This freshness shows still much fruity notes of cherry, which suites the wine perfectly. Overall interesting and very, very good wine - however, for greatness the wine is not sophisticated, smooth and full enough. The wine is ready to drink, although I expect it can ripe another decade or two without losing anything.
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Did not decant (minor sediment clung to bottle side down.) Classic tobacco nose. Much less bricking than expected. (Bought as futures and stored 56 for 35 years) Impeccable balance. Light body. Good not great concentration. Plus finish. 1 bottle left & feel safe to drink in 5+ years to note changes.
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Some barnyard, brett, black currants, graphite; fresh and intense, long, but lacks weight and complexity. My weakest bottle so far. Suspect heat damage.
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Well now, isn't this pleasant. Pure cedar and gravel on the nose with a perfectly balanced palate where the fruit is subsumed by pencil shavings and a hint of dried unsmoked cigar. The easiest wine in the world to blind taste and say "this is older left bank Bordeaux from a time where the fruit was less ramped up". I have drunk 3 of those (sorry, getting better about recording notes) and it's an "old reliable" when you want something special.
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Fruits noirs, cuir, un peu d épices. En bouche, belle ampleur, tout est bien fondu, c est rond, chaleureux et une longue, longue, longue finale. Du grand vin
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Decanted over cocktails. Light but beautiful nose of dried leaves and herbs. On the palate full-bodied and savory with sous bois, dried blueberries and cranberries, shoe leather. Fairly short finish. Tannins firm and first then started melting after an hour or so. A good showing but not sure if it will hold at peak too much longer.
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Served blind. This had a deep dark core, that was almost black, reminiscent of Syrah or young Cabernet. A wonderfully classic style of wine that had a lot of black fruits without being overbearing. This felt like a cool vintage with a very balanced palate. Our Jaws hit the table when this was unveiled, a 1983 Margaux, that had the colour of a 2000s Aussie Shiraz. This has decades left. Such a treat to try one of the all time classic legends of bordeaux. Drank with VO and DrK.
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Quintessential Margaux. Wine had definitely peaked as to drinkability. Old Bordeaux character of leather and old cigar box with some dried rose petal. Served with A5 Wagyu ribeyes. Bottle was just a tad too tired to fully complement the richness of the beef, although the inherent complexity of the wine did show off some of the savory notes of the meat.
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Sublime Margaux - bottle and fill excellent, cork slightly depressed. This needs at least 3 hours in the decanter to blow off some bottle funk and open up. A big wine and years to go, but fantastic tonight with reverse seared steak, braising greens and Caesar salad. Long life ahead but remember to give it time to breath
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Blind, brick rim, notes of humus, forest floor, bell peppers, cassis, leather, tobacco, floral ending with silky smooth tannins. Has age but fruit is still present. What ever this is, it’s very typical of an aged Bordeaux and requires drinking as it’s nearing the end of it’s peak drinking window as it’s barely hanging on.
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blind It is for sute not the best bottle I had from this vintage, but at th first day it has a lot of mushrooms in the nose, some minimal fruit left. Also a bit of cola or someone in the Group said it is not Bordeaux and we only drank half of the bottle. The next day I tried it again and it completely changed. Much more structure, fruit and precision. Lovely. It starts with 90 Points and ended with 94-95.
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Tasted non-blind. 1983 Chateau Margaux is muscular and powerful wine. Rich and structured with lots of depth. 1982 seems to be more graceful than the 1983, but the last bottle of 1982 I tasted was 4-5 years ago. This should age for another half a decade. (89-90/100)
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Weak, crumbly cork, managed to extract it with nothing going into the bottle though. Decanted at noon, and had a taste. Modest nose of cedar and tobacco. Dark red color. No bricking or thinning at the edge. Decent clarity. Waited 3 hours and had a glass. Was nothing special, showing old wood, mild tannins, little fruit. Not unbalanced but not very interesting. Sipped on another glass while cooking until dinnertime. Drank more thru dinner. The last glass was poured near the end of dinner at 6:30pm. There was no significant evolution, although the last glass was perhaps a touch better, showing a hint of fresh cherries, and it didn't ever fall apart. There was no hint that it was corked. Sad to say it was just an old bottle of wine.
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A stunning wine drinking in its apogee. The perfume pops with flowers, tobacco leaf, cedar chest, wet earth, herbs and red berries. There is ample weight, concentration, length, complexity and freshness to keep any taster busy. Texturally, the wine is soft, silky and rich, with a finish loaded with sweet fruits.
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Drank over the course of 3.5 hours as state lockdown took hold.
Dark Raspberry, strawberry preserves, green olive juice, tar Holiday spices, dried flowers, potpourri Integrated tannins, smooth as silk Finish that lingers and says “open another, I know you want to”
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The cork crumbled and I feared that the wine underneath could be fragile or over the hill but the contrary is true, the wine actually needed extensive swirling and time to fully open up. This is a dream wine with the Margaux softness and femininity, finest tertiary notes and pure red fruit embedded in a fresh structure. The depth and sharpness are not on par with the greatest vintages of Margaux but still this one of the best vintages of the past 40 years (but not top 5 with 15, 10, 09, 05, 96 certainly ahead, and likely also the 00 and 90 which I haven’t tried yet). 96 points and in the best moments even with 97.
TN: Finest tertiary aromatics with superb tobacco, leather, wet forest floor and some truffle scents, underneath sweet red fruit, floral aromas, a glass left 4 days later showed much more darker fruit. Intense and good but not great delineation. Excellent structure with ultra fine, melted tannins, very good freshness (the others had it blind and guessed it to be a 90s wine) and good medium+ fruit and tobacco driven finish.
Decanting: This bottle was in prefect condition and the wine would have needed an hour (or even more) in the decanter. Got better by the minute.
Tasted blind. Dark purple color turning ruby rust at the rim with a transparent edge. There’s considerable age in this, but has been extremely seductive on the nose. The palate shows mature tannin and acid to carry the flavors of sweet, ripe dark cherry, raspberry and black currants with secondary flavors dark chocolate and leather to the ling, mineral-tinged finish. Lively fruit, elegant, sublime. WOTN during First Growths tasting. Drink now.
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Rather cool type of mixed forest berries, red cherry, earth, dried tobacco leaves, leather. But secondary / tertiary aromas are complemented by fine perfume providing a sexy allure. Great versatility. Given age, a surprisingly bold and muscular structure with a sweet red fruit core. I would give it only a quick decant to rid it of the cellar smell, then behold the flavour permutations that keep increasing over time. Given the privilege of having just recently attended a 2003-15 Margaux vertical, I was surprised to see this out-shine many of the more recent vintages - but then again maybe just testament to the magnificent aging potential!
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Compared with a recent tasting of a rustic ‘82 Margaux you would have to assume 1983 is a much superior vintage for Margaux. Really silky, sexy and fragrant, it’s clearly in its prime. Beautiful fragrance, elegant, sweet and disarming. Apotheosis of Margaux.
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It’s probably a best kept secret but strangely 1983 was a superb Margaux vintage, but it only applied to top chateaus and not across the board. Fragrant and concentrated nose. Content was feminine; blueberry, silky, sexy and in fact a friend used the word slutty to describe the wine, of which I didn’t oppose. more tasting note in finewines.com.sg
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2 hour decant, then back into rinsed bottle to enjoy at a restaurant. Nice nose, with an olive tapenade scent the primary. Started out earthy with a range of fruit flavors. Nice, but not exceptional drinking experience. Actually seemed to become a bit less interesting with more time in the glass. I had expected much more based on reviews. Not sure if it was a bit past its optimal drinking window, the bottle had a quality issue, or this one just was not for me. 3 other people drinking with me had similar notes.
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I thought is was corked but K said it was not. But something not right, it was dull and lacked Margaux fragrance. Improved very slightly in a sample glass over a couple of hours.
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This could be the finest example of 83 Margaux I recall tasting, at least in ages, everything was as it should be. The lilac filled nose also boasted ripe, red fruits, earthy, floral and forest floor notes with cigar box in the perfume. Full-bodied, with a fabulous depth of flavor, the wine provided energy, length, complexity and a lush, sensuous, velvet-textured finish. Perhaps if well-stored, there is a moderate amount of improvement available here, but if you have been itching to pop a bottle, there is no reason not to scratch that itch!
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This bottle was acquired on release and stored in good carefully. When opened the cork was in pretty good shape but I used an Ah-So to remove it. The wine was double decanted back into the rinsed bottle. There was a fair amount of sediment and a bit of crystallization but the wine smelled and taste good immediately upon being opened. It opened up very nicely and was very smooth and flavorful. It was a treat to share this bottle. A real testament to the worthiness of First Growth Bordeaux.
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Very dark red color, 2mm clear margin. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 3 hours. Out of the gate this is impressive, but as good as it is, it's over 30 minutes that the volume is turned up. And wow, this is really blowing up after two and three hours in glass. The nose gradually builds to such a gorgeous perfume of lavender, leather, pencil shavings, red and dark berries, with earth, funk and hints of truffles. The palate offers a silky texture with cassis, raspberry, mulberry and cherry; full bodied but very light on its feet, elegance and finesse, pencil, earthy, spices, polished tannins and a long harmonious finish. This is extremely impressive and it as great as it is, it really doesn't give away its age. This is fantastic now, but I'm quite certain this is going to be better yet. It was fairly funky on opening and to my liking though it blew off to an extent over time. This was a joy to drink. No rush to drink, give it an hour decant if drinking now and be rewarded. Thanks to Jason for opening this while we worked on entering wines in CT. 96+( +)pts.
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Opened at Kahani in London. P&P and enjoyed slowly over dinner.
Still had good fruit concentration, and everything was seamless. Tannins completely integrated, and the resulting balance between the fruit, minerality and acidity meant that it was drinking effortlessly.
However, it was walking a thin line between just being perfectly silky smooth, versus feeling a bit tired. I think I would start drinking up lest it start going downhill.
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Simply superb Margaux at it’s very peak. Gorgeous fragrance of sweet blackberry, cassis and clove. Perfect harmony of fruit, acid and tannin. Silky. Sensual and deeply satisfying. Stunning and exquisite. Great Bordeaux has no equal in the world of wine, at least to me. From a very top shoulder ullage bottle via WineBid.
Thank you again Richard! Beautiful ruby. No signs of old age just well matured claret. Amazing nose from the first pour. Still lots of blackberry, cassis fruit, some soil notes but just beautiful jasmine, lily and violet perfume. Dazzling stuff. On the palate just so mellow and balanced. Only medium bodied but in a good way, nothing exaggerated, natural beauty, fantastic balance and length. Drinking better than the 82! More feminine and Margaux like than the 82 which is almost Paulliac like and powerful at the moment. Delicious if you can get your hands on any!
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Last bottle or second to last from a couple of cases bought on release in 1985. Cellared mostly at 58 degrees with some years in the 60s. Fill bottom to neck. Cork removed largely intact. Poured a small amount; nose is amazing right out of the bottle. Violets, lavender, sage, and spice. Decanted about an hour before consuming rest of bottle over 2-3 hours. Medium red with slight hint of browning at the end. Wonderful nose of violet, sage, lavender, and spice. Smooth as silk on the palate with any tannins completely integrated but with good acidity and a finish that went on and on. One of the best bottles I've tasted of this at age 35. I think this is at peak but could age for another 5 years with pristine cellaring. Great bottle of a great wine.
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Not blind, dark colour I had the luck to enjoy this wine a few times, some of them from Magnum. The nose is still perfect. Everything what you expect from a beautiful aging left bank. Black currant, leather, tobacco, cedar wood. The palate is really fresh, good acidity and firm, soft tannins but in the late palate I missed as my friend Thomas concentration and deepness as the promising scent. It lacks a little bit. Great wine and not at his peak. 95
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Tasted against the 59 tonight and this is clearly showing better. Opened for 2 hours and then decanted. It definitely benefited from the airing. A sound bottle and showing better than last time I had it. Black fruit, mineral, oyster shells and a complete wine. A testament to Pontailler inaugural vintage.
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Very clean nose, very open too and really characteristic of the Left Bank. The nose is really remarkable, evolved but fresh, fruit is still largely present. Palate is elegant but almost full bodied, great aromatics in the palate with good lift and classy tannins. Really nice!
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Opened about 2 hours before dinner, then decanted right before service. The color was a beautiful dark ruby, turning to garnet a the rim. An elegant and complex bouquet, offering up notes of dried plums, blackberry, briar patch, and cigar box, with hints of black truffle, and crushed stones. Medium bodied, with great depth, texture and precision on the palate; a long and focused finish. Fully mature, these bottles had been acquired on release and stored in a cold cellar. Charity dinner to benefit the Chaine Foundatio, graciously donated by Jackie!
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In my cellar for twenty five years; low neck; Decant one hour; ruby with only slight bricking; lovely bouquet with some violet cedar dark berry; medium bodied, so smooth, cooking herbs, lasting finish; really delightful, and complex; mild fade of bouquet after an hour
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A very nice wine, from which I was nevertheless expecting more given its pedigree. Nice floral nose, with hints of pencil shavings, cassis and blackcurant. On the palate it is very nice, but it lacks a bit of tension and gives the impression the wine has started declining from its plateau because of some tertiary aromas. Elegant structure, soft tanins, good length.
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A wonderful nose of dried dark fruits and violet earth. On the palate the wine tastes of faded blackberry liqeuer and smoky dark earth with notes of violets and dark spices. Quite round and silky-fine with soft tannins and a luxurious finish showing a classic aged left bank nuttiness along with complex notes of smoky violets and cigar box. Still at its plateau and from a perfect bottle.
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This presented itself like Henry VIII with its broad shoulders, regal demeanor and filigree attire. Tobacco leaf, pencil lead, blackberry jam, blueberry compote, brambly black currant leaf, loads of cedar, and a touch of capsaicin spring from the glass. Suave on entry, the palate shows a wonderful interlacing of blue and black fruits with spice elements and fine tannin. Still youthful with some baby fat to help it along it way. Should go another thirty years. Impeccable wine.
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Slow ox for 2 hours. The nose on this wine was somewhat subdued. Tannins are fully resolved. You can appreciate the greatness and texture that the wine once held. I wouldn't say it's over the hill, as the tertiary notes are not overwhelminga. Neither is it out of balance, and there remains a lovely fruit presence on the palate; but several in our group, including some tasters very familiar with Margaux through the last few decades noted that the nose on this bottle on this particular day was nowhere near as effusive as the same vintage in past tastings. Provenance being the same, I suggest to drink. Notes of coffee, boysenberry, plum, and subtle asian spice for me. Good, not great at this showing.
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Really a treat to try this. Purchased on auction. Decanted 2 hours, and enjoyed along side a 90 Latour at Meadowood. Initially it was earthy, leather, and mostly tertiary. With air, it picked up weight, and red fruit started to come out. Lovely balance, depth, complexity, and great finish. Yum.
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Mag purchased from auction: maturing nicely and probably drinking close to its peak. While the 83 has always been a favorite of mine, it is clearly not one of the legendary vintages but still fun and yummy. I preferred Margaux next to a 83 Palmer purchased from the estate.
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When the first wine posted is a 1983 Chateau Margaux....: Decanted, drank a small glass right away and another glass a couple hours later. The structure and elegance is evident. Perfumed red fruit, with just a touch of earth, funk, leather, cedar.
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Maybe the best bottle of this wine I can recall. Very generous with only two hours of air. Compared to the lighter advanced color of the 83 Cheval, the color of the Margaux was dark, opaque, and youthful. The nose was inviting from the get-go, with black currant, plum, violets, cigar tobacco, and sous bois. The wine never lost its nose for the entire evening. The palate was elegant, generous, and soft. Also had a nice sweetness, but with a gorgeous balancing acidity on the finish. Silky tannin gave this a nice soft mouthfeel on the medium-plus length finish. I could still taste the wine minutes after drinking it.
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Guys Night - Bordeaux '99 and Older/Napa '04 and Older (Joe's Place, Mpls, Mn): Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank 2 pours over 3 hours. This has a wow nose, quite glorious, violets, blue fruit, cassis, dusty, black cherry, graphite, slightly meaty and umami. The palate is satiny, gorgeous texture, dusty tannins, savory, a complex mix of dark fruit and red cherry, earth. The tannins still have some firmness and despite its age this is not fully mature. Outstanding and it has a very long future yet. Thanks to Jason for sharing this. 95(+)pts.
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Cellared since release. PnP, then decanted. Cork soaked all the way to the top; top shoulder fill. Lovely red little if any browning on the rim. Sutle nose of violets, graphite, and spice. Savory on the palate with well resolved tannins and lovely complexity. This was in the middle of the bottles from the case I bought on release I would say. Given the cork and fill I would think perfect bottles would be better and still have considerable life ahead though at this juncture at age 35, there are only good or great bottles...
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This bottle was drinkable with no obvious flaws, but was very muted on the nose and palate. The fill was mid shoulder with cork intact but wet all the wet up. Perhaps poor storage in the past.
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Nice depth of secondary and tertiary flavors. Dark fruit and mocha on the nose. However, there was a persistent green vegetal note that distracted from the enjoyment. Without it, it would have been a very enjoyable wine. The cork was in good shape, base neck fill, and the wine was otherwise fresh and alive.
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Mother’s Day Dinner with the family. Decanted for about 30 mins which was all it needed. The nose was rich wirh peat and forest floor, color was garnet tilted to the red side with only a hint if brown at the edge. The palate was pure and clean with light fruit and complex earth. I saved a glass to have while watching the Caps win game 2 of the ECF. It was not as good after the two extra hours of air. Still a class wine and a significant step up from the 83 Priuere Lichine.
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Château Margaux vertical dinner (Taberna Del Alabardero): The first vintage made by Paul Pontallier for the estate and my preference in this flight of 1978-1983-1986. “Effortless power,” remarked Michael Sands of Calvert Woodley. I just loved the graphite and pencil lead here, along with beguiling aromatics of dried flowers, pot-pourri, patchouli and orange rind. The palate was deceptively soft, as the tannic grip showed on the finish, but in a softer register than - say - the wines of the 1990s that tried later. A vintage that followed a legend (1982) but that particularly favored “Margaux”, as August rain was not as pronounced in Margaux as in other parts of Bordeaux... The wine leaves you with the impression of seductive perfume - and it is so ready to enjoy today.
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Chateau Margaux dinner with Thibault Pontallier (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): My contribution. Expressive nose displaying decadent black fruit, cassis, blackberry jam, lavender, lead pencil, eucalyptus, caramel, cedar and earth. There is a hint of bitterness/oxidative note indicating that it was not ideally cellared in the past. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of packed cassis, good acidity, a hint of medium coarse tannins and a medium to long cassis and eucalyptus driven finish. There is a hint of oxidative note that is slightly bothersome and shortens the finish a bit. The floral aspect of the nose is wonderful. If ideal cellared, the 83 has the concentration and structure to develop for another twenty years or more. Perhaps the best vintage of Chateau Margaux from the 80s.
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Clear, deep ruby; clean medium nose of cedar, lilies/violets, cassis, fresh vanilla, creme fraiche and raspberry; dry; full body; pfn but better with addition of tobacco and wet soil on finish; medium plus tannins; medium plus finish; medium plus acidity; beguiling wine
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Château Margaux Vertical (Chef's Club NYC): Mocha and blueberry fruit on the nose. Savoury but chocolatey. Chocolate covered cherries. Expressive. This palate is delicious with ripe red berry fruit and savoury character. Fun but imagine you’d better drink this now.
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Bryan's Epic Birthday Bash (Gwen): At dinner. Brief note. This is so seductive, graceful, and feminine. Ultra perfumed nose and palate show a multitude of cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, red currants, and black cherry. Worn leather is cloaked in cigar, and the nuanced baking spice perfumes the whole package to no end. Tons of finesse here and the finish just goes on and on. An incredible treat to have! Upside is certainly there for the future as this shows secondary right now with gentle structure that will see this through to a balanced tertiary stage 7-10 years from now.
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Probably not a good bottles cause the cork completely soaked through. The wine still show some energy. Restrained nose and palate but it's still very fine and elegant, remind me some Burgundies. Did't fall down during 4 hours dinner. A very good wine but just not a blockbuster like 82, 90, 96 or even 85, 89. I hope the next bottle will be a good one and can show its real potential.
This was a killer dinner based on first growths of 82 and 83, all from 6 Liter format. First smell and taste had a cardboardy feel which never blew off completely. Most of these wines were double decanted at 2 hours (I wanted 4) and as I held part of the glass back for each one they improved tremendously. nevr the less, this was a very good but not great bottle of 82 Margaux
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Bordeaux BYOB #10: corked unfortunately, drinkable initially but faded away with salt water notes and dill. Wine stripped of all the beautiful fruit normally present in this great vintage for Margaux. Sad. Votes 0
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Boston Palmer Tasting (South End - Boston, MA): Nose: Dark blackberry, violet, cassis and explosive spice/cedar notes. Quite spectacular actually on the nose at moments, but then it would close up and hide again. Palate: Great deep black fruit and spice notes, bits of floral perfume in the mouth. Slightly drying when it closed up however, which is worrisome for the future. Finish: Great cedar/spice with cassis and mint. Drying at times however.
Unlike prior attempts at the 83 this bottle was correct, and hitting many of the notes that others describe. However, it was bested by the Palmer and played a tease for much of the time it was on the table.
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The Boston Palmerathon: We had the chance to follow this over the course of several hours in the decanter and I'm glad we did, because different elements came and went on the nose revealing raspberries, lilies, cedar, chocolate, an exotic spice profile with cardamom notes at different points. But overall, this is so coquettish - it flirts and gives bits of itself, but compared with the 83 Palmer in the next glass, it's so ungenerous. 94-95 but likely not a future purchase.
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I have always felt that this vintage of Margaux was more accessible and superior to the 1986. So, it was interesting to compare the two again today. Initially, the 1983 was elegant and generous, but needed time to really show its pedigree. On the nose, there were red fruits, truffle, fresh violets, tobacco, and wet earth. And while these were pretty dazzling aromatics, they really didn't fully reveal themselves for 2+ hours. The palate was equally complex, with lots of finesse. Lots of sweetness on the finish, but with the right amount of acidity. And the tannins were silky-smooth, giving this such a soft mouthfeel. Medium-plus length on the finish. So on this day, the 1983 outclassed the 1986, but it was a photo-finish.
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Cork completely soaked through. Wine wasn't bad, but I think clearly had aged more than well stored bottles. It had a disjointed feel to it, it seemed more like a 70's St Julian than an 80's Margaux.
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At Chevalier for my Bday, on a great day with lots of nice Bordeaux this really shined along with the Palmer 1983 which just beat this out on this day. Dark dense sweet rich and layered with loads of spice. Awesome balance and depth.
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Another Saturday at Chevalier...Mostly Blind: Tasted double blind alongside Palmer 1983. This was clearly richer and more concentrated, but also more forward and fleshy, so not as elegant or complex. Still exceptional now, with upside from here.
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Saturday Blind Tasting - Bordeaux '03 and Older (Chevalier Fine Wines): Blind in what turned out to be 83 Palmer / 83 Margaux flight. A wow nose with big rich, plum fruit that has layer upon layer of cigar, tobacco and bell pepper. The palate is dense and chewy. Cleary of high pedigree, again. Tannins are still chalky and firm to match the dense fruit. Still quite young, and should age effortlessly.
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This is probably not the best performing bottle. Nose is a bit muted with some fruit and classic bordeaux flavour such as pencil lead, tobacco and earth. It is missing that margaux perfume which is why people could not identify it in this semi-blind tasting. However the palate is very solid with some red fruit, sous bois and tertiary flavour. Good complexity with layers. Palate is better than the nose today.
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VEO London, Bordeaux 80-s in Magnum (Restaurant La Trompette, Chiswick): The epitome of Elegance and sophistication. Complex, powerful and top delineation. Should age well for another 15 years, probably bringing the additional point leading to a perfect score. Notes of dark cherries, blood and graphite in the nose. A very seductive, polished and graceful palate with earth, tar, iron, lots of dark fruits. So smooth and 'effortless'. Another perfect magnum on this great evening with friends in London.
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Cork soaked, crumbled on removal. Wine at base of neck, and perfectly sound fortunately.
Took an hour or so to open up in the glass/bottle, but started to lose interest after that. Graceful and interesting wine. Bouquet better than palate, although it didn't captivate so much as intrigue. Fruity-mushroomy-cedary notes. No Margaux smoke and violets. Perhaps tending now too much towards tertiary flavours - I would have liked more sheer fruit and a smoother texture. Palate a bit pedestrian really: I have had better aged Bordeaux at a fraction of the cost. Mature and well-put together but nothing which shouts top year first growth.
Not a great deal of sediment, surprisingly. A pleasant wine, but on this occasion not living up to what some others get from their bottles.
92-93 only
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Exceptionally elegant and constantly changing in the glass, as Margaux should. Nose opens with lots of leather and violet, followed by cassis, cigar box, and spice. Eventually, opens to its full spectrum of sensuality, with redder fruits and smoky autumn leaves. Develops a saline minerality after nearly 2 hours. Palate shows vibrant red and dark fruit, along with leather and spice. Slightly vegetal but relatively sweet. Extremely elegant mouthfeel with very long finish. Tannins are velvety and well-integrated, and wine retains relatively lively acidity (i.e., enough that this doesn't need to be drunk immediately, but it will not improve from here). Decant for at least an hour, preferably 1.5 hours. Drink within next 3-5 years.
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3rd of 3, decanted 80 minutes, perfect cork and level, previous notes since 1995 at least VF, darkish garnet, not too dense, just starting to show development on rim; very classy, almost ethereal on nose, violets, cassis, bramble, graphite, with a touch of cedar and tobacco, lighter but more layered than the Palmer; medium bodied, very long and persistent, plenty of energy, silky, great complexity and poise, more graceful and harmonious than the Palmer, if perhaps a tad less powerful, my WOTN, though W preferred the splendid Haut Brion. VF+ (19). Remarkably this wine has always shown well and never gone through the sulky phase particularly evident in Palmer between '03 and '07!
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Society of Wine Educators Conference- Napa Valley Through The Decades (single blind); 8/18/2017-8/19/2017: Full ruby color, lightening at its edges. Aromas of baked fig & currant fruit, a melange of spices, dried florals and earth- deep and complex. Silky palate, highlighting succulent black fruits, vibrant and seamless with endless layers of secondary and some tertiary depth. Medium bodied with elegant density. Silky-fine tannins, full range and depth on the finish. Beautiful.
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Château Palmer vertical tasting dinner (3030 Ocean, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): I have compared this wine to the 1983 Palmer on numerous occasions. On this evening, the Margaux was the better wine (but not by much). It was so complete and complex, showing off fantastic concentration and longevity. The nose was open and wonderfully fragrant, with black currant, blackberry, cigar box, fresh violets, earth, and leather. The mouthfeel was super-elegant, and with a very nice weight. There was so much depth in the mid-palate, and the finish just kept resonating. Another note: this wine has been remarkably consistent, and always seems to show well.
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Château Palmer Vertical: A great example of '83 Margaux, purchased by Hugh on release. It behaved more like luscious '82, ripe, round, sweet, fragrant and generous. Great mouth feel. Fully mature yet still youthful. Far superior to the '83 Palmer on this night which is not always or even usually the case.
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Fill bottom of neck; one of the last of 2 cases purchased in the mid 80s and cellared since. Cork was wet all the way up; broke but was able to extract it without leaving any in the bottle. Double-decanted about 2 hours before serving; wine had thrown quite a lot of sediment which was solidly attached to the side of the bottle. Medium deep red with slight browning. Gorgeous nose of Margaux violets, rose petals, and graphite. Smooth on the palate with a touch of acidity providing interesting though perhaps suggesting these need to be drunk. Long long finish. A beautiful wine though not ostentatious; all about elegance, maturity, and just lovely. One of the better bottles.
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This wine is amazing! Blackberries, currants and Margaux minerals. Soft tannins. Nice acidity and long seductive finish. I think it will last a few more years.
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We were in a bit of a rush to Herringbone Restaurant in Vegas; and it had only 1 hour of decanting. Not a problem, because it opened up beautifully. There is also lots of sediment; so I recommend having it stand up 3 days (if you can) prior to decanting. Classic Chateau Margaux aromas of mild tobacco, red fruits of bing cherrys and blackcherries. Lots of terroir that only Chateau Margaux has. Soft tannins now with ample acidity (1983 thing?). I would drink this wine now with a wide variety of foods; owing to drink ability. Although not going downhill, I would drink this wine up within 3 to 5 years.
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Really excellent example of this variable wine. When it underperforms it's too thin and acidic. Not this one (from a recent WineBid purchase). Excellent dark berry perfume, although less fragrant than ideal. Great intensity of ripe fruit. Acidity just a bit high, well integrated tannins, nice texture. This bottle darker and more youthful than most at this stage. Plenty of life.
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Annual gathering with Chicago winos in Chicago - Burgs, old Bordeauxs and SQNs (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Expressive youthful nose displaying cassis, crushed blackberry, lead pencil and mineral. Excellent concentration, youthful cassis driven palate impression, noticeable but none obtrusive tannins and a long cassis driven finish. This is still quite young and can easily improve for another decade or two even longer. I clearly prefer the hedonistic 90 but this is darn impressive. Excellent showing.
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David Pope's 60th (Medlar, London): Very muted. Not much on the nose let alone any great fragrance. Slightly herbal, dry. Richard is convinced it's corked, but if so it's not not woody corked, but certainly stripped / muted. Doesn't get worse though, but substandard in some way. Huge shame.
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Beautifully aromatic and just about fully mature with lovely notes of dark violets and smoky black fruits. At this age now quite soil-driven with classic flavors of Margaux earth and Asian spices. Finishes smooth and complex as it flows over the tongue in waves. An ethereal wine with hints of eucalyptus and herbs on the long, seductive finish. Stood toe-to-toe with the '82 tonight.
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Super Bowl 2017 (Alpharetta, GA): Dark crimson core with brick rim; screams Bordeaux, green pepper, tobacco, red currant, mineral, funk, metal, leaner and tertiary, mushroom, leather; smoke, wilted roses, leaner, structured, cedar, holly bush; a complete and complex wine just seemed a bit frail in its age.
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Still youthful appearing color. The nose is intoxicating with deep stony fruit, cassis, chocolate, with wet tobacco leaf, a floral lift, and a little leather. Powerful, yet effortless with a silkiness to its texture, broad palate presence, yet with great clarity and focus, all without any sense of heaviness or clumsiness. Grace and power. A regal, statuesque wine. Beautiful and early peak. 97
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Simply stunning that something 3 years older than me could taste so youthful! Beautiful fruit is still shining through but with wonderful secondary flavors of tar, leather, herbs and floral notes. Had a bite of top end filet with a mushroom sauce on top. I could not imagine a better pairing. Still has 10 years+ left in the tank. A benchmark wine for sure.
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Enjoyed with friends at a local French restaurant after a splash decant. Dark purple ruby with no sediment, this wine is fully mature Exhilarating nose of black raspberry, mocha and fig compote. The wine continued to improve over dinner with more air, so decant thoroughly (2 hours?) if you're planning on opening a bottle.
If a date, this was a 35 year old lingerie model who keeps you spellbound over dinner before bringing you home to enrapture your senses fully and completely. Highly recommended++.
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Out of magnum: needed a few hours of air before it showed at its peak. Medium bodied, complex, a lot of blackberry on the palate. a touch of gravel and something burnt (toast?) on the edges. Bouquet was not overwhelming: classic Margaux, with that hint of sweet florals on the nose. Still seemed quite youthful to me, tannins still not completely tamed -- no signs of decline, dare I say it is still on the ascent? Might be even better in another 5 years, and in the larger format at least seemed able to sit for at least 15-20 more years before starting decline. No rush to drink.
Five Bordeaux By Five Decades (Rancho de Los Olivos): The cork came out cleanly, and I decided not to decant after taking my first sip. So silky and perfumed, with earthy tones, some mushroom, black currant, cranberry, cedar and plenty of structure. A bit less floral than I expected. Seemed to shut down after 90 minutes, to my surprise.
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Supple, elegant, juicy and sexily caressing. Enough supportive tannin to finish with considerable conviction. Other than achieving perfect integration, that perhaps is only brought by the hand of time to French wines, there's just nothing at all old here. This is prime!
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Chateau Margaux Masterclass Dinner (67 Pall Mall): It just was not singing like previous bottles. It was not off just slightly dead. But I do love this vintage and the old saying goes "There are no great old wines, only great bottles. "
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For our Bordeaux First Growth Dinner, Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, and Chateau Lafite Rothschild, nose of forest floor, blackberry, black currants, and leather, same on the palate, big body, intense fruit, mouth filling flavors and fruit, small amount of soft tannins on the long finish. My second place and group second place.
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Young with wood notes still at the fore. Deep but light on its feet. Clean, pristine and with great clarity. A perfect bottle but in need of more development.
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For me the WOTN, it was getting better and better with time, the beginning was slow and reluctant, after time it Shows a great fruitieness with a great acidity Backbone, soft and ripe Tannins, maybe at his Peak but enjoyable over the next 10-15 years, Even this was a good bottle I had it better. The Magnum last year was a stunner, 96-97
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Medium dark red. No signs of maturity in the color. Nose was a bit tight, though it showed lots of perfume as the evening wore on. Perfume and dark fruit. On the attack I got more perfume, some focused red fruit in the midpalate with some darker fruit as well. There is a really nice acidity, and a slight tinge of leather, but no real tertiary development yet. It was strangely austere without being all that tannic. I would have never figured this for a 33 year old bottle, and I'd love to see where its at in another 33 years.
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I always love drinking this wine, though it is a bit polarizing. I have found that some don't care for this wine, but I don't understand this. To me, this is classic Margaux. A beautifully perfumed nose of black currant, violets, truffle, leather, and tobacco. Just as impressive on the palate. A smooth, elegant mouthfeel. Tannins also smooth and silky. Nice length on the finish with fresh acidity. At or near its peak, this wine is drinking very well.
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Mostly Bordeaux dinner with Bob (Magdalena restaurant at the Ivy Hotel, Baltimore): There is a hint of brett. This particular bottle seems slightly leaner and more evolved than usual. Showing mostly secondary notes, cedar, leather, caramel and mineral. Also plum, a hint of cassis and Margaux flowers. Good concentration, slightly lean, nicely integrated tannins and long finish. Good showing but not great.
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Full bodied, and ready with only 30mins in a decanter, this has great fruit density and persistence, but lacks the floral characters I look for in a good Margaux. I had the same issue recently with the 1996, although this also was cassis dominant, it wasn't as dry as that wine (which was more St Estephe in style) - instead adding a touch of earth and blackberry. Noticeably less aromatic and 'fresh' as the 1983 Palmer served alongside. A very good wine, but one I find it hard to love. Both bottles were perfect and from my cellar.
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This is a very creditable wine, but perhaps the Pontallier-era Château Margaux vintages are just not for me, as I felt this was just lacking some of the perfume, precision and elegance that one looks for at this address, and which is so abundantly present in wines like the '53. A bouquet of cedary cassis, redcurrant, coffee, subtle spice and rich earth is followed by a nicely balanced, quite powerful Bordeaux which just didn't quite have the magic of the Palmer served alongside.
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Low neck fill. I have been carting this bottle around for 31 years and no storage problems here. Decanted 2+ hours and drank over next 2 hours. Still medium red, no sign of orange. Firm, still tannins and acid, dark berries, camphor, floral notes (orange blossom?) and cedar. Lots of life ahead and not at peak I think. None of the greenness that some mentioned - just not a ripe style. Best with food, as expected. Hold a bit longer.
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Still very young, dark coulour, no signs of oxidation, cassis,plums, dark berries in nose, typical Bx earthiness, ceadrwood, cigarbox, more me the better wine - even uncomparbale - than the Verite La Joie 2007 in the same evening.
Very fresh acidity, perfect integrated tannins but still firm, I think this Margaux didn't reach his peak. Not so brialliant as the Magnum a few months ago but still a remarkable wine 96-97
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1983 Bordeaux horizontal tasting and Allison's birthday dinner (Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar): This wine simply exploded after an hour. A classic Margaux nose, with a beautiful perfume of black currant, violets, white pepper, leather, and tobacco. This was easily the best nose of the night. On the palate, this did not disappoint either. Outstanding ripeness of fruit. Impressive concentration, and an ultra-smooth, elegant mouthfeel. Tannins round but need a bit more integration. Impressive length on the finish with fresh acidity. This bottle performed better than the last. This is at or near its peak, but is drinking very well now. My #1, group's #1 (of 5 wines).
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Initially felt a bit thin but wine puts on weight as it sits in the glass for a while. Fully mature but still some good structure and tannins left. Blackberry and mocha flavors. Bottle in good shape. Color still fully saturated with some brick color at the rim. Not a Wow wine but very enjoyable nonetheless.
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Pretty damn good for Bordeaux. I got delicious red and black fruit, smoky meats, dusty/chalky soil, leather/dried paper/library notes and licorice. Not even close to a decline; this should still be kicking in 2050. Almost as delicious as the Côte Rotie I had last Sunday. Near-perfect to perfect.
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What a stunning wine. Leads with an otherworldly nose, then flavors of black fruit, tobacco, cedar and flowers. Full bodied, multi layers and developing lots of subtle notes. Aging gracefully with a ways more to go.
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I can never seem to make up my mind about which wine is better, 1982 Margaux, or is it the 1983? They seem to alternate, as to which is on top. Mature and ready for drinking, the wine is full bodied, concentrated and rich, displaying all its floral, tobacco, blackberry, earth and fresh cherry charms. There is a touch of greeness in the finish, but there is so much going on with the wine in every other sense, it's hard to notice. Drink this beauty, or age it, either way, you are in for a treat.
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Still young and fresh and at opening the tannins are quite pronounced. At 2 hours it is beginning to open. Clearly beautiful. I would decant at least 3 hours.
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A rich deep berry, hints of ground dirt, medium bodied with light to medium tannins. Paired with steak, root veggies, and finished well with white chocolate (with Madagascar Vanilla). Would also pair well with a spicy red sauce and perhaps even moldy cheeses
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Wonderful bottle enjoyed in celebration with friends. Straight up, no food pairing. My palate is not accustomed to vintage Bordeaux, so, I don't know where this wine is in its bottle life. Pulled the cork. It was wet almost to the trailing edge of the cork. The nose was astonishing. Initially I thought the bottle was corked. No. Absolutely the most old world, musky, rotten nose ever! In my wife's words: Dirt and blood. Very earthy. No flaws. Moderate rim variation. Amazing, no sediment. Opened up beautifully in the glass. Low tannin/acid. Medium alcohol. Long, long finish. Unquestionably drinkable.
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Very good experience before, but not tonight..........C. sauvignon goes not well with Chinese food. 20190421 Wonderful experience. Agree with recent notes. Now it's time to enjoy this bottle! 95
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nose - earthy, hay mouth - cherry, orange peel, barnyard, and bigger fruit than the '82 but less refined. filter the '82 through hay and that's sort of how this felt to me. still impressive
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This tasted amazingly young for its age, with powerful and lively fruit. Tasted blind, I should have known this was a Margaux by the lovely perfume, which had so much presence. On the palate, the vibrant fruit melds with notes of green pepper that don't come across as green, but simply add complexity, together with notes of graphite that also fold seamlessly into the harmonious whole. Quite simply, a great wine - one of the truly memorable Bordeaux among the many that I've had.
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Maybe not the best bottle, but no obvious faults. Better on second day, though not living up to its reputation and beaten hands down (again) by the stunning 1983 Palmer.
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This started out worrisome: Crumbled cork, totally closed bouquet, dull palate. But with air, the '83 Margaux is one of the most gorgeous bottles of Bordeaux I have had the pleasure of enjoying. The nose shows sexy Burgundian sous bois notes, followed by coffee, cassis, and cedar. Earth, red, and dark fruit on the palate, with great acidity that gives this wine a remarkable freshness. The texture is plush and sensual. This should remain a stellar wine for another decade.
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Achim's Magnum Tasting 2015 (Behrens am Kai in Düsseldorf 1 star restaurant): For me the WOTN. Very perfumed but plesant scent afterfresh cutten flowers and cassis. You can smell the elegance.inthe palate you have cassis accomanied with cedarwood and roasted coffee, very powerful in the finish. The most important fact is that the acidity gives him an endless freshness. Beautiful.
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Stunning wine! It remains powerful after 32 years. It takes 2 hours decanting to open up, and another 30 minutes before the lovely floral nose showing off. Full of elegance and forward. Very long finishing.
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1982 blind tasting. Brought as mystery wine next to 1982. Didn't stand up well. Much lighter, more rustic. Decent price difference but for me the 1982 is a much better wine.
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Wow...this was unbelievable! So explosive....liquified flowers are everywhere....lavender, violets, roses, forrest floor, earth, cedar, cassis and sandalwood....quixotic wine! The palate is so pure...cassis, lavender, cedar, leather, black currants, earth, forrest floor, mushrooms and flowers, flowers, flowers. Finish is a knockout, so long.....unbelievable wine.
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A very good bottle of this wine. More mature than other recent examples. Much more appropriate for current drinking than the '82 served alongside. Classic Margaux elements link seamlessly across the palate.
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Wonderful+ +. Seamless, fully mature with layer upon layer of berry, spice and fig paste. Seems to be holding at the high level it was 10 years ago. No hurry to drink these beauties up since there's enough stuffing here for another 10 years easily. If a date, this was your home room queen age 38, who is still Playboy sexy, yet has gained so much intrigue from a life fully lived. Highly recommended++
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Generously contributed by Daniel....... near perfect fill and cork. Briefly decanted. Plush velvety red silky colour rather than jeweled but still looking 15 years younger than its age. Nose is restrained, reserved but very pinpoint-perfect pencil lead and pencil shavings....absolutely refined hauteur...compellingly complete, refined and harmonious. Silence-creating, which is the highest compliment I can pay a wine. Palate is really fresh, structured but harmonious, linear in its precision, you would likely guess Latour or Lafite rather than Margaux, it has a black/red totally "pastille reduction" quality that deserves 3 Michelin stars. So fresh. Thrilling. Superb, elegant endless reverberance inside the head on the finish with such a harmonious masculine/feminine balance and still tons of luscious fruit. Absolutely majestic - sleek and elegant, it just cut a perfect path unwaveringly throughout a long evening. As a contrast to the sublime but volatile Grange '71, this is Grace Kelly on the Queen Elizabeth I. Thanks, Daniel.
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Double decanted 7 hours. Deep purple-red with no sign of bricking in the glass. On the nose, perhaps slightly less fragrant than some other vintages (1982, 1990) but notwithstanding that a classic Margaux with a nose of mushroom, cedar, tobacco and forest floor all of which combine in the mouth with beautifully balanced, subtle acidity and gorgeous tannins which traverse the tongue with a velvety touch. This wine is clearly at its tertiary peak and I guess will stay there for several years, maybe 7 or 8 or so.
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A Margaux & Pauillac tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): Has that perfume one would expect. Dark and red fruits, spice, and floral notes. Solid mid-palate. Still with prominent tannins. Long finish. Again, a wine with exceptional balance. Its strengths are its complexity and concentration, but not really a stunner.
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What a wonderful wine. Consumed with lunch at Sotheby's Margaux Auction last Saturday. Cork was very saturated. This bottle was certainly at it's peak and would not have lasted another 5 years I suspect. The nose had bright red fruit and a little forest floor. If this wine had been served blind it could have almost passed for a powerful Bugundy. Tannins had all but disappeared and nothing left but beautiful flavor. Wish I had another bottle.
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Nose took an hour of air time to open, although this bottle was served unusually cool. White pepper, red fruit, and some sweet spice, overall mature but subtly engaging nose. Palate was thin with fading red fruit, light chalk back, but lacking depth to pull you in. Served with a cheese course although consumed largely without. Not the equal of the magnum of three weeks ago.
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This was decanted an hour before serving. Color was deep ruby red, showing little signs of age. Bouquet of plum and cassis along with violets, spices and some cedar. Engaging mouth feel, energetic structure with layer after layer of dark fruits and spices. Beautiful balance and texture with an elegant finish. Worth waiting for and should be at this level for at least a decade. (This is the first bottle of a six pack I purchased on release.)
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From magnum. A young nose on this bottle with light must, brambly dark fruit, still noticeable wood, dark ripe fruit, yielding to notes of menthol, eucalyptus and light tar. The wood on this bottle still needed more time to integrate. On the palate, coal dust, dark plum and blackberry, viscous tar, and wood elements. This bottle would have certainly merited a higher score in 5 years. 94+
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Food: chinese Duration: 2.5 hours Condition: neck Aroma: blue and blackberry, pepper, some flower Notes: this is probably the 4th or 5th time for me to have this wine. Very classic Margaux, I am guessing that this is reaching its prime drinking window, as the wine became ready to drink after 30 mins in the bottle. It's extremely smooth in palate and indeed a very feminine wine for a left bank bordeaux. I like this wine now. I think we can keep this for at least another 10-15 years.
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Bright and enthusiastically vibrant, this wine still doesn't seem to be finished developing! If I had to take a guess, I would say that this is at 70% development, so there are more great things to come from this 32 year old bottling from a spotty vintage that rewarded those those who figured it out...Lots of structure, and this bottle would have benefited from decanting! Astonishing and very respectable. Drink or HOLD.
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One of the last bottles from a couple of cases purchased on release in the mid-80s. Fill was top shoulder. Cork was soaked completed through but was extracted intact. Not decanted. Deep red, little signs of browning/bricking. Lovely classic Margaux nose of violets and cedar; nice fruit on the palate but over time this began to show an acidic side to the finish. As noted by others this is probably past its peak and may not need too much air before consuming, although there is now significant bottle variation; this one was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
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Out of a case of 12 btls of Chateau Margaux 83 I must say that we had 5 stellar bottles but all other lacking power, finesse and most would not stand a Margaux 83. The case was purchased en primeur and kept on refrigerated cellar...so no reason whatsoever for such difference.
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Solid ruby core with fading edges. Loved aged nose that is classic Margaux with that combo of cassis and violets also with notes of grilled peanuts and Asian spices. Needed a good hour decant to soften some and then shows lovely flavors of dried flowers, ripe cassis, dark spices along with hints of eucalyptus, smoke and dried blackberries. The finish is dry and less complex than I remember but there is still a gorgeous fine density that envelopes the palate. The 10th bottle of a case purchased on release and to me, this wine peaked 3-5 years ago and now shows a slightly angular finish with some astringency. There are no other signs of excessive aging so it is possible the wine is going through an off period which is something I see that happens to first-growth Bordeaux over time. Still very fine and very terroir-driven and therefore a joy to drink especially with grilled steaks. 94-
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decanted for 90 minutes, tint of brownishness when held to the light, dark fruits, earthy notes, a bit closed but quite well balanced, nice long finish. A treat to try such a renowned wine!
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clear rim cayenne, violets on nose earth. long finsh complex lovely alive glad I driank it with prime rib my last one bue beau tiful and elegant as margaux should be.
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BYO at Goosefoot (Chicago): Sweet red fruit, watermelon, dark fruit, earth on the nose. Great depth and symmetry on the palate. This was slightly more exotic than others in the lineup.
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Underbara mognadstonerna av en klassisk Bordeaux. Svarta vinbär, körsbär, tjära, rosor, mörk choklad, tryffel, läder, cigarrlåda och lite mint. Ett otroligt balanserat, silkigt och elegant vin med lång fin eftersmak.
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60th Bday celebration (Goosefoot Restaurant Chicago, IL): The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like mushroom, forest floor and cedar. The body is medium/full. The wine has linear texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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With anticipation of great things, our tasting group jointly purchased a well-cellared bottle of this wine from our local purveyor (who had sourced it from a private cellar). The fill was low-neck, the label intact and the capsule (and cork) in good shape. Alas, the stars were lining up for something special...until the first whiff of horrible TCA taint! Needless to say, the stench only got worse over the ensuing 20 minutes. Sadly, this bottle was virtually undrinkable.
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Tasted along with '79 Lafite-Rothschild, '93 Ridge Monte Bello, '89 Latour, '94 Petrus and '98 Haut-Brion.
Clear, medium intensity garnet color.
The nose is developing with a medium(+) aroma intensity. Aromas of black currants, prunes, grass, sweet spice, cigar box, lead pencil, cedar wood, pine, mint, cold coffee and a hint of stable. It has a disturbing hint of damp cellar and old mushrooms which made some of us think that this bottle may be flawed.
Dry on the palate with a medium acidity, medium body and medium tannin. The flavor intensity is medium with flavors of cassis, green bell peppers, grass and old wood. The finish is medium.
Seeing other tasting notes on this wine makes me pretty sure about this bottle not being 100% correct so I choose not to score it. I thought that the nose was fine but on the palate the wine was somewhat subdued. I just figured that this wine was too old but apparently it's not.
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Wine of the Night! Decanted 4 hours and returned to the bottle. Removed 98% of the sediment. Wine was dark garnet to the rim belying its age. Nose of dark black fruit, dark chocolate and a hint of tobacco. Medium legs on the glass and weight on the palate. Palate tasted as nose with an elegant mouth feel and lingering fruit finish. Elegant and satin finish. Excellent.
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Looking at all the other notes on CT, this could potentially have been a flawed bottled. There was also a touch of wet card board on the nose. Not enough to convince everyone around the table that it was corked, but in my opinion it was lacking in complexity and depth as well.
Medium intense nose with clearly developed aromas of ceder, sesame seeds, apple core, cilantro, roasted oak, coffee, chocolate, prunes and a little cherries.
Medium+ acidity, very dry with lots of tannins. Medium intensity and length. This was clearly sub par. Felt tired and did not show any improvement during the night.
I will be a good sport and call this flawed.
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Verticale du Château Margaux: Un beau nez frais de sous bois, un peu de thé. Très belle bouche ronde et fine, ce n'est pas un vin de structure mais un d'élégance. Superbe équilibre pour un vin plutôt tertiaire, mais délicieux. Un vrai grand vin, je soupçonne qu'il était encore meilleur il y a 10 ans. Le 1983 ? 95 pts
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Unbelievable nose of chocolate, herbs, mocca. On the palate still quite youthful with mouth-filling tannins, cassis, milk chocolate, thyme, raisins. Spectacular.
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Wow! Outstanding! Great old Bordeaux nose of some musty notes, pencil shavings, flowers, and red fruit. quick 10 min decant heavy sediment. Incredibly smooth, and the finish was like having a piece of strawberry licorice in your mouth. Literally. It was unlike any finish on any wine I have had.
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Cork completely soak through. Oyster shell, black fruit and cedar. Somehow not as good as previously tasted with Potallier. Missing mid palate. Nice persistence and obviously completely resolved tannin.
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What a wine. It never fails to please. Classical Margaux with bouquet of pepper, berries. On the palate unbelievably elegant, spices, thyme, fresh fruit. Full of life and young.
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I love Margaux - the 1990 is one of my all time favorites. I bet the 86 will get there eventually. I was hoping this would show up, but found only a decent wine, not more. Dark, blocky, unsophisticated, inelegant - basically the opposite of what you'd expect from Margaux and all the more so from a great vintage.
The lesson with this wine is decant, decant and decant some more. The first three hours this was barely accessible at all and improved significantly with another hour in the glass. Alas we never really got the 99pt fireworks others describe.
Nose: beautiful dark blackberry nose with forrest notes, floral notes, hints of leather and a bit of mineral sea air. More depth and purity to the blackberry emerges and florals get more finessed. Palate: textured black fruit, sweet wild berry, blackberry and currant. Elegant across the palate with well rounded tannins. Some nuances of eucalyptus and flowers with Margaux elegance. Finish: dark and penetrating with sweet blackberry, leather and sage.
Good bottle, but there are definitely better ones out there.
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Ripe fruit with gorgeous dark flavors with notes of tobacco and Asian spices. The finish is tannic and a bit angular and the '82 and quite a few other vintages tonight were drinking better than this. Either going through a strange phase or simply drying out. Time will tell.
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Bottle from chateau. Not the best showing for this wine. Herbaceous nose with white pepper and a slight chalkiness with time. Good spice, full and complete in the mouth, this should have a lot of time ahead of it. Ripe fruit on mid palate with strong tannins with some bitterness on the backpalate. The '85 outperformed the '83 tonight.
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Wine was bought on future and stored under ideal conditions. Top shoulder fill. Bottom third of cork crumbled. When opened, the wine had little nose and a flat taste. I decanted the wine for 3 hours and tasted throughout the decanting time. The wine slowly improved. The wine did not fully open until about an hour in the glass and then the wine blossomed into a spectacular mature bordeaux. The next bottle I open will be decanted for 6 hours or a 24 hour DD.
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Drank in Hong Kong Drank along side the '83 Palmer which I love but this was on another level. My god the complexity with a nose of cedar, tobacco, forest floor, chassis, earth and spice. Wonderful rich palate and a long finish. This has legs to last quite a few more years. Yum Yum
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Really two wines - the dark, aged, challenging forest when drunk without food, and the floral, almost delicate wine that accompanied my steak at August. Thanks to EM
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Not nearly as good as last bottle a couple of years ago. Very floral nose with cedar, some tobacco. As the wine aired, some hints of TCA started to emerge. Off bottle.
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Absolutely wonderful wine. Incredibly complex aromas and an endless finish. Between the two the flavors coat the palate with a liqueur like persistence, but with no weight. I did not take notes, but wanted to write here to stress the importance of a long decant. Kudos to NewFrenchClaret for his great note below, his observations are spot on: 3 hours in the carafe and the wine was singing. For me it improved for another hour, but my wife found the 3 hour expression perfect. The color was ruby almost to the rim, with only a little ring of tawny at the edge. So if your wine shows more mature when decanted perhaps a shorter decant is in order. Well stored bottles ( I have a normal, not temperature controlled, cellar that moves between low 50's and low 60's over the year, but has neither light nor vibration ) will certainly benefit from a good long decant. Enjoy.
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Slightly bricking dark red violet color; aromatic, cedar, tart currant, olive, tobacco nose; tasty, velvety textured, tart red and black currant, tobacco, cedar, ripe plum palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish
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Very disappointing. Open for New Years eve dinner and never really developed all that much. Started out with little fruit and nose when first decanted and never really opened up over the next 4 hours. Had next to a 2002 Shafer HS in magnum which was clearly far superior. Previous bottles had been much better. Last bottle in cellar so no chance to revisit.
Brilliant. Fresh nose, berries, ceder, mahogany, multi-layered. In the mouth: velvety, soft, delicate, mysterious, complex, endless finish. Still at its zenith and no sign of decline in sight.
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amazing. popped, decanted for about 30 minutes before we couldn't help but start drinking this. fantastic perfume still - hints of lilacs, floral, sweet nose, particularly compared to the Pauillac first growths. Pretty red fruit in the mouth and a very long, seamless finish. A wine that seems to be hitting its peak now but def has years ahead of it. But it seems to be at a peak drinking window now. glad I have one more of this!
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Lovely mature Margaux and compares well to the 82 which I have had the pleasure of having a few times although not as opulent but with more balance mid palate. Ruby red, dense body to this wine and a lovely nose of ripe red berries, cherries, pipe tobacco, and jasmine tea. Decanted and drank over two hours. Very delicate upon entering the palate, like a Bach sonata that tickles your senses. Mid palate there is a density of red fruits that dominates, and a long seamless strawberry tinged finish. Good acidity which drops after two hours in the decanter so not sure how much more mileage this wine has, but true finesse, decent power, all the pleasures one expects from a mature Bordeaux. I still prefer the 82's finish but this is a close contender for one of the best Margaux I have had, in the same league as the 89, but slightly below the 90, 96, and 82.
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Vingruppen Winefair (Solsiden, Oslo): Ap: Dark Purple Ar: closed in the beginning, but opened up inthe glas with a intense and complex nose. Very intense tomatoe leaves on the nose. Full bodied and lean. Very structured and balanced. Still rather tannic. Very lingering
50+5+13+18+9
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Bordeaux 1983 Horizontal; 8/4/2014-6/11/2019: Disclaimer; I am aware of how terribly pretentious this wine review may seem. But there are some wines which are beyond conventional description. To merely list some flavors would be a disservice all round. ======================
There is a scent. A truly marvellous scent. It's what I spend most of my life chasing. Every bottle bought, every cork unpopped, from the lowliest supermarket wine to the most decadent Premier Cru- every single time there's a part of me that is hoping to find it. If I can't find it I'll settle for being reminded of it.
I often get echoes of it from elderly Californian bottlings. The odd Barolo here and there has a bit too. Like being shown a photo of a loved one, they bring back happy memories. But there's only one commune which can give you the real thing, and that's Margaux.
Almost all Margaux wines of any quality show this character to some extent, just as the St-Juliens have their own unique aromas which others doubtless crave. But for me the Margaux wines' unique character is what I'm looking for. And the zenith is reached at Chateau Margaux.
To stick your nose in a glass of Chateau Margaux in a decent (or even half-decent) year is to experience the essence of this flavor; its most distilled form. And 1983 is the greatest year in Margaux in the last half-century.
So I'm expecting great things from this, right?
Well, this bottle decided to play a little trick on me and keep me waiting. After a two hour decant I poured a glass and tasted a superb wine; deliciously balanced and poised, youthful but complex and complete, and concentrated and long. All very nice, but not worth four times the price of the 1986 Dunn Howell Mountain from the previous night. Hopes dashed, and gnashing of teeth.
And then, suddenly, after a further hour, everything is there. And I do mean everything.
The first word that sprang to mind at that point was NARNIA. The moment we all imagined when you burst out of the wardrobe-tunnel into the forest. The Margaux scent is all around as you stop to smell every wildflower. Violets and roses. The trees drip with dew, lending a vegetal air; the damp bracken adds a background of freshness and openness.
Every now and then the nose forks off in another direction; soy sauce, lamb jus (a recurring theme) and similar meaty aromas; cedar and graphite and similar Lafite-ish tones; sherbet and chocolate, and similar candied treats. But in the end we return to the elusive Margaux character.
The concentration is absurd, the balance impeccable and the finish sublime. But none of that really matters. It's almost a waste to let this wine into your mouth; it just means tearing your nose away.
This is what I buy wine for. Every wonderful wine I taste is colored with the tiniest tinge of sadness because it wasn't like this. But every new bottle fills me with anticipation, for perhaps I will taste the echos of this perfect bouquet.
To score this seems almost absurd- to score it less than 100 even more so.
=================
I have two more bottles. I'm going to open the next one much earlier. I am down to my last glass and new things are starting to happen.....
This bottle tonight was hard and firm and lacked the grace I've always loved about this wine. Perfectly stored and now my last two bottles of this wine have shown a lack of charm that is a bit disturbing. It could be bottle variation, of course, or could be this vintage is going back to sleep for a while or, hopefully not, the wine has seen it's best days and the fruit is fading before the tannins. Very margaux for sure with dark fruits and violet notes and that classic, incredible sweet margaux earth. We'll see.
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Popped, breathed in bottle 90 minutes, consumed over next hour. Wonderful perfume pours out of the bottle and the show continues on the palate. Seamless tapestry of cassis, tobacco, cedar, lead, lavender, leather, a touch of earth and some others too subtle to pinpoint. Continually evolving in the glass culminating in an utterly fascinating, elegant, well balanced, lengthy finish. Drinking beautifully now and feels well packed for a long life with further upside potential.
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Double decanted. Very dark and youthful in colour. Wonderful nose, not a lot of evolution and a bit of restraint there as well: Red fruit, flowers, cedar, forest notes, silky and fine. Superb structure and balance, lots of lush fruit, great grip, rather tannic, firm and surprisingly closed. Great length. Needs more time. 93-95+
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Septet wine-lovers 6th meeting in 2014 (at Eli Farkash, Savion): dark red-purple opaque colour distinct tertiary aromas of dark ripe fruit, leather, wet earth, sous-bois and fungi. full bodied, firm tannins, rustic flavours, med balance, lacks complexity, med finish. Med harmony: while the nose was sedative - the palate seemed a bit over the peak with lack of structure...
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WOTN out of 24 very good wines. What I particularly liked about this wine was the combination of medium to medium full density, soft tannins, lots of remaining fruit, and a quality that can only be described as 'grip'. That's a sometimes ambiguous wine term that in this case means it grabs hold of your mouth and won't get go. GIves you all sorts of flavor combinations while maintaining an aggressive palate in a medium structure. Really contrasted well (and showed well) next to some huge cult Cal cabs that just couldn't match the subtlety and complexity of the Margaux.
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Very very elegant wine. Still needs an hour to open up but then is really amazing. All the ingredients are here, leather, cigar-box, tobacco, prunes... Great wine!
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Extremely elegant, seductive nose. Beautiful perfumed aromas of smooth blackcurrant, gravel, subtle gun smoke, sweet tobacco and iron minerality. Mature, profound, deep and full. Splendid! Medium-fullish palate, with splendid grip, lovely elegant dark fruit. Harmonius and succulent. Classic, sweet fruity and generous. Utterly balanced. Mature but without barnyard. Perfume, oak and minerally smoke in tremendous balance. Very, very long and concentrated at the same time that it is totally open. Tasted half-blind, this was WOTN, and the winner in our PC-83 tasting. Utterly harmonius, seductive, balanced and fresh. Among the top ten best Bdx I've tasted. Depending on your tastes, this can of course be cellared further, but we didn't see any reason to wait longer.
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With age, clearly some bottles are better than others and this was a very good bottle. From a magnum, the wine was floral, soft, concentrated, deep and complex, with a length and depth, this delivers a lot more and could serve up even more in the future.
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Coravine'd: couldn't resist the temptation so I took another glass out of the bottle. Again spectacular elegance, very long, very nice mouthfeel and still very young. Fir needles, cedar wood, still a very long life ahead. Impressive!
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First try at the Coravin, do you might see multiple notes from the same bottle...
Very young still, needed time to open up. beautiful classic bordeaux nose, pure elegance. Sunday roast, leather still quite a tannin structure. Great wine
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Stored in a cold cellar since release. Fill bottom neck. Excellent cork. Wine in perfect condition. For some 1983 was something special in Margaux. Deep and intense - for Margaux. Great complexity.balance and length. Still young but completely ready -drink to 2030 but only if stored in perfect conditions. Probably will not get any better.
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Longue aération de cinq heures avant la première gorgée. Le vin étant encore un peu fermé, j'en bois très peu, et lui laisse deux heures de plus, alors, lentement, il impose ses notes explosives et expose sa profondeur hors du commun. Comme dans un vieux Château certan 1947 jadis, et quoique de façon très différente, je retrouve dans ce nectar les cinq goûts selon les Chinois : sucré, acide, amer, âpre, salé. En bouche il semble changer de goût très vite, sa palette se compose un peu comme mille et un reflets jouant à la surface lumineuse des eaux. Vin protéiforme et divin. Une fraîcheur soudaine, délicate, minérale et pleine de fruits mûrs (cassis, framboise, myrtille) vous envahit le palais dès l'abord. La longueur, le soyeux et la présence impressionnent. Beaucoup de richesses en milieu de palais - tapissé de soie -, longue finale alcoolique, merveilleusement inlassable. Algues, soja, venaison, herbes amères, thym, sauge, mûre, chocolat, cassis, etc., cèdre, plume, notes de Porto ou de Cherry, etc. Je précise que les notes sur 100 que j'attribue sont en partie symboliques, et que le passage d'une note et à une note d'un point supérieur marque pour moi un saut qualitatif (un vin noté 94 est vraiment d'un autre niveau qu'un noté 93). C'est une échelle instrumentale qui se construit peu à peu au fil des dégustations, elle tente, à sa manière formelle et limitée, de rendre compte du fait que chaque grand vin a son degré unique de perfection, et que, comme les étoiles dans le ciel, chacun est à sa place au milieu d'un ordre parfaitement harmonique. " pourtant, si on laisse aller son esprit au-delà des huit extrémités, qu'on regarde en haut ou en bas c'est partout la même quiétude quand on comprend enfin sa véritable nature, n'obtient-on pas l'or magique de l'immortalité ?"
TU FU, UNE MOUETTE ENTRE CIEL ET TERRE
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En vin jeg har et sentimentalt forhold til; min første "Grand vin", smakt i 2006. Starten på min vinkarriere, på mange måter. Åpnet, ganske rå ved åpning. Skremmende ung. Tok et glass og lot den stå åpen i to timer. Ekstremt elegant nese av sekundær og tertiær Medoc-frukt. Tobakk, lær, noe floralt - som å åpne de gamle skatollskuffene hos oldemor. Ikke veldig uttalt nese; nesten Lafite-aktig diskresjon. I munnen ekstremt lineær og "solid" - konsentrasjon!! Nokså tannisk, voldsom struktur. Flott lengde, vinen gir og gir.
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Bordeaux matters, along with Burgundy and Champagne and Port and ... (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): What elegance and richness here. A white floral aspect with cool notes that I really liked. Very fresh. Red fruit but subtle, adding to the complexity of the aromatic and gustatory profile. This was yet another highlight from a fantastic evening. Perhaps just lower than 100 (I am not really very keen on scoring but what the hell) because a certain steeliness late on the finish detracted. Don't get me wrong: The finish was long and echoing but there was a bit of a steely aspect to it as well. I wonder if the wine just needs more time in fact to reach its apotheosis.
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Belated holiday dinner - Mostly Burg and Bordeaux (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Very youthful nosed displaying intense sweet dark fruit, cassis, lead pencil, light caramel, ink, mineral and a hint of flower. Incredible concentration, unctuous, intense dark fruit driven palate impression and nicely integrated tannins. This particular bottle is ripe intense and hedonistic. Although pleasure to drink, it is still at best secondary and not showing much tertiary notes. A long life ahead. I may have to use Dan Kravitz decimal point system as I slightly prefer this to the 89 Montrose which to me is a clearly 97 point wine and I like this slightly less than the 02 Confuron RSV. Perhaps 97.759?
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Great nose, deep floral component and hints of clove. Silk comes to mind in the mouth, the wine had a very feminine component which i liked. The acid was there but certainly muted. I don't think the wine gets better but its drinking quite well.
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Beautiful mature Bordeaux. Very dark color. Same flavor profile as the bottle we had earlier this year, but this was quite tannic on the finish whereas other examples have softened.
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At CVAs home in London, thx for being generous with your cellar and a wonderful home cooked Belgian meal.
Opened for 2 hours - mature Bordeaux, medium red/purple color. Nose was pencil/lead, lavender and floral notes, black fruit in the background. Fragrant, nose is not one of a 30 year old wine...Palate was dark fruits, cassis, tobacco, earth. Some chocolate. Dusted red berry finish.
Elegant, mature and refined. I have had the 78, 85, 89 vintages, closest in age if not in style. Have not had the 82, so no point of comparison there. This is a fantastic aged Bordeaux - drink beautifully now, my guess is it holds another ~10 years.
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40th Birthday Old Vino Dinner (Era Bistro, Brisbane): This was a little musty on the nose at first, but after more time in the glass really shone. Colour looked excellent, and had a beautiful, pure nose to it. The balance and complexity on the palate though were superb. This wine should cellar another 10 years, but is wonderful drinking now.
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Har verkligen rundats av sedan jag drack det senast. De relativt påtagliga tanninerna har verkligen integrerats och mognadstonerna träder fram på ett helt annat vis. Svarta vinbär, körsbär, tjära, rosor, mörk choklad, läder, cigarrlåda och lite tryffeltoner. Verkligen ett balanserat, silkigt och elegant vin med lång fin eftersmak.
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This was a good, but not great example of 1983 Margaux with its cocoa, chocolate mint, truffle, cassis, tobacco, cedar wood and ash character. The wine was soft and polished, finishing with a sweet and tart black and dark red berry finish. Drink now, or let it age another decade.
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30th Birthday - Bordeaux Wine (1983) (Le Sommelier, Copenhagen): Young black currant fruit nose with a hint of shrub and cigar box. Medium intensity. Tightly wound sweet black currant fruit on the palate with an impressive balance. Beautiful and feminine wine.
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Deep, dark reddish-purple in color, almost opaque with no visible signs of aging. Fragrant, vibrant, complex & aromatic nose of ripe dark fruit aromas of cherries, currants & cassis, with classic overtones of cigar box notes of cedar & tobacco and lovely floral notes of violets & lilacs, some exotic Asian spices, herbal/minty, a hint of anise, dusty, truffles, leather and earthy. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, developed, elegant & refined, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries, plums & some cranberries, earthy, exotic spices, truffles, some dark cocoa, herbs and minerals. Long lingering velvety smooth finish. The aromatics are absolutely wonderful. Drinks quite well at present with decanting and may hold at this plateau for several more years if cellared properly although I doubt it could get much better than this.
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Cork in very good shap. Open n decant but open up in glass.. Smells good but a little acid at first... But got better but most of the people like the 83 haut brion better... It was a side by side tasting
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As good as it gets! Not the 1982, but better, spectacular, close to perfect as one can hope for. No bottle variation problems here, this was as you would wish for any Bordeaux bottle of wine. Nothing but superlatives as we drank at Per Se after a magnum of the utterly delicious 2006 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet. Pure and balanced like a Bordeaux from a novel by Dickens edited by EM Forster, this rich royal purple classic had aromatics that meged all the fruits and flowers that we dream of in surgar plum fairies - the cassis caressed, the smoke was sweet, and the earth elevated the wine to a once in five year phantasmagoria phenom. Balanced like a Russian or American gymnast whoever is the best and prettiest.
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This was one of the less successful bottles of '83 Margaux but it wins points for its beautiful aroma. But on the palate, it was surprisingly coarse and inelegant. Good density but texturally moody.
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Cork was in poor shape in magnum bottle. Strained and decanted for one hour before serving. Color was bright and the nose was, well...incredible. Notes of cherry which developed to tobacco and pencil lead. Well-balanced, complex and nice depth. Wine should be good for at least 10 more years.
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Dinner at Rob's. Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Outstanding nose of dark fruit, leather, mint every now and then. Nicely sweet on the palate. Superbly silky texture and wonderful depth and complexity. Fully mature and perfect balance. A very complete wine. Long, lingering finish.
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tis is veri disturbing.tried margaux 83 twice.last year n tis year.if tis is blind taste,it doesnt show 1st growth quality.didnt get much aromas like the d issan 00.its like a aged bttl in btween $100.wat it left in the bttl is evident cabernet "green herbaceous" n some slight leather notes.tis bttl is really a let down for the 2nd times.wat went wrong??cud it b tis bttl have not yet reach puberty stage or cud it b tis "impotent" bttl cant "perform" anymore??keke.just wonder
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1983 tasting. All wines opened immediately before serving. This wine still has 5-10 years of life and needs some decant. My wine of the night (and the one I brought). Its a blockbuster with finesse. Continue to drink and buy. my favorite Margaux to date
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Decanted about a half hour before drinking. The nose was initially strong with notes of dark berries and mushrooms, but that changed rather quickly giving way to a light berry/leather scent. The wine was ruby red and clear. The flavor profile was one which definitely indicated the maturity of the wine as the tannins have almost completely retreated, the fruit softened into a complex blend of black current, leather and red fruits. The finish was silky smooth, but not as long lasting as we had hoped. The wine drank very nicely for its age, after all, it is a beautiful Margaux, but it wasn't the same blockbuster we enjoyed 5 years ago. If you have it, drink it, as it is not getting any better with the passing of time.
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This was drank at a local restaurant after being decanted for 15 minutes. The wine was quite clear (it had a very slight haziness to it) with a medium garnet colour. The nose was clean with a medium intensity of fruits. In the glass was a dry wine with well low to slightly medium levels of both tannins and acidy. It had a medium body of black fruits with blackcurrant being the most prominent. There were also some fig flavours as well. Very nice for a 30 year old bottle.
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Decanted for 2 hours before tasting. Initially had a medicine-like scent that burned away. Aromas of cassis, licorice, preserved fruits and smoke. Deep ruby color and medium-bodied with dark fruits and cherry on the palate and more tannins than expected. Developed in flavor over the next 2 hours, though the finish started to dissipate.
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1983 Margaux Mini-Horizontal (Tocqueville, NYC): Translucent ruby. Intense nose of pencil and redcurrant. Herbs come out with air. Very light for its concentration, and good acidity. Longer finish than the '83 Palmer tasted alongside, but a bit more straightforward. A lovely, classic wine, but didn't quite offer the fireworks its pedigree would suggest.
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Ch. Palmer vertikal (Oslo): Klar mørk, rød med innslag av oransje. Himmelsk nese! Parfymert, elegant, floral og feminin med nydelig dybde og innsmigrende sødme. Friske toner av mørke, røde bær, fioler og mildt krydder. Ren og klar frukt. Høy konsentrasjon, men fremstår sømløs og elegant På topp, men fremdeles ungdommelig. Delikat med nydelig, presis syre. Milde, faste tanniner finish. Sitter svært lenge i.
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Palmer vertical: Deep and sweet fruit on the nose, spicy and floral, very complex; a combination of a surprising full body (for a 83), sweet fruit and fine acidity/structure. A crowd pleaser, but what is wrong with that? Approaching its plateau.
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Super Tasting 5 of 6 - Chris does 1983 Bordeaux (Dundas, Ontario): Tasted blind Great wine with all the hallmarks of Margaux in a great vintage….flowers, spice, pure red and dark fruit and a long and complex finish. Despite its obvious complexity, I thought this wine would be even more unfurled and resolved…..it seemed like it still had something to give. As it was…it was still a spectacular wine.
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Tasting Dinner Series (5 of 6); 1983 Bordeaux Horizontal and Trickery (Chris' House): Served blind. Deep garnet with a slight brick. On the nose, red and black currant, graphite, herbs, crushed rocks, fresh coffee grinds, but seemingly a touch reticent. On the palate, quite rich and concentrated with quite a bit of unresolved tannin, and medium acid. Finish is long, but this seems to be hiding something, although the class and pedigree of this wine is evident.
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Super Tasting 5 of 6 (1983 Bordeaux w/cali ringers, Hosted by Me): Found this wine to be a bit tightly wound compared to the other 1st growths on this night. The capsule was corroded so it's possible that the bottle wasn't completely sound, however it was in very good condition and fill level looked good. Opened and left to breathe in the bottle for a few hours, not decanted. A very dark wine, it initially had a fresh baked french pastry note, then gave way to pine resin and sawdust, with dark blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Palate is dense and concentrated with fresh acids. Very nice bottle showing on the young side at this tasting.
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At "Rarities" - a perfect bottle of this great wine that really shows the earthy, floral terroir of Margaux. Dark fruits combine with exotic spices and a floral lift that is a thrill to drink. There is still very good intensity here and the finish is everything you could ask for from first-growth Bordeaux. Magnificent and still on the upswing. 97+
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Drinks at La Silhouette (NYC): Not all that different from my earlier experience with '83 Margaux a few years ago. This doesn't seem to have changed much, there's an amazing fragrance that just keeps building and becoming more complex with time in the decanter, combining layers of savoury cedar, tobacco and leathery notes with sweeter floral and richly fruited elements. One of those wines I could have kept smelling throughout dinner. The palate presence is remarkable; powerful yet very refined, absolutely seamless with the structure fully integrated and the flavours echoing the aromatics, and remarkable persistence. Phenomenal. Thanks Ross.
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Delicate, fragrant, developing nose. Fine, etheral mixture of floral notes, red and blueberries, a touch of leather and sweet spices. On the palate is subtle and elegant with fresh acidity and silky tannins. Tight in the middle with a luscious finish. A lot of redfruit, redcurrant and a mix of fine herbs and spices. Delicate, sensuous and harmonious.
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This bottle scared me to death. I thought it was dead in the bottle. But I have had enough Primier Cru wines to know that you have to give them time. After about 3 hours this beauty finally opened up to deliver that classic perfumed Margaux bouquet. floral and fruit filled in the mouth with a two minute finish. If you drank yours early, then shame on you. You must let these ladies open in their own time. This one did not have the magnitude of some other Margauxs that I have had, hence the 95. But still a worthy First Growth. What a great evening with wonderful friends too.
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Medium bodied, tannins have settled, this wine is in drinking window now but can last another 10 years. Elegant, not powerful, well balanced. Drinking like an aged Premier Cru should and like the others, I'm not sure it's worth the current market price.
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Decanted the wine about 1.5 hours prior to drinking. Good deep color, though some browning at the edges. Paired with osso buco. No doubt "drinking the label" was part of the experience, but everyone at the table found this wine to be outstanding: fruity, beautifully balanced, more elegant than powerful. This wine is a delight to drink now but should last for many more years.
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This bottle had a good fill; top shoulder/bottom neck. Cork largely soaked through; decanted 90 minutes prior to tasting. Medium deep red with perhaps slight browning on the rim. Lovely floral nose of violets; classic Margaux. Medium deep on the palate with superb balance and enough tangy acidity to keep one's interest. Long finish. One of the better bottles and much more interesting than an 82 Las Cases drunk in parallel.
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Dark, brooding color. Perfumed nose of violets and blackberries. This bottle was drinking incredibly young. Full-bodied for a Margaux with gobs of glorious black/blue fruits. Deeply concentrated on the finish with lovely notes of violets, minerals and Asian spices. Perfectly stored bottles of this are aging very slowly and this is a fabulous if atypical Margaux that should reward extended cellaring. 95+
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Alvin’s 60th Birthday Dinner (Le Gavroche): Medium red and slightly more youthful looking than the ’83 Palmer. This has a wonderfully elegant nose that was sweeter and perhaps slightly more complex with dark red cherries, blackcurrants, cedar, spice, peppermint and traces of violets. Similar flavours on the palate with a perfectly balanced mouthfeel with powdery yet tight and firm tannins, excellent acidity and a long persistent finish. This is tight and more structured than the ’83 Palmer. Fantastic to drink now but I think will be even better with another 5+ years in the cellar. Outstanding. 93+
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CT Wisconsin Offline 2; 10/5/2012-10/6/2012 (Madison, WI): Very deep ruby-cherry color. In the glass, a raw sewage note slowly blew off to reveal primary cherry fruit and very faint Margaux perfume, then this faded away quickly into tannins and alcohol. Not a great showing, but pleasurable. Base neck fill, slight signs of dried seepage.
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1st growth wine bcoz it can aged many yrs??yup,i agree with tat.decant 15 mins.a very "youthful" wine tat refuse to bow dwn based on tis bttl age.no sign of aging of tiredness.veri showing.well integrate.the onli let dwn is it doesnt has the omph factor.if tis is blind tasted,i wud hve gues its nt more than $300 sing dollars.is tis bttl worth 1k nw.nah.save your $ n xplore more exciting bttl with lesser price
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From Chicago Wine Company, so probably purchased on release. Deep ruby, no lightening at the rim. Level into the neck. And it tasted like something 10 years younger than it was. Simply beautiful and more intensity and power than some previous bottles of this wine I've tasted in the past. Velvety, deeply fruity in its secondary phase, gaining in complexity and compelling on the palate and finish. Many more years of life from perfect bottles like this.
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Chateau Margaux vertical dinner with great whites and 2007 Rayas (Ruth Chris Tysons Corner, VA): Another classic floral cab based Margaux nose but significantly more youthful than the 82. Fresh blueberries and blackberries, cassis, blue fruits and a hint of green which for me gives the wine lift and complexity. Some mentioned initial band-aid note but mine was fine, must blew off. Intense yet seamless palate. Lovely showing but had better bottles in the past.
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Acker Auction (Waldorf Astoria - Chicago, IL): Great dried floral and tobacco on the nose with lots of red fruit and earth. Loved its mineral-edge that combined with gorgeous dark fruit, mint, soil and truffle. The palate was relatively soft which suggested to me that it's drinking close to peak. Great stuff.
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Acker Merrall BYO (Sepia - Chicago IL): I was looking forward to tasting this wine alongside the Palmer 1983, and this wine certainly didn't disappoint. Red and black cherry aromas with hint of cassis. Lush, elegant and incredibly charming. Long sweet finish with great spice.
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Acker BYO - Chicago (Sepia - Chicago, IL): Found another bottle at dinner...hope it's better...oh good, it is. Great nose of tar, herbs, red fruit, earth, and florals. It's palate was beautifully composed and had this lovely feminine profile - lots of florals, dried cranberry and tilled soil. Great length to the body this seemed to have a lot of life left.
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So very different from the last time I had it. Last time it was a much more feminine wine with a fabulous floral bouquet. This time dark ripe fruits, mocha were the dominant scents and this opaque black beauty still held copious but soft tannins.
50+5+13+17+9=94
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Part of my wife's birthday dinner. As the other wine was an 89 HB, this was not in the same category. That said, the longer it was open, the better it got. Decant for at least 2-3 hours. Wine was fairly light and floral by comparison, still a great wine. Better to drink now than hold onto.
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he Wine Society Dining Club 250th Dinner (Drapers' Hall, London): Strong roasted fruit, bit of coffee and earth. Still seems young, not as refined as the '90 and with a slightly shorter finish with more capsicum overtones.
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The Wine Society Dining Club 250th Dinner (Drapers' Hall, London): Single bottle, double decanted. A relatively light and elegant rendition, fully mature, smooth, subtle and elegant, fresh and with some tannic grip, fragrant and floral, develops well in the glass.
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Part of a dinner at Bouley pairing 79, La Mission and HB, 82 Barton and Las Cases, 93, Palmer and Margaux and 89 Pichons
The Palmer was winning at the first taste as the 50% merlot gave immediate gratification. The Margaux has depth, complexity and perfect balance that made it the ultimate winner
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Over 25 Tasting (Home): This was a strange experience. The bottle was decanted about 3 hours before consumption, and the nose seemed off at the beginning. For the next 3 hours, I went back to it and it veered from off to fine and back again. The same was true once it was in the glass. Every third sip or so gave the classic cedary fruit of Ch. Margaux; the rest had a sort of mushroomy taint to it. Ironically, the scent in the decanter the morning after was sublime. It's possible I should have decanted it earlier? The remaining bottles of this vintage will definitely be given at least 4 or 5 hours to open up before they're drunk.
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The second bottle of this wine in a week. I am a lucky man. Both bottles were similar in character. Over time, this cassis, forest, floor, truffle, tobacco and blackberry scented wine is developing rustic qualities to the mouth feel. This is still an outstanding wine, but it’s not developing positive traits with time.
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Floral, truffle, earth, cassis, tobacco and cedar wood make up the perfume. Full bodied and concentrated, the tannins are a little rustic, which takes away from this normally, elegant, refined wine.
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Great to pair this with the 55. This was a fabulous showing. The wine was at a young adult stage of its development. Dark colour with just a hint of bricking at the rim. Plenty of power but with grace and precision around a package of red/black fruit. Superb.
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Early Mar 2012, Chateau Margaux tasting (22 different vintages) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: rubin color; intense aromas/flavors of coffee, wood, dark chocolate mingled with red fruit notes; medium body; smooth, ethereal texture.
Loved the 1983 Margaux peculiar due to his magical levity. At least this bottle was at the peak of his consumption live. Don't think it'll further improve and would advise to drink all remaining bottles in the next 5-10 years.
Flight V: 1982 - 1983 - 1986 - 1989 - 1990
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A stunning example of what I love about Bordeaux. Incredibly lively for a wine nearly 30 years old. A great mix of earth, fruit, a bit of rose and some cigar tobacco on the nose and the wonderfully complex and integrated mix of flavors on the palate. Fully resolved tannins extend the excellent finish. Wines like this easily renew your appreciation for the good stuff.
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3 bottles were consumed at my 60th birthday celebration. All had been cellared since the mid-80s at 58 - 60 degrees. Fills were bottom of neck; 2 corks in good shape, one crumbled. Wine was decanted just prior to serving. Two of these were in dramatically good shape; superb aromatics, full bodied, perhaps a slight bit of acidity creeping in; the third was less good, with a somewhat more muted nose, but still excellent body. The consensus was this was drinking at or near peak but didn't seem in danger of falling apart at all. Will drink my last few bottles over the next 5 years or so.
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Sublime, at its zenith. Compared to Margaux 1982 (drank the day before yesterday) this is even more fresh and backward. Very, very fine. I couldn't choose between 1982 and 1983, though very different wines, both brilliant.
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This wasn't tasted under ideal circumstances- for various reasons I had to decant it pretty quick before serving it, so it probably had about 5 minutes in the decanter before my first sip. I also couldn't take any notes unfortunately, so this is from memory. The nose is simply enchanting; a glorious blend of fruit, flowers and earthy notes. Everything is in such perfect harmony that every sniff brings something new. It's hard to describe what makes the difference to the nose of a 90 point wine and a 99 point wine, but this nose just had that X-factor that propelled it to stratospheric heights. On the mid palate the wine is smooth and full bodied, and the finish lasts practically forever. Over an hour or so the wine opened up even more, and by the end had reached 99-point status for me. I've always had great luck with the top '83s, and this one was no exception. I feel like I could spend 8 hours with this wine happily hoovering up everything the nose had to offer, but it's so hard to find the time! A perfect wine at its peak.
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Tasted at 'The Sampler' merchant in London This is only the second time i've been amazed by the smell of a wine. There was rich dark berries, cherries and cassis on the nose. The colour was beautiful dark ruby with the taste being full, smooth and beautiful to drink. A simply outstanding wine
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Deep, dense, warm red with brick at the rim. Utterly elegant, rich complex and mature nose with spicy almost perfumed flowery character. Cedar, pine, leather, tobacco, cassis, blueberries, blackberries. Mature and rich taste with wonderful fruit, woody spiciness, and firm fine grained tannins. It has a harmony and balance that few wines can show together with a dense and rich core. Very attractive wine at its peak.
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Gift from private collection stored in ideal temperature and humidity in custom cellar. Cork was split mid-way, but bottle was otherwise perfect. Decanted. Initial nose was very complex with dark currant and cherry notes, definitely farm-y, but cleared shortly thereafter. After decanting for 4 hrs, served with Thanksgiving dinner. Beautiful orange tinged hue. Delicious full body with very rounded tannins. Nice cedar notes on the palate, even a vague hint of mint. Earthy, well-balanced, delicious.
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Amuse Bouche HK with L and N: Thought still somewhat tight - but great structure and poise with a hint of tobacco, cigar box, and perfect balance. Would give this another couple of years - less sweet and opulent than the Palmer 1983
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Drank with my friend B. Dylan and spouses to celebrate his I.W.S.P.C. graduation. Color was dark garnet with no signs of bricking or browning. Initially intense barnyard and animal aromatics that gradually settled down without disappearing completely, maraschino cherry, herbs, coffee, floral scents and earthiness. Medium to full-bodied and silky textured with sweet tannins, unbelieveble freshness and vibrancy of fruit, balancing acidity and an almost endless aftertaste. Much more impressive on the palate than on the nose. Perfectly drinking now, but seems to have the potential to age further for many years.
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Dark ruby colour not yet garnet - very lively. Nose had none of the problems Robert Parker talks about but was really rustic, full of heavy barnyard aromas, funky dung and leather. Yet even if slightly funkier than what I would have liked there was ample berry and cherry fruit behind it. Nose I would say was evolving but not fully mature, the wine has at least two decades ahead of it. Perfect to drink now but could possibly become even better with time. Amazing complexity and finesse which showed mainly in the mouth with silky tannins, refreshing and balancing acidity, medium body and great power of flavour and unending finish.
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Dry prunes, vegetal, canned green beans, pipe tobacco, cedar, clove, medium sediment, medium viscosity. Double decanted over an hour. The flavor kept changing every 5-7 min, getting all the better. Still some life ahead, looking for another bottle to drink in a few years. Maybe 5 years left to peak!
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I haven't had the wine for some time so was anxious to see where it stood. Very dark with bricking on the edge. Huge tobacco, cedar,leather, dark fruit, floral aromas. Big in the middle with still a lot of tannins peaking there way through the nice fruit still present in the wine. Sweet finish. An excellent Margaux . I think it is at its peak..I wonder if the fruit, which is adequate at this time, will last? I think I would tend to drink over the next few years.
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June 25 (home): Once again, - It can't get too much better than this. This was truly elegant, with great finesse and yet an animalistic undertone that made you crave more and more. Truly excellent. At the top of it's game and showing no sign of waning
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Spectacular showing for this masterpiece of Margaux. The texture is now silky smooth. Fragrance of white flowers and rose. Deep into it's secondary stage, fresh, medium weight, soft yet flavorful. Extraordinarily elegant. Long sweet finish. Brilliant.
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Still big and brooding. Lovely with gobs of complexity. Classic margaux perfumer, cedar and dark cherry. Took 1.5 to 2 hours to open. Some bottle variation, perhaps a touch of va, but GOD I LOVE this wine!
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Mature Left Bank Bordeaux (semi blind) (Amsterdam Wijn Antiquariaat): Again a disappointing bottle of Margaux 1983. Leaves on the nose, cherries and eucalyptus. Smooth on the palate, soft fruits and elegant. But drying. We had a much better bottle (from the same case) some years ago.
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Still a deep colour, but with brown edges; classic mature claret nose; the palate has depth, but there is a slight bitterness and also some dryness. The finish is long, but a bit sludgy. Perhaps the fruit has retreated and it may have been better a few years ago. Fine, all the same.
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It's very good, but still a disappointment compared to the best bottles of '83 Margaux. Color a little advanced with considerable orange at the rim and medium ruby at the center. Pleasant Margaux-typical aroma of violet and blueberry. Medium weight, nice finish. But overwhelmed by the '83 Palmer we had next to it.
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Needs decanting of 1 hr and has lots of sediment. Elegant, pure, lots of menthol elements on the nose, herbal notes . Fine and reserved beauty on the palate, like a victorian lady only shows just to the ankle but what a beauty and bordeuax at this level easily ranks supreme
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Still quite good -- it is a Margaux, after all -- but it's probably past its peak. Dense body and strong tannins, with dark, heavy fruit in the middle. Bold, strong, and long-lasting flavor; classic fine Bordeaux style, just what you'd expect from a top Chateau. Somewhat disappointing in how reserved and contracted it was; should have been fuller, brighter, more complex. If you have some, find a reason to drink it soon.
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One of the bottles I recently got from Hart Davis. Double-decanted for 5 hours prior to comsumption with the Wine Boys in NYC at Ceska. Excellent color with a somewhat muted nose and just not delivering the usual peanuty-aged flavors I usualy get from this wine. The finish is short and a bit hot. Something is off with this bottle although the wine is fresh and I just can't put my finger on what's wrong.
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1 hour decant. Really quite stinky on opening but this settled after a few minutes in the jug. An element of old style Bordeaux funk remained on the nose right through however. On this showing that nose was perhaps a little shy, but some good complexity coming through with a meaty, savoury edge rounded off by a slightly floral layer. As you would hope and expect some good complexity in here - very earthy and a little gamey. If I'm being picky I was chasing a little more elegance and possibly a litte more freshness to the fruit on the palate. Curiously this started to shut down a little after some time in decanter and glass - and I do mean shut down, not fade! Unfortunatey we didn't get the chance to see if it emerged again later n the evening as it had all gone! Ah well. Certainly ready, and this was perhaps slightly bretty, but a fine Margaux with life left in it. To 2020?
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Interesting bottle - very crisp, leafy cabernet fruit and bright acidity give this bottle a young feel. The freshness of the structure is quite remarkable in a wine of this age - plenty of years ahead of it.
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1983 Margaux for the third time two weeks. I'm not complaining. My comment is a cross between sharing and bragging. Each bottle has been different, which is natural when a wine is only days away from its 28th birthday. This bottle had a tight nose that needed coaxing and swirling to reveal the earthy cedar, blackberry, cassis and fennel aromas. On the palate, the wine felt soft, round and regal. However, the finish lacked the length necessary to be considered a great wine. This was a very good Bordeaux wine. But it was not a great bottle of Chateau Margaux.
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83 Margaux is a baffling wine. At times, it's an elegant, floral expression of Margaux and on other occasions, it shows increased rusticity and hard tannins. Sadly, this bottle displayed more of the later than the former characteristics. With an earthy, truffle, cassis and tobacco laden nose, the wine felt rustic and beefy on the palate, with an austere leaning in the cassis filled finish. 94 Pts
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A wonderful bottle! Decanted 1.5 hrs and enjoyed over the following 45 minutes. Still some tannins in the mix, yet they add to the experience. I will enjoy my remaining bottles over the next 7 years.
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Had held this bottle for 12 years since I drank my last one. The cork disentigrated unfortunately as I removed, and the nose was nasty; I decanted and sipped over the next 3 hours, hopiing the nose would disappear and the taste would improve; threw out after 4 hours.
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Decanted approximately 1 hour before being poured with a birthday dinner of rack of lamb. Fill was bottom of the neck; cork was a bit moldy on the outside with perhaps a little leakage. Lovely nose immediately of violets and complex scents; dark red with little signs of browning. This had largely resolved tannins and a satiny texture with much less "edge" than the 86 Gruaud Larose which accompanied it. This was a very good representative of this wine but perhaps not the best I have tasted over the last dozen years.
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Once again, - It can't get too much better than this. This was truly elegant, with great finesse and yet an animalistic undertone that made you crave more and more. Truly excellent. At the top of it's game and showing no sign of waning
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The star of the vertical lineup of Chateau Margaux, 1990 back to 1961, with all the great vintages on display. This is the best example of the '83 Margaux I have ever had since its release. Stunning fragrance of violets. Very sweet, pure, elegant, lingering. Indubitably at peak now.
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Have had this wine on numerous occasions and each time it always exuded so much class & appeal. Very attractive nose of violets, smoke, blackberry, with waves of concentrated black fruit, cassis, complex, well-balanced, and was quite stunning. Normally this wine would be WOTN for me, but on this night, it was eclipsed by the 1983 Palmer, 1982 & 1990 Chateau Margaux.
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Cold War Nuclear Escalation Wine Club Dinner (Otto e Mezzo, Alexandra House, Central, Hong Kong): Graciously provided by Daniel. Impeccable fill on the lower neck and a near-perfect cork. Slightly lightening translucent blood red colour. The nose is welcoming, extravagant, pencil lead....wow!...lovely.....eye-closingly good....deep.....rich...velvet dusty curtains......a woman's damp armpit. The palate is initially strikingly acidic but with a tannic harmonious poise that is perfectly balanced....lovely plum, liquorice stick, cinnamon stick and a touch of raw opium....beautifully complex and harmonised....like an orchestra in perfect synch with a trio of opera singers. Resonant. Huge length.....rolling thunder.......constant firebursts on the back end......like your favourite rock track live in a big stadium that you just don't want to end....but even with a couple of top-ups it dropped off a little after 2 hours in the glass and thus didn't win WOTN, although it came close for me.
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WOW!!! Fantastic wine. Took 45 minutes to open. Great balance of fruit and tannins. Tannins still present but this wine is drinking beautifully and will last a long time.
Pinot Smackdown 2010 (Ken's, northbrook IL): nose: very deep and refined nose that took a bit to get going but unravels into flowing tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, leather, mineral rich earth tones, perfumes, incense, and some violets. Intoxicating and complex nose that brings an array of tones in waves
taste: medium/full body with silky tannins that still show off a good amount of youth on the palate. Regal and satiny tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, leather, mineral rich earth, incense and bits of violets all blend in well together. Wonderful depth that just layered itself on the palate
overall: oh to have had a small group on this bottle. This was starting to kick into another full gear after about 30 minutes but there was a lot of people drinking from it. The glimpse that I got though was more than enough to leave an indelible mark on me. This may have been at the end of a very long night, but its greatness certainly shocked me back to life
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This is so much better than the bottle I tasted last year. Beautiful and classical elegant Bordeaux/Margaux bouquet with dark fruits, luxurious oak and some sweetness. Same on the palate. Full bodied and so lush and complex. Everything in perfect harmony. Soft and powerful tannin. A great bottle!!! And then I wonder... An over the hill bottle last year, an almost perfect bottle now. What to do? In a perfect world/bottle this can last another 5 - 10+ years, but the chances it will loose its beauty only becomes bigger with more ageing, and it will not improve anymore. If I had any, I would open the next bottle the first special occasion that comes by.
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1983 Château Margaux (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux) Kleur: Zeer diep donkerrood Aroma / bouquet: Zwoel expressief, boers, donker fruit, zoethout, inkt. Smaak / Afdronk: Vanaf de eerste waarneming verbluffend. Vol en krachtig, zachte zuren, boordevol boterzachte tannines, geweldige balans. Royaal in de alcohol. Indrukwekkende lengte met een mooi bittertje. Algemeen / potentieel: Ingeschat als nieuwe-wereld in verband met de kleurdichtheid en de alcohol. Atypische Margaux. Staat nog volop overeind en is nog in ontwikkeling, superkrachtig. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 96/100
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It can't get too much better than this. This was truly elegant, with great finesse and yet an animalistic undertone that made you crave more and more. Surpassed the 1982 for sure. Truly excellent
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1st Gro(w)th Nite at PRIMAs (PRIMA, Walnut Creek): This was, i believe my first Margaux, and in retrospect i think i drank it way too quickly. Couldn't contain my excitement i guess. nose - although it blew off, i swear it first it smelled like freshly diced parsley. I passed the suggestion by Jeff, but dont think i really convinced him. Later red fruit and dirt/dust which made me briefly think of Rutherford dust, just so you have an idea how I would have fared if tasted blind. Per Mario 'leather' mouth - mid bodied, and drinking really fresh despite its age. Cherries, red berries, and herbs. Well balanced, classy, and completely belying its age. I would like another glass, please. Score may be conservative.
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Dinner at home with my friends George, Vassilis, Manos and Costas, without our spouses. Vertical tasting of Ch. Margaux. My second bottle of this amazing wine. As the the first time I opened the bottle, the cork had big problem, but the wine was in perfect condition. It is realy a blockbuster! Muddy but deep ruby in color, with some brown hues to the edges. Nose with scents of forest floor, smoked herbs, mushrooms, cedar, and sandalwood. Medium bodied on the palate with good acidity and well integrated tannins. After some aeration into the glasses reveals flavors of red and black forest fruits, lead pencil, oak and ink. Still has an excellent ageing potential. Perfect match with a mushroom soup which Manos cooked for this exceptional night.
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Just a lovely wine. Soft, round, drinking beautifully. Hugely outshone the '83 Ausone that we drank alongside, but in fairness to the Ausone, the bottle was perhaps not as well cared-for.
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Hugely perfumed, with cassis stony fruits, dark chocolate, and lovely perfume. This is still very primary with just touch of leather. Extremely well balanced and pedigreed . Pure flavors that blend into each other seamlessly. Full bodied, powerful, and simultaneously poised and quick on its feet.. Some bitter chocolate along with a lovely perfumed sweet fruit core. Lovely and very young. Still pretty tannic on the back end. Early peak and great. 96pts.
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1983 Château Margaux (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux) Kleur: Opvallend diep donkerrood Aroma / bouquet: Prachtig tertiair bouquet met een vleugje jammig donker fruit maar vooral koffie, tabak, laurierdrop en een hint van madeira. Smaak / Afdronk: Opvallend krachtig, krachtige zuren, nog boordevol stevige maar prachtig rijpe tannines en daarmee nog supervitaal. Indrukwekkende lengte. Algemeen / potentieel: De wijn maakt een opvallend jeugdige indruk. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 96/100
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It has been a long time since I had a really good bottle of '83 Margaux, but finally it has happened, and from a 375. The nose had a touch of barnyard, with oak and some cinnamon. The palate had oak, plum, currants, sour cherry, with a black licorice finish. The acidity was was still going strong, very nice. Paired with a 750 of '83 Palmer that was a tad better.
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Refined power describes this lovely bottle. With decanting, aromatics of black fruit, cassis and floral notes with hints of tobacco and forest scents are easy to find. More powerful than 83 Palmer, but not as elegantly complex, the lengthy, black fruit filled finish is pure, but shows a bit of rusticity. Still young, additional bottle age will only make this already outstanding wine get better and better
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Wow! Very soft, typical margaux nose of violets, totally ready to drink. Double decanted, then put cork back in and took cork out an hour before drinking. Absolutely stunning wine. Served along with 82, 85, 86 and 90. The 85 was over the hill, probably a victim of storage. The 82 was still tight, after 4 hours in decanter. The 86 opened as the meal progressed, which surprised us, and the 82 did not. The 90 was the one that had a totally different nose and palate. 82, 83 and 86 were obviously Margaux. The 90 could have been from anywhere. The 83 won the wine of the night vote.
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Objects, and Wines, of Vertu (Christie's - New York City): Amazingly elegant nose of cassis, cigar, leather and perfumed cedar. In the mouth this wine is still youthful with chewy and tight tannins that are, at the same time, smooth and refined. Dark chocolate, currants and plums are at the forefront. Very masculine but a very refined wine with years of life still ahead. A+
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Under the recommendation of the sommelier at Pont de La Tour this was not decanted but poured straight from bottle. On reflection i should have gone with my first instinct and insisted he popped it in a jug. Very dense colour for a Margaux noting the age and some fine aromatics. Almost meaty aromas of cassis accompanied by a depth of powerful graphite and lavender perfume eventually came through in glass. Surprisingly tight attack, possibly due to the lack of decanting and rather austere. As a fan of Margaux in general I was a little disappointed by my first foray into the highly rated 1983 vintage. Tannins were rather chewy and a little woody. Closed. I think this is an (expensive!) lesson learned - when you're dealing with wines you know or like then serve them your way, even when faced by the indignation of the "professionals". Next time one of these gets popped it's going into a decanter for a good hour first. No flaws but a potentially great wine badly served. No score.
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This showed young and big and needed quite some time in the decanter to come around. Then that gorgeous earthy perfume of Margaux began to emerge with flavors of liquid violets and minerals with hints of all-spice. Gorgeous and full-bodied and not yet at its peak, this is a classic, somewhat masculine Margaux that finishes long and complex with that haunting character of aged Bordeaux. 95+
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This is a "wow" wine, first out of unopened OWC. Very, very elegant, backward, the wood perfectly integrated. Very inviting nose, broad, fruity. It is still very, very fresh. Again: "wow"!
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A simply stunning Margaux - a textbook example of the glory of aged Bordeaux, this fully mature wine boasts soaring aromas of cherry, crushed flowers, mint, graphite, cedar and grilled rosemary. Almost velvety on the palate, the tannins here are completely integrated, and the flavors persistent, though the finish is notably short.
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Older Bordeaux at Troquet (Boston, MA): Haunting aromatics; a combination of violets, leather, spices, cigar smoke and red and dark fruited flavours merging into one awesome fragrance that keeps expanding and gaining more nuances and dimensions with air. In the mouth it's all silk, most of the flavours from the aromatics echoed on the palate with amazing finesse and elegance; the texture is incredibly smooth and gentle with tannins mostly resolved and good acidity beneath, finishing with great length. Spectacular.
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Blind. 90;68. Beautiful mature looking wine with very dark core. Amber edge. Nose is initially ripe, almost pruny, then opening up and getting much more intense, with spicy black currant and spicebox (Lynn got roses). Later tobacco, smoke and herbs. Very fresh. Mouthfeel is soft, rich and end-to-end. Superb balance. This tastes like a fresh 10 year old wine. Sweet and good intensity. 15 years ago we loved this wine, then it's been a bit iffy but this bottle was exquisite.
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Hiro’s: Medium ruby, light fading; Beautiful nose with nice tertiary notes, just a bit of fruit showing, much more elegant, silky, and dignified compared to the youthful Haut Brion; Very nice balance, just hitting it’s stride. What a beautiful wine. Joe and Bonnie
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Opened with a Florence Meat Market ribeye with an homage-a-Outback-Steakhouse rub. But instead of Foster's or Cokes with free refills in frosty beer mugs with the steak, I decided to go for the Margaux. Still a somewhat backwards wine and not as pleasurable to my taste at this moment as, say, the '81 - it took a few hours in the decanter before the coarse tannin turned into something elegant and it definitely needed the steak fat to get there. Unfortunately the aromatic expressiveness was at its best right out of the gate, filling the air with scents of mesquite and cigar smoke as I decanted it. By the time the palate was at its best, the aroma had kind of shut down, but you got a backdraft of the same stuff on the finish. Especially the cigars. Chateau Margaux has always been a tough-to-grok wine for me - Margaux the commune is supposed to tend towards the feminine but the Chateau itself is sometimes brutishly masculine, and this one definitely fits in that category, at least for the first glass or two. The end of the bottle is a big improvement in finesse over the beginning but I'd still prefer to give this wine another decade or so to let the tannins melt away and give it more transparency.
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Disappointed. As with any mature fist growths, the variability from bottle to bottle can be tremendous. I had one that did not evolve well. Initial taste had promise. The silkiness and the violets with a bit of dark fruit seemed there. Color was good. After an hour only thing left were tannins and vinegar. Bought at an auction.
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Decanted an hour or so before tasting. Deep red still with minimal bricking at 25+ years of age. Initially classically fragrant with Margaux violets, then deep fruit, but not heavy or thick, like many 82 Bordeauxs. Continued to put on depth over the next few hours but never rose to the seamless deep quality the best bottles of this wine have shown. A bit of a disappointment, especially compared to a bottle tasted a year or so ago which was magnificient; bottle variation, apogee of maturity, time will tell.
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Now we began the always fascinating comparison of the excellent '83/'82 duo. Both were true to form. This '83 is a wonderful wine in a "cool" style, Very Cabernet Sauvignon in flavor although I do not know the exact blend. Beautifully ripe, supremely elegant, completely mature. A backlash of perfectly ripe black fruit assaults the back of the palate seemingly giving the taster two hits of wine for each swallow. Fabulous and compelling.
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I wait many years for testing this wine. My first time with Ch. Margaux 1983 and now I realize that it's less seductive than 1982 in nosing and texture.
Anyway, the nice clean and deep typical scent of Ch. Margaux contains a beautiful fruity, elegant style. Perfect balance of the great vintage, very delicious, good sweetness but I can not forget the feeling of 1982...I don't know why....
The aftertaste is great, long long finished than 1982 but still in the fame not go far beyond.
Maybe....maybe I'm not a fan of Ch. Margaux so....dot dot dot....
Drink now - 2022
ps. I've read somewhere lond time ago about Margaux was chosen to be served in the Royal dinner or something like that...I totally agree...this is a table wine of 1st Growth. Easy & delicious.
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LdC Palmer vs. Margaux Dinner (Primehouse): Medium soft red color. medium tight nose of red fruit, spice,and just a hint of heat? Full tight black cherry fruit iwth licorice and spice. Almost a bit austere. Not showing nearly as well as other examples I've had.
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Brought to Neil's B-Day dinner. Decanted 3 hours. I have had a lot of bottle variation with this wine. This one was average. Much darker and thicker than the '82s it was paired against. Great texture, but the fruit was muted.
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Wow, this is developing into a great Margaux with a wonderful nose of tobacco, earth, violets and grilled peanuts. Quite full and powerful with firm but integrated acidity and wonderful depth and richness to the black fruit flavors. Lovely complex notes of tobacco, violets and all-spice on the finely concentrated finished. Yet to reach its zenith, this is a classic Margaux that will live for a long time. 96+
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Matched with 83 Palmer and 83 Pichon Lalande. All were great, but tonight the Margaux won by a hair. Sweet fruit, and simply a touch more sophistication than the Palmer.
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This was the perfect bottle of wine matched up with Sonia's terrific italian cuisine. It had everyhing you can expect from a 100 pointer, dept, complexity, density, fruit and a long lingering after taste. We're having a Margaux vertical next week, would love to see it the 82 can match the 83 right now.
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What a fun bottle to open on New Year's eve. Started off great out of the bottle -- wonderful signature Margaux. Tasted young and had a wonderfully long finish. After a couple of hours, it seemed less balanced, with a little more horse coming through, and less fruit. Nonetheless, a fun treat for New Year's eve.
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Astounding wine. Classic Bordeaux profile. Earthy nose; soft tannins on the palate; big and well-balanced in all respects; 60-second-plus finish. Thanks to Erik and Michele for sharing this treasure.
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Dinner at Cityzen, 82, 86, 89 and 90 first growth and LMHB (Cityzen, Washington DC): The nose is exotic and very expressive, expensive perfume, rose essence, sweet blue fruit, blueberry jam. This is a classic Chateau Margaux and quite different from the 82 which is a bit more kinky. It is as unctuous and shows as primary as the 86 Lafite. I lieu of the price, the best buy.
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This was my first First Growth Bordeaux and my was it unbelievable. We shared this with our bartender friend at Maggiano's who had to painstakingly filter it 3 times due to the cork being shot, however, the wine was in great condition. The best way for me to describe this wine is to begin with the nose and follow up with the taste. As soon as it was brought to the table in the decanter, we could immediately smell it. In fact the waitress walked up and said wow, what a great smell. The nose was like walking through a field of flowers and the taste was like a fine cigar. Amazing wine. Not sure how much life is left to get any better but this was so silky smooth. Our bartender friend said it best. It was so smooth that it was like drinking water. You put the glass down and want to pick it right back up for another sip. Would love to get my hands on another bottle!!!
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Certainly a wonderful wine. Bottle, fill and cork all excellent. Popped, decanted and let breath for an hour. Lovely wine , nice aromatics, everything in place. As a bit of an experiment, I served this wine with no fanfare to friends at dinner anonymously. Everyone liked it and enjoyed it with dinner, but no one was ecstatic and asking "what is this wine?". I loved it and watched with great interest as no one had a revelatory experience. I believe that this was something of a lesson on expectation in that we are often most impressed when a noteworthy wine is served and performs well. However, we may enjoy a good wine with dinner without knowing its pedigree. I wonder if they would have enjoyed it even more had they known its identity or would I not knowing the wine.
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third bottle I've had of this in the last year, the other two would get perfect scores, while I found this bottle never reached the same highs. It's very muted upon opening and takes a good hour to come through, very thick and velvety, dark red and very concentrated. Nose is pretty discreet while in the mouth it's terrifically complex whilst well balanced, dark red fruits, cherry and mocca, finish is slightly dry, this got plenty of life still ahead.
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Opened and decanted for 2 hours before drinking with lamb, this is a fullbodied, concentrated, powerful aromatic wine but has lost it's fruit. Extremely tannic Margaux with a black purple color, the nose is tobacco, cassis, black fruit and oak. Agree with austincarty that it was thinning need to drink my remaining too soon i think. I kept it overnight to finish the last third of the bottle next day, by then it had lost it's firmness but the aroma was till there.
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Ullaged to low neck. Heavy sediment. Good cork, no leak. Decanted 8 hours. Clear. Tannins dominated nose and palate immediately on opening. These were softer when it cam to drinking but fruit never really shone through. Obviously a noble wine but this was a rather thin example. Drunk beside 1982 Mouton Rothschild which was much better. Meal of pheasant casserole.
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Astoundind and exhilirating, this is a fullbodied, concentrated, powerful blockbuster. An unusually tannic Margaux with a black purple color, the nose is a perfume of vilolets in the garden, tobacco, cassis, black fruit and oak. Classic, earthy Bordeaux in a bottle, the history of the terroir flashes into my present senses with the never ending perfectly balanced but multitudinous in flavors finish.
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Horizontal tasting of 1983 bordeaux (Institute of Directors, London): Broader and riper than the Rausan, dry, quite austerely so, but very substantial on the palate - this seemed to grow and grow in power and authority - really grand - a few complained that this lacked nuance, but for me the classical grandeur of this wine was a thing of wonder
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Chateau Margaux can be elegant, the old style, or it can be powerful, the new style. I think the 83 for whatever reason is the last Chateau Margaux made in the subtle albeit rich elegant style that was long the hallmark of Chateau Margaux. This wine is very very aromatic with some leather and blueberries on the palate. But it seems to be drying out - a certain astringency. And storage is not the problem. On this night, the new style powerful 1990 showed better as a wine, but the 1983 better captured the food - sirloin and vegetables. In the context of the mediocre vintage of 1983, the Margaux appelation stood out. My thought is that we should not make too much of that. This wine may keep, but it won't get better.
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Bob and Lulu Devere came last evening for dinner with the Mayos and brought this wine as a gift.
The color is a deep garnet with some brick at the edges but the outer edge was clear. The nose is moderately open with scents of red and black cherries, boysenberries and rosehips. The taste is balanced and still has some acid and tannin to keep it lively. The taste yields flavors of cherry tart, kirsch and wild mushroom but lacks earthiness. It is a very fine wine but lacks the magic of the now famous 1981 which we had just the day before.
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This Margaux has finally softened in a positive way so that the texture is more velvety and the elements more integrated. Fully mature. I may have over decanted this bottle (3 hours) because the bouquet immediately after opening was enticingly beautiful but it soon went into hiding in the glass. Still the sheer class of this Margaux can not be denied. I preferred this to the '83 Palmer this night although the Palmer seemed the bigger wine despite its lighter color.
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Auction bottle held 1 year. Opened in the morning, kept in bottle, in cellar, until service in the evening. In fantastic shape. Beautiful mature color, light bricking. This fragrance still haunts. It evokes the Margaux signature floral and cassis, with the shading from a beautifully ripe and maturing Bordeaux Grand Cru. Long, balanced, elegant and seductive, besting a still-young 1995 Latour served the same evening, to one veteran wine instructor specializing in Italian wines, this wine was finally "proof" that France did make great wine! When shared for others to experience something special, this wine is worth the tariff, even by today's inflated standards, for absolute classic and gorgeous 25+ year old Bordeaux. First rate.
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Saved this for special occasion. I would not say that I was disappointed because it was a good wine. Decanted, then drank it over the next two hours. Got noticably better over time. Good tannins. Just did not blow me away.
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I was disappointed. Saved for a special occasion and it was noticeably average. The bottle was given to me so I am not sure if it was stored properly. Cork came out easier than I wanted to see but had not seeped. Try again.
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With its concentrated aromatics with hints of black cherry liqueur and cedar is a stellar wine. M concentrated than the 82 as well as tannic. This wine was produced in a very powerful style.
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Wonderful floral nose, very lively. No bricking. Palate: hints of cedar and cheese with tannins still lingering. Balanced. Spectacular with a lot of life left.
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My biases first. I have a love affair with this vintage. I have had this wine 37 times since 1985. I love this wine compared to many other Margaux's. In my opinion it is the most underated Margaux in the history of the Chateau with 1961 and 1962 closely behind. The 1983 Margaux is magnificient. The bottle was in perfect shape and from my cellar. We drank this in a small vertical I brought with me. The wine as opened for 24 hrs. The color was garnet to ruby with a yellow meniscus. The bouquet in this wine always fools the taster. You always get the wet clay leather lead pencil and spice and cedar. But what happens when you taste this wien is surreal. It always overshoots the nose. The first sip this tiem revealed chapters of flavors that never ended. I got herb spice cassis currants berry mocha tobacco brett graphite citrus floral cherry and dark berry flavors. I broke for writing these notes and smelled and swirled more. I got more complexity in the nose and had to gulp and taste more. Now it revealed straw and raspberry and licorice smoked meat with cedar and cream. The finish is always long massive and complex. the construction and backbone of this wine is built for massive aging. I have always found the 83 to be far superior to the 1982 and this time was no exception. The end of this wine is smooth and extremely complex. I got many new flavors like nutty cigar box with kiwi and cassis and pesto herbs. The wine is just unreal. I love drinking it to see it evolve. Every time is a an affair of the heart and mind. This wine is a must add to any cellar. Rating up to 99 form 97 Still has 30 plus yrs left.
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Tasted alongside the 1983 Pichon Lalande. Not as good in comparison. This is still an awesome wine. In fact I think there is more structure here. The color is clearer, still quite red. The aromas begin more perfumed, with flowers and purple fruit aromas. Then goes to a grape smell almost like a cough syrup reduction( not in a bad way), or grape alcohol. The tannic backbone in this wine is much more noticeable than the Lalande. Is it too sweet. I believe that this wine could use a couple of more years to be at its peak. In the end it is now and will be an awesome in the future.
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Margaux vs. Palmer Dinner, served in single blind flights (Primehouse - Chicago IL): Single blind 82/83 Margaux/Palmer flight. Big and powerful fruit on nose, then continuing on to the palate. Anise and spice aromatics as well. Rich flavors shows both red and black fruit, which gave this great complexity for me. I liked this wine better than most people tonight, some of whom thought it more lean than some of the others in the flight that were showing blacker, darker fruit.
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it's hard to believe i was only 5 years old when these grapes grew. garnet center with bricking at the rim. this doesn't look like how i'd expect a 25 year old wine to look, although this is the oldest bottle i've had. we had a wonderful year with the birth of our first son, promotion at work, ability for my wife to remain at home to raise our son, and so on. needless to say, we wanted to celebrate a year well lived and this was certainly a nice adjunct following a nv krug grand cuvee. intense nose of cassis, cedar, tobacco, and interestingly coconut. medium body. elegant and blissful on the palate with cassis, sweet oak, and silky mouthfeel. impeccably balanced. not terribly complex and a bit too much oak. this certainly would detract points if i awarded them. finish lingers as long as you care to pay attention. oak still present. overall an incredibly well made wine although not much to contemplate. it is what it is, and it's very fine despite my complaints. not exactly what i'm looking for in a bordeaux, but a hell of an education at the very least and wonderful way to welcome the new year.
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Bought this wine at auction 15 years ago after a Margaux tasting at which I thought the "83 was one of the best. Garnet colored. Decanted for an hour and a half. Expansive nose dominated by tobacco, saddle leather and spices.Tremendous length. Drinking beautifully at this age.
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I did not add a back label to this bottle, so it probably was an original release from the Chicago Wine Company. It certainly looked pristine with excellent color and a mid neck fill. I decanted it for 4 hours before bringing it stoppered to 11 Maple with Greg, Brian and the Cataldos. This bottle seemed quite a bit different from all the previous ones I have drunk. There was a LOT of vanilla, even coconut, on the nose and the wine was almost sweetly ripe. Not exactly a bad thing, but puzzling. Still, it's so delicious I just had to rate it a 90. Others liked it even better than I.
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Dark garnet red color. This beaut took a good hour to start strutting its stuff. Dark and brambly wine with all of the classic Margaux features. Cedar, tobacco, blackberrys and cassis. Just enough oak where you notice it but it certainly is the lipstick on an extremely pretty girl.
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Raid the Cellar Party at BWB. Another great wine. Just beautiful. Elegant, refined, lovely sweet fruit. Drinking perfectly right now and at it's peak I think.
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Offline with Jonathan Dinh (Seattle, WA): Mmm, funky goodness, cedar and horse with a slight green edge. Even as others raved, I found this a bit leathery in the mid-palate. Some notes of balsamic. A very firm finish. This is a big, spiny wine, but ultimately it was a difficult match next to the entrancing 1990 Cheval Blanc.
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Earthy forest notes, flowers and cassis. Very concentrated and full bodied perfectly combining depth with complexity. Still youthfully tannic. The palate enjoys copious amounts of ripe black, red and blue fruit dipped in chocolate.
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Chateau Margaux vertical (11 Madison Park in NYC): Warm, soft, full fruit with dark punch in the middle. Very well integrated. Herb and mint, very complex. Beautiful with an extremely long finish. Denser than the 1982, although not quite as elegant. Awesome. A/A+
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Brick red, dense colour. V/elegant boquet with smoked wood. More of that smoky wood on the palate, still some tanins. Quite well balanced as it is, but I wonder how much longer this will last, as there is not that much acidity.
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HDH Pre-Auction Tasting Highlights (Chicago IL): Wine tasting. Floral start with great black cherry and black currant, then some tobacco hints. Same intense black fruit on palate with great anise and pepper. Long structure finish shows multiple layers of flavor and great complexity and spice. Still getting better.
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Best bottle of my life. grilled violets, melting strawberries, minty cedar sparks, ripe warm plums, warm leather, peat, pencil, pork fat. absolutely in its prime. worth 400 dollars? Bay Wee. 50 second finish seems to increase in intensity! This wine is a shade more lush, and two years younger than the 1982. A beautiful thing, this wine. I prefer it to even myself, i fear.
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Darker than the ‘79 and ‘81 Margaux, the 1983 shows notes of cassis, blackberry, and black cherry. A very fruity wine, especially considering its age. Aromatically piercing in the mouth. Well structured. Now perfectly mature. 93-94
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From the cellar, cork deeply stained but completely intact. Decanted for a 30 minutes. Rich garnet color with no obvious browning. Beautiful rich nose of red fruit. On the palate classic with medium texture. Round tannins that attenuated nicely. What a treat!
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The Wine Summit; 6/2/2006-6/3/2006 (The Post Hotel in Lake Louise): Tasted from magnum. Interesting evolution of color – mature, but less so than the 1989 – more mahogany color – good density evident on swirling; magnificent bouquet – intoxicating medley of spice and cedar – cassis and a pungent scent of cigar box; terrific balance and harmony – cassis is the dominant flavor, but there are nuances of different spices; oak is fully integrated; very long, satisfying finish, where all of the elements continue. I could taste this one seemingly for several minutes. An elegant, stylish Margaux in all of the classical notions.
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Yet another dinner with GD and bro, ribeyes, lemon broccoli and a pear/golden balsamic salad that was terrific. Once again, a lovely velvety mouthfeel with a sweet underpinning of complex floral/herbal/cassis elements that slid down one's throat all too easily. Less tannic than the previous bottle but still present, a nice nose but still more reticent than I would have liked. Nice persistence but not stunning. Plenty of life left.Both this and the last bottle purchased from KL Wines a few years ago, marked with the sticker "from a private cellar". I'd rate this as good but not great bottle, a treat to drink. Wonder what a really good bottle would be like...
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eBob tasting - Deep black/purple color. Lovely rich ripe aroma of sweet red cassis fruit and hints of violet. Lovely rich ripe chocolate and lavendar fruit. Very nice. Mid 90s. Interestingly, these two wines were split for WOTF, but only the Margaux got a couple WOTN votes. 2/06
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Good Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone Dinner (Custom House - Chicago IL): Charming aromas of ripe red and black fruit, violet floral elements, and spice form both fruit and oak. Same great fruit profile on the palate, with some early emerging signs of secondary development. Very nuanced with great textures and unfolding layers of flavor. Still getting better.
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This outstanding wine was a step behind the competition on this night - '82 Margaux and '83 Palmer. It's a more cerebral type of wine which is more developed than the other two but less intense. More structured, more acidic , "cooler" than these others. By itself, it probably would show a bit better. Still, just about outstanding by any measure. It seems mature now and it will be interesting to follow its development over the years.
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Wow, I really love this wine. Of the four times I have had it, each time has been fantastic. Drank Saturday night with dinner at my place. Opened and drank from the bottle since my two decanters did not survive a cross country move. This wine did not show it's age, no bricking that I could see. Very very smooth with loads of fruit and violets. This wine must have had impeccable storage because it tasted so much younger than any of my previous bottles. Would love to have more that is in the shape of this one. This is one of the best wines I have ever had.
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Seattle Tasting Group does Quilceda Creek (Seattle, WA): I snuck this in as a ringer, but as it turned out it was not a good bottle. I loved the nose which showed leather, cedar, some menthol and a hint of roast beef. This was clearly a different animal from the Quilceda. The palate though was tough, tannic and quite dry by comparison. I did find that it opened up well to yield nice, plummy fruit and good, silky length and depth. I even rated it as 93 points, but knowing this wine, it was clearly a slightly oxidized bottle. So officially, this is NR. (BTW, 1/3 of a bottle of leftovers were still hanging on fairly well 24 hours later.)
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STG Quilceda Creek tasting at Eric Levine's house. The night's ringer, and Eric felt it to be an off bottle, maybe slightly corked. Lots of lightening of color with an earthy nose. After the vibrant '87 Quilceda Creek this seemed a little flat with not much going for it except some bacon aromas. 50+9+8+5+5 = 77
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Healthy garnet color -- no browning. Sound bottle from a good source -- yet, it seemed to lack the stuffing of previous bottles. Cherry fruit, cedar, and floral perfume. Lacks the layered palate -- tasty but not especially deep, lush, or profound. Still, very nice -- finishes reasonably long. Very sound, but not the best bottle.
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1982-83-89 Bordeaux at Masa's in San Francisco: Deepest color of the flight, this wine initially shows a reserved nose that only partly opens with time. In the mouth, this wine is marked by the great purity of its fruit, with excellent grip on the powerful finish. This seems less sweet and more structured than the others of the flight, giving it a decidedly youthful character. This should continue to improve nicely with bottle age.
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This wine really stood out in the flight. Much darker than the other ‘83’s, bright dark ruby with in color showing no signs of its age. The nose was initially tight but continued to expand and open in the glass over the night. Still a bit primary, the wine has incredibly concentrated sweet fruit and is perfectly balanced. This wine will continue to improve with another 3-8 years in the cellar and should have a very long life.
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Drunk 4/24/2005 with GD at dinner, carnivore's special. Dark ruby to the rim, with just that hint of bricking to suggest a maturing wine. Nose sweet and berried, not soaring from the glass but present. Hint of a floral element. Sweet and round on the taste, tannins are still present. Spherical wine, still fresh and youthful at 22 years of age. Reticent nose and good but not great length are only disappointments. An excellent bottle of wine. 93 points.
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The best of the 83' First Growth flight, great nose, good structure, and very elegant...the tannins seem to be fully resolved and the wine had a wonderful mouth feel. I would like to believe that it would have been fresher....it seemed a bit dull in the mid palate and the flavor profile faded in the back end. This may have been a storage issue prior to my purchasing the bottles in 1995.
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Bordeaux Legends with Leve at Sona (Los Angeles, CA): I have had better examples of this, although this was a very nice wine. Spicy and cedary on the nose, the palate was very tight with an unusually hard core of graphite and mineral. With an extra 45 minutes in the glass this came around, but it never delivered the open, lush, sexy goods that I would expect from a 95+ wine.
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Hugh's bottle, purchased on release. Exceptionally backward for this great wine. Hugh says other bottles from the same case have been more developed. Cedary and loaded with dark berries, but dominated by tannins, though the tannins are round. Clearly outstanding, but based on this bottle, it needs at least 5 more years.
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The perfume was intoxicating, candied fruit, flowers, truffles, wet forests and cedar notes that continued to expand in the glass. Very dense, opulent and extremely concentrated. Viscous, chewy, sensuous, decadent, black fruit filled every nook and cranny of you palate. This will evolve and improve for another 20-25 years or more if well stored.
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Prime Rib and Fabulous Wines: I am not even sure how to describe this wine. It was the most elegant, perfumed, balanced, and profound wine I've had yet. Every guest loved this wine and it was gone so fast that I didn't even get a chance to get seconds. I guessed Bordeaux and thought it to be from the mid-80s. Phenomenal. WOTN.
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A bitter disappointment. The wine is rather closed and does not open up. After 5 1/2 hours of decanting, the nose became a bit finer but the palate died. Hands off 83s 1s GCs for me.
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2004 WS Wine Experience: Ch. Margaux Vertical (Hyatt Regency, Chicago): Said Suckling: “Upon release, there was general consensus within the Margaux appellation that ’83 was better than ’82. It is now showing lovely fruit and elegance.” Said Pontallier: “I am suddenly smelling a floral aspect that never belonged to the vintage. To me, this signals that the wine is ready to start drinking.” I thought the ’83 was less concentrated and intense than the other vintages on the table, yet was still fairly tannic on the finish. $350
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WS CWE 2004 - Margaux Vertical (Marriott Marquis): ex Chateau at WS event - Opaque black red color. Medium aroma of round red fruit and clean acidity. Nice balance spicy blackcurrent red fruit. Lithe and effeminent. Others detected clear violet on the nose. A crowd favorite, but lacked the fruit and concentration of 82/89/90 in my opinion. 11/04
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Dinner at Rubicon and a surreal pre-tasting (San Francisco, CA): This got off to a slow start and took an hour to really open up. Molasses and cinnamon could be found on the soaring nose. The palate is huge and broad, very tannic with so much structure yet to resolve. Nonetheless, with time this is absolutely delightful.
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Tasted with Eric and Tracy. The nose was luxorious with loads of violets, cedar, and smoke. For the first time really saw why people compare Quilceda to Margaux. The palate was defined by the perfect balance. On top of that it was smooth, soft, and velvety with loads of fruit and structure. The fruit was so sweet, it was almost candied. A touch of chalk was evident on the finish.
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Decadence (Issaquah, WA, USA): We elected to decant just before serving, and this one took some time to open up. Deeply tannic and showing massive structure at first, this opened up to show a spicy nose, cedary, smoky, violet, a hint of leathery barnyard, iron and lead. The palate was so earthy and loamy, silky smooth, screaming with minerals. Over the course of a few hours this showed such opulent and lush texture, remarkable mouthfeel, gaining weight and nice sweetness around the edge. I flirted with 97 points but ended up at 96. Absolute heaven with the steak.
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I had this wine 2 months ago and it was an amazing etheral 100 point wine, so I was really looking forward to this tasting. Fill level was good, there was a bit of seepage around the cork and the cork slid out a bit easier than I would have liked. Unfortunately, the bottle was corked. That said, I couldn't bring myself to not drink any and tried my best to drink around the TCA. Great mouthfeel and awesome finish, but I'm unable to rate the bottle. Bummer.
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Drank this beauty with Nicole and her (entire!) family, May '04; dinner at our house. For dinner I prepared a Chateaubriand, and we also had the '83 Mouton Rothschild. Enough background, on to the tasting note. Still youthful in appearance, with no amber at the edges. Complex aromas of ripe black fruits, earth, and animal. Quite impressive on the palate, with a long finish; still some tannins to resolve though. Always amazing to me how great Bordeaux can be so full-bodied and flavorful, but not heavy in the mouth. This wine was special.
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Dark red. Scents of leaves, and mint- menthol. Large bodied, powerful, deep and intense with stupendous power. There was a great interplay between power, elegance and flavour nuance. The taste was sweet, chocolate caramel like and there was plenty of complexity, layers of dimensions and a long, balanced aftertaste. I have had bad luck with this wine in the past, but this bottle was excellent.
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My first ever 3 digit score. The wine before it was the 82 LLC, which I gave 99. When I tasted this, it was better. What I had to score it was pretty obvious. Here are my notes verbatim from my book- soft cassis, wow, everything, simply amazing.
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Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' (Sammamish, WA, USA): This was served alongside 1982 Leoville Las Cases and 1982 Pichon Lalande, the most glorious three wines I have ever had together and 299 points of pleasure. The nose showed sweetness with some licorice and floral elements, simply soaring out of the glass. The palate was exotic, massively layered, supercharged. If there is one knock on this perfect wine it is a slight hint of drying tannin on the finish, but who cares. This was so intense, complex and gorgeous! (Group average 97.56)
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Beautiful bright plum red colour, still appears very youthful with a very small rim. Excellent nose, cassis and cigar box / pencil shavings together with some spicy notes. Very complex and with an attractive lofted & perfumed character. Mass of slightly peppery blackberry fruit, hefty quantity of ripe tannin, balanced by fruit and acidity. Tremendous length, shows a very ripe character, quite simply delicious. A (CECWINE)
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Distinctly different from the ‘82. Cooler, more backward, less lush, more classical and reserved. Resembles the ‘83 Palmer more than the ‘82 Margaux. Will benefit from yet more time.
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Wine tasting. Ripe black fruit on nose, lively and vibrant. Good spice. Still mostly primary and powerful, this was evolving interestingly between the two times I tasted it today, 60 minutes apart.I expect some really nuanced elegance to develop with more time, this is a wine I'd rather appreciate with a full glass and some time vs. at a tasting today.
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Tasted at Patrick & Naoko's. Brick at the time. Spicy nose, dusty, a little hot. On the palate somewhat thin and acidic, feels old but not in a good way. Tasted a bit better the second time through the lineup, but still the same wine. Guessed '83 Quilceda. Wrong! It's the '83 Margaux.
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A weird beet-root scent meets the nose. Not really my cup of tea. Mmhhh. Hmmm. It sure is a nice, big structure, but for me this isn't really singing big-time like some of the above-mentioned contenders. Lovely long aftertaste. Ahh, just that thing missing.
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Absolutely magnificent. Now mature. Gorgeous aroma and flavors off all sorts of red and black berries. Concentrated but not heavy. Sweet. What Château Margaux is all about.
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Just beginning to turn color at the edge. Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. The Margaux charm shines through. Very inviting. Beginning to mature but still some bitterness in the finish. Delicious with duck and lamb at the Great Wine Seminar.
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1983 Bordeaux Vintage Tasting (Lafayette, Ca.): Brilliant red color in the glass, started with lots of chocolate and coffee on the nose than faded, same in the mouth, smooth, easy tasting, well balanced, at peak, will last 4+ years, very beautiful finish, got better and bettrer as the tasting went on, viscous, not quite elegant.
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1988 Bordeaux Tasting (Lafayette, Ca.): Little hint of acid, closed nose, opened slowly, nice fruit, fruit forward, soft cherry nose and taste, medium body, and medium finish, needs time to peak. My #1 and Group #2.
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At Singer & Foy survey of '83 Bordeaux. Just a blockbuster color. Deep, incredibly dark ruby color. Definitely the best, healthiest color of the bunch so far. Great legs, too. The nose is pretty closed--but underneath, I'll bet there beats a heart of tremendous fruit. On the palate, it is just beginning to open up to reveal layers of fruit. Complex. This baby just needs a little more time before it explodes into a long-lived and really lovely maturity. 5-11-17-9: 92/100.
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With MPL and BLR at a late lunch the day before Thanksgiving at Prego in SF. Excellent medium-dark ruby color. Pretty. Good perfume, but shy. Complex, but still closed. Good rather than great. May be great someday, but not now. Maybe Parker's nuts. 5-10-15-8: 88/100.
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5/18/2024 - finnyboy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Strawberries and ripe greengage plum with a savoury herb basket, ripe berries strewn with cream
Fresh acidity makes it seem much younger
Still a red core with bricking evident around the rim
Delicious
Drink now
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5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
Everything a mature Margaux should be with an amazing silky texture and a complex, refined finish. Not a blockbuster by any means but the great Margaux elegance shows here in spades. Fully mature and ready.
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2/19/2024 - Floyd77 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wine of the vintage?
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2/3/2024 - ruffsurf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bought as futures. Stored at 55F. Brought to dinner at NY steak restaurant. Waiter nearly lost the cork but managed to screen out wet bits away from the decanter. Moderate sediment at bottom of bottle. Amazing this one still has minimal bricking. Aromatic with muted tobacco notes. Minimal yet sufficient tannins balanced nicely with darkish fruit notes and held up well with fatty steak. This one is still in the perfect drinking zone which, honestly, you could probably still say so in 10 years. BTW, the case cost me $350 back in 1984!
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1/25/2024 - peternelson Likes this wine: 94 Points
A bit darker than the '95 (even though this is a '83); minerals, iron, silky smooth, balanced, meaty, complex, I thought this was very young and youthful! (guessed 2000). Was this really a 1983? My 2nd fav of the night, 4th fav overall.
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1/22/2024 - Dionysos55 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Après une bouteille bouchonnée en 11-2023,voici la réconciliation avec cette quille.La robe reste opaque malgré les 40 ans sonnés...Bouquet phénoménal d'intensité et de complexité où la majesté du cabernet sauvignon règne en maître: cassis,cèdre,menthol,chêne,épices,mine de crayon,toute la panopli est bien présente c'est fabuleux !!!!
La bouche a des airs d'une adolescente de 15 ans certes les tanins sont fondus mais c'est d'une puissance à nulle autre pareille,sans aucune faille et on perçoit une suavité magnifique,une quintessence du cépage majoritaire.Ce vin peut encore tenir plusieurs décennies...Seul bémol:le bouchon fortement imbibé,extrait avec un Durand of course.I l faut absolument le remplacer pour augurer des meilleurs auspices pour les 40 ans à venir.J'allais oublier:longueur impressionnante de plus de 25 secondes....83 a engendré des merveilles dans l'appellation Margaux je me souviens de crus bourgeois étincelants en 2003....Il m'en reste encore....
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1/17/2024 - ipp Likes this wine: 98 Points
Now is the time. Drinking perfectly. After four decades, still has beautiful color with NO bricking. Big, vibrant nose of mushrooms, underbrush, lavender and hints of dark fruit. Fantastic acidity in perfect harmony and balance with silky tannins. Near perfect.
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1/4/2024 - wineton.mee wrote: 96 Points
83 is not an exceptional vintage but for what they did here at Margaux, it’s worthy of a standing ovation. Opulently perfumed and dense nose, bursting full of dried and fresh roses, but not out of control. There is a ton of nuance here in the form of tobacco, peppers, rose water, leather, cherry fruit and ripe strawberries. The wine is full bodied, with silky resolved tannin. Not a mega blockbuster like the 86 but is so darn complex and full of minerality. Suave finish. While this is pretty much drinking at peak right now, it will probably remain in this state for quite a while still.
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12/31/2023 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
20 Top Wines of the 1983 Vintage: Six Bordeaux titans. Each bottle exceeded our expectations, showcasing classic Bordeaux structures, bursting with freshness, tension, and an invigorating verve. The perfect harmony of tertiary aromas and a robust fruit core was mesmerizing. 1983 has produced some great wines drinking in their prime today. For me, the Latour, scoring a stellar 97 points, was the standout star. Yet, by a narrow margin, the group’s heart went to the Cheval Blanc.
TN: This was the best, most open 1983 Margaux I’ve had to date. Medium expressive dark fruit, earthy minerality on the nose. Screams elegance. On the palate this is more intense and more open. There are layers and layers of fine ripe dark and still some red fruit notes. Lots of esrthy notes and crushed rocks, some herbs and smoke notes. This is so elegant, light and airy, almost Pinot-esque in its stature and still with lots of intensity. While it is drinking wonderfully today, this can continue to improve for a few more years and more tertiary aromas coming forward and adding further to the complexity. 95/96pts
Decanting: Quick double decant to remove the sediment 5-6 hours prior to consumption, which seemed perfect for the wine.
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12/28/2023 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
12x Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993: All wines tasted single blind. Not decanted. As anticipated, the 1983 vintage prevailed in our comparative tasting, scoring 8 to 2 wins against the 1993 vintage, with two ties. The structured, classic ’83s exhibited greater depth and harmony compared to the ‘93s, which tended to be simpler, sometimes slightly green and dry, or at their best, fresh and light. However, in both vintages, aside from a few notable labels, many wines were evidently beyond their peak. The standout was, unsurprisingly, the Margaux (94pts). Tasting the some of the same ’83s a second time a few days later with decanting showed a marked improvement, highlighting the need of aeration.
TN: On the nose, it's rather muted, revealing only subtle hints of minerality and ash, with faint dark fruit in the background. The palate is more impressive, showcasing fresh dark red fruit, cola, and minty notes. It has a fine structure, marked by good freshness and balance. Over time, it blossoms into a more expressive, round, and satin-like profile, centered around a superb, intense fruit core. While the nose remains somewhat simple, the palate is delightful. Scores 93/94pts, surpassing the 88pts of the 1993 in the next glass. The palate alone could merit 95/96pts. A second, properly decanted bottle a few days later got 96pts, confirming that the 1983 Margaux needs substantial air to fully express its qualities.
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12/7/2023 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Holiday Dinner - Mostly Bordeaux (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Beautiful floral nose displaying perfectly ripe red fruit with a hint of black, cherry, strawberry, a hint of cassis, lead pencil, rose, sweet spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of delicious red and black fruit, exceptional balance, precision and detail, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and a long generous red fruit driven finish with a hint of rose and lead pencil at the end. My wine of the flight, really floral and almost Burgundian.
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11/25/2023 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
40 years on: A global 1983 retrospective: Winter spices, elegant, purple fruit, good but somehow this just didn't really hit the balance and remaind a bit bulky
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11/25/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 97 Points
1983 vintage horizontal with >20 wines, mostly from Bordeaux. Key observations: 1/ Acceptable vintage for Champagne with DP over-delivering, 2/ Laville Haut Brion is a masterpiece among the whites, 3/ Bordeaux is going strong at 40 years of age with stand-outs Latour and Margaux. 4/ No need to chase any Napa’s from the vintage, 5/ off-piste Italians kept up impressively with Soldera an undisputed medalist.
Tasting note:
Double-decanted. An extraordinarily fine and elegant wine. Fine smoky base with mineral accents, a red cherry fruit, sous-bois from aging and even a touch of sweet spice. A gracefully aged palate, still with juicy freshness, well balanced with supple tannin. This performed better than the bottle just a few days earlier. At this event this outshone a still solid Palmer ’83.
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11/21/2023 - Dionysos55 wrote: flawed
Bouchonnée J'ai les boules...
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11/20/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 90 Points
Bordeaux 1983 vs 1993 face-off: Still quite intense with leather notes and a cherry fruit, but this already tasted unripe from the start. Slightly metallic and with a bit of imagination also a touch of menthol. The palate with solid structure, present and not as unripe of a fruit as I expected. Still rather mouthcoating tannin, even though the texture was acceptably soft. This failed to impress, but I note that another bottle a few days later performed leagues better.
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11/5/2023 - aquacongas wrote: 98 Points
blind
I guessed Margaux 82 or 83. Phantastique wine. Still not reached his peak but coming closer. Still primary fruits with nicely tertiary aromas. 98
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10/31/2023 - enthusiastic_amateur Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great color, deep and dark. Nose was quintessential Margaux, very refined. Medium+ fruit on the mid-palate. Good backbone of fine tannin and acid. Tasted over 4 hours, began to fade and dry at the end.
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10/23/2023 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is a thrilling and glorious vintage of Château Margaux drinking at its absolute peak. There’s a bit of tawny at the rim but the center is deeply ruby. Immediately you are hit with a blast of sweet violet, rose and blackberry fragrance. Medium full on the palate with just a trace of excess acidity if you want to pick a nit. Warm and long finish. Clearly better than the great majority of the coarser and less elegant 1982 version.
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10/23/2023 - Frank Schneider wrote: 100 Points
Perfection ! Has years and years !
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10/15/2023 - georgeohr wrote:
Very good. Plenty of life left…..
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10/11/2023 - hprphf wrote: 94 Points
Another reliable performer, lighter than the 2000 on the side, greatly resolved, clean, spicy. 94-95
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10/2/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Chateau Margaux is the wine of the vintage. The perfume, with is essence of dried and fresh flowers, cherries, plums, currants, earth, forest leaves and tobacco wrapper is backed up by the wines intensity, purity, length and silky, sensuous textures. No decanting needed. Pop, pour and enjoy this stunner for several more years. Drink from 2023-2040.
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8/30/2023 - NoahCap wrote:
YESSSS! This bottle is bang-on! Deep garnet, barely any bricking at all. The nose is intense, deep, concentrated, pipe tobacco, red currants, black cherries, raspberry sauce, oiled leather, freshly turned earth. It smells so pleasant, complex yet cohesive. Just wonderful.
In the mouth, body and acidity are medium, tannins are fine grained and bit drying, definitely present. Perfect balance between a tight core of red fruits along with tertiary flavors of tobacco, truffle, tilled soil, cedar. The finish is long long long, full or dark fruit flavors; I feel like I can taste this all night after a single sip.
What a fantastic wine. I've heard that there is bottle variation, but this bottle is amazing. It held up magnificently in the decanter over 4 hrs being opened and didn't fade at all. Very impressive. Tough to generalize to all bottles, but this one could have gone another 10+years easy. Perfect accompaniment to filet mignon with morel cream sauce for an early 40th bday dinner. I wish I didn't have such expensive taste...
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8/26/2023 - elrascuache Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep purple with minimal fading on rim (to our surprise). Decanted 750ml bottle for 15 minutes to remove sediment. Big and generous bouquet of truffles, tobacco leaf, cedar, tarragon, strawberries, dried plums, and red currants. The palate is silky with super fine, integrated tannins with some medium-low acidity. Drank over the course of our meal (about 1.5 hours). Unless in large formats, drink now and enjoy this wonderful wine at its peak.
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8/19/2023 - glou.sf wrote:
A celebration of 1983: From 5L. Probably not a good bottle, this felt musty but not corked.
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7/16/2023 - Rani Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dried herbs. Sous bois and cedar. Red and black currants, very elegant, fine velvety tannins and a medium length. Terrific.
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7/14/2023 - DWStyle wrote: 95 Points
Had a class at a private dinner. I would like to spend more time with this wine in the future, it is worth further investigation for sure. Pretty wine all the way around . PAULST has covered the wine details perfectly in his numerous reviews so he saved me some typing! 👍 What he said Lol!
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7/9/2023 - rc@ughey wrote: 96 Points
Out of Magnum at my 40th birthday party. This was the main event and it didn’t disappoint. Crazy fresh out of a Magnum with a fill into the neck, this shows sexy dark fruit with floral notes and an alluring inner sweetness. Really drinkable and attractive, on the precipice of true maturity. This was consumed all-too-quickly. WOTN for me, just a hair ahead of the Palmer. I have a second magnum that I’m saving for my 50th.
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7/9/2023 - Disgustaeer Likes this wine: 97 Points
Fruit is fading, a little black Currant left, cedar, graphite, mostly tertiary at first. After about an hour I thought it improved and I actually got some more dark fruits coming thru. Some floral notes as well maybe lilac.
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6/29/2023 - sirthud Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still some fruit, but mainly tertiary notes. Acid has help up, but fishier on the finish. Was a joy to drink, but on the decline.
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6/12/2023 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Top shelf 1983 Bordeaux (Chicago, IL): Very youthful and tight bottle that didn't really seem to unfurl over the course of the dinner. I didn't even get much perfume, but there was plenty of dark, black fruit and a leathery quality on the tannins. Unfortunately we couldn't really do the comparison next to the Palmer, as it probably wasn't a representative bottle.
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6/8/2023 - MC2 Wines wrote: flawed
Wine Workshop: Chateau Margaux (Gabriel Kreuther): I have heard many times about the enjoyment of a 1983 Margaux that many say surpasses the ‘82 and many other great wines. Alas it will have to be another day when I find out if that is true as this wine wasn’t quite on the ball.
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6/6/2023 - csimm wrote:
TOP SHELF WINE WEEKEND: The nose and the palate match, with a sherry liqueur note that stays prominent throughout the delivery. Finishes with a bite. Muddled and stewed cherries, mushroom, leather, golden raisin, and pink roses. The flavors were so delicate that they were mostly overpowered by the brown whiskey and sherry type notes nipping at the palate, fading quickly.
The Cellar Tracker drinking window here says 2019-2040. I will politely raise an eyebrow with such a spectrum and simply say that it was an honor to try this wine and, as always, I am humbled and appreciate not only different styles of wine, but also their various stages of evolution. I’m seeing notes as recent as a couple of days ago that call this out as fresh and vibrant. God bless ya. My palate just isn’t programmed for that amount of tertiary flavors (rather: quaternary, quinary, senary, septenary, octonary, nonary, and denary…flavors). For me, the 1996 Margaux was much more in line with what I may desire from an aged Margaux. Regardless of any academic squabbling, this is a privilege to try indeed.
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5/30/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 96 Points
Unbelievable nose, filled the room. Great color, minimal browning on the edges. Good weight on the palate and a long finish. Drink to enjoy.
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5/29/2023 - Philolesen Likes this wine: 95 Points
Spectacular wine. So fresh and vibrant. Dark berries, mentol, leather, mushroom. Great depth and complexity. I would say it is drinking wonderful now. I did not decant this nor had the time to see how it would evolve with air.
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5/27/2023 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 93 Points
Memorial Day Weekend, Day 1: Inglourious Basterds: Nose of fresh tobacco leaves, roses and dark red florals, earth and used leather.
Flavors of dark and damp mushrooms, damp and rotten bark chips with dried cranberry fruits.
Might want to start tasting these unless you really love tertiary notes.
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5/27/2023 - bsumoba wrote:
Memorial Madness at Case de Chris y Melissa - Day 1 of 2: My first every experience with old first growth. I would like to say that it was life changing and makes me want to forget Napa altogether, but this wine was clearly past its peak. Notes of decomposed earth, mushrooms kept in a brown bag, maybe even a touch of mold. With some air, this wine was trying to tell us that it is still alive, but sometimes you cannot fight time and time was not on this wine’s side. Thank you for letting us taste this Jason (IRBDW)!
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5/27/2023 - paul195 wrote: 95 Points
2 of 6 bought on release. Opened at 4:00, splash decanted for sediment… consumed at 7:30. Deep ruby core with lightening edge. Nose was surprisingly tight and didn’t really open up for 90 minutes or so to reveal firm dark fruits mixed with violets with hints of cedar and earthy notes. This bottle was quite firm, tannins were still present giving this bottle a more powerful profile than I usually expect from Margaux. Good acidity added energy and balance to fruit, long finish. This continued to open and improve over the evening, This well stored bottle was in early maturity and would have benefited from a longer decant.
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5/27/2023 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wild and Crazy Memorial Weekend - Saturday (Chris' Castle aka Melissa's Manor): How can I best sum up this Bordeaux? A great wine that offers tons of tertiary pleasure, but already faded for my palate. You cannot help appreciating this wine for what it is, and even more so for what it was. Others, with a passion for older wines will still love this wine, and some may argue that it is no where close to passing its prime, however, that is not me, nor my palate. This wine started out totally dead, then miraculously came back to life, albeit on life support (as far as my palate was concerned). Yes, some sour dark cherry notes did emerge, but totally in the background, as tertiary flavors of earth, leather, mushroom and some forest floor took center stage. I will admit, you could still sense the greatness of the wine, and I have always said, regardless of how the wine shows, it is always a privilege to taste these older wines. For me, this was a 92 point wine for the faded elegance and historical pleasure this wine still provides!
As a side note, I have had this wine a couple times and the results seem to confirm it was not an "off" bottle.....just a great bottle of wine clinging to life, but unfortunately showing its age!
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5/12/2023 - jmoon Likes this wine: 95 Points
Textbook beautiful old margaux. Gorgeous layered nose of forest floor and violets. Lovely easy dark fruits melt into a melodic melange. Improved a bit after 30 min but was very good from first pour and peaked at an hour or so but held its ground for three hours. Probably a bit past peak but should stay here for another decade as the stuffing is top notch.
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4/23/2023 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 97 Points
Spectacular, powerful and at the same time elegant, drinking so beautifully, cassis, black currants, cedar, graphite spice, integrated tannins, long finish, seems ageless
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4/21/2023 - Radders12345 Likes this wine: 94 Points
My 40th birthday at 67 Pall Mall (67 Pall Mall): A very generous bottle from Ian.
This impresses off the bat with a very correct and precise nose with dark plum, violet florals and a hint of balsamic
Crisp and clean on the palate with blue plum, Parma violets.
Elegant and initially a little light but puts on weight in the glass.
Fabulously well made and impressive.
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4/21/2023 - NickA Likes this wine: 96 Points
Peter's 1983 extravaganza (67 Pall Mall): Obvious clarity despite its dark colour. Chiselled red fruited-nose with lift and a touch of game. Bright, fresh, and energetic on the youthful-seeming palate, with smoky dark meat, red boiled sweets and a feeling of sleek, crystalline sophistication. I loved the long, impactful finish too. The person whose bottle this was seemed a bit disappointed that it didn't show as well as the last he'd had, but to me it seemed excellent.
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4/21/2023 - fussyeater wrote: 94 Points
Peter's 40th (67 Pall Mall, London): Crimson and correct for an 83. Nose takes a bit of coaxing and reveals perfumed aromas of violets and pot pourri. Medium bodied with luxury silky tannins and yet more violets, pot pourri and other exotic spices and red fruits on the midpalate. Exquisitely balanced and very finely poised, yet ultimately not really my cup of tea, as I would have preferred a more savoury profile. A huge treat to try and from Zalto Bordeaux.
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4/15/2023 - UPL Likes this wine: 100 Points
100 without doubt - what a wonderful perfect wine - remains many many years at this stage - after opening the bottle the wine fills the room -- I can only smell my glass the whole time
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4/5/2023 - Frank Schneider wrote: 97 Points
Silk and satin ! A point but no hurry . Pure elegance !
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3/25/2023 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 98 Points
amazingly has only gotten better in the last 5 years and this case has been better than those i have shared with others. the wine is at its apogee and i dont know if it can get better but i don't see it fading
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2/23/2023 - NJwineguy wrote: 98 Points
In a perfect spot - still good fruit with classic elegance
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2/14/2023 - Elliot Vale Likes this wine: 95 Points
Foil damaged, level middle shoulder. Cork extracted with one small piece missing with a Durand. Cork wet to top. Decanted for 30 minutes before serving. Small amount of fine grained sediment.
Good colour garnet with only slight signs of bricking at the rim.
The nose evolved over 2 hours with different aromas in evidence before they were lost and the next set emerged. Initially, mulberry, with red and back fruit and some clean mushroom. Moving on to sweet tobacco, wet stone (iodine/seaweed/tarragon), and a hint of cedar. Then forest floor, meat, mint and crème caramel. What a journey!
In the mouth it was all about feel rather than taste. Very well balanced, smooth, resolved tannins and great mouthfeel. Everything in the medium range except length and acidity, both at med+.
At its peak, or ever so slightly past?
Too describe its elegance and freshness, somehow it only right to reach for the French, élégance et fraîcheur. English undersells it.
The score grew as the aroma developed.
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2/11/2023 - Sean Tay wrote: flawed
Ullage was at mid shoulder. Wine cork extraction was intact. But the bottle was corked; the nose is gone. The wine still maintain its integrity of acidity and tannin.
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1/22/2023 - mchern02 wrote: 98 Points
2 hour decant
The 83 Margaux has an intoxicating nose immediately upon opening with pungent wet tobacco and cigar, cassis, graphite, and bright cherry. Bright and poppy palate with pixilated red fruit, suave structure and tension, and an epic long and lush finish. Elegance and power, enormous length, and just drinking phenomenally. Drink or hold but certainly in the strike zone.
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1/14/2023 - Get Real wrote: 93 Points
(375ml) Purchased at auction and some nervous moments with a layer of black on top of the cork and wine soaked into the sides of the cork. Took about an hour for the funk to blow off. Colour relatively faded with definite bricking. Interesting nose and palate - not a lot of fruit but still some there (plum with some tobacco leaf), more tertiary notes (particularly truffles and a touch of forest floor) but still very good drinking if you like mature wines.
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1/5/2023 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points
This magnum drank tremendously well. Our contributor extolled 1983 Margaux over 1982, which prompted a debate between others better informed than I. All I can say was that if this were from the classic vintage of 1982, everyone would have said, "Of course, that's why it's drinking so well." But it was 1983, a vintage that should be more heralded for Margaux. This magnum was nowhere close to decline. Very vibrant and fresh yet fully in its mature phase. Unquestionably outstanding at age 40.
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12/29/2022 - SonnyChiba wrote: 98 Points
Outstanding right out the gate. Beautiful color, very little signs of age. Silky smooth fruit and tannin. Near perfection - one of the best wines I drank this year. In a great spot.
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12/26/2022 - HotelHarrington Likes this wine: 96 Points
Upon opening, a lot of brooding dark fruits with strong tertiary notes. Hit a strange moment about 45 minutes in and seemed to shut down — I wondered whether we’d lost it. But the wine quickly resolved into a beautifully complex mélange of sweet mountain berries, mint, and cassis to go with those delicious dark fruits and funky earthy tertiary aromatics. Really impressive bottle. If you have one, pull the cork.
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12/24/2022 - JJKinch wrote: flawed
Cork soaked through. Slight signs of dried seepage under the capsule. Decanted an hour or so before drinking. Ullage - very high shoulder.
Fruit pretty much dissipated (cherry, cassis), balsamic vinegar, dominated by acidity. Flawed.
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12/24/2022 - joseduca Likes this wine: 95 Points
A beauty. Cork in immaculate form. Nose resembles, berries, leather on earth notes. High complexity, great shape, and fantastic wine to be enjoyed over the next 10 years. This is the second Margaux we open at the house and it never disappoints.
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11/21/2022 - TWSA Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose: truffles, forrest floor, violet, pepper, red fruits, hint of smoke, dried leaves
Notes: excellent complexity in the Margaux 1983. Quite mature by now and it is probably in the second half of its drinking window unfortunately. This certainly will not get any better with additional cellaring. The damp nose certainly is a signature of the vintage and also would suggest that this wine has had enough aging.
Rating: 92
Drink: now+
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11/11/2022 - AAF2012 Likes this wine:
Withholding rating and tasting notes due to recent covid bout impacting smell (almost back, but more like 80-90% not 100%). But even w/o the notes, I'd say 95-99 due to sheer length, massive expansion of bouquet over 4+ hours, and how long it took to peak after decant, see below. (And drank with friend, who confirmed this was a masterpiece.) Very tight at open, tannins main sensation. And then it just blossomed over the next 2, 3, 4 hours, never looking back. But did not decant long enough. Bought case years ago. Opened 7 btls at single event 3 years ago, decanted 4 hours then, sufficed. 3 yrs on, I thought 2-3 hours enough. Wrong. 4 hours in just getting better and better. We ran out at 4.5 hour mark and seemed to still accelerate. Bottle perfect condition.
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11/11/2022 - #1 or #2? Likes this wine: 94 Points
drinking alongside a 2000 quintarelli alzero, this could not be more different. an entirely more nuanced wine. the nose here is delicate and sophisticated, with iron, wet stone, flowers, earth, mushroom, leather. palate is mature, soft… flavours are mineral driven, iron, pomegranate. it puts on weight with time in the glass and with air it really seems to improve. finishes with an attractive saline chalky note.
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9/17/2022 - sdr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Another great showing for this great vintage of this archetypal Margaux of the era. Gorgeous perfume of violets, flowers, blueberry, rhubarb and pomegranate. Svelte and velvety. Perhaps a tiny fraction of excess acidity. Deeply integrated tannins. At first a 98 point experience but after a while the fruit receded a bit. At peak or perhaps just bit beyond so drink now for a glorious experience.
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9/7/2022 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 93 Points
Two bottles, the first arguably corked, although faintly, and the second quite excellent. Fruit is mostly clean and pure, less in the way of earth or sous bois character. Too bad we couldn’t compare it to the ’82 (also corked), but I imagine this would be neck and neck as this is fragrant and pretty. 93+
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9/7/2022 - godx wrote: flawed
corked.
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9/3/2022 - WIBA Likes this wine: 93 Points
still vibrant and minty and good concentration
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8/31/2022 - JCherniak Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep garnet, light brown on edges. Nose of leather, anise and dried blackberry. Smooth with slightly tart edges. Not a lot of tannins remaining. Medium length finish. A beautiful wine, but on the way downhill.
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8/22/2022 - Sean Tay wrote: flawed
Bottle was flawed.
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7/16/2022 - Teaky Likes this wine:
Bit of funk and first, ended up decanting for 2 hours which I thought really improved it (others disagree). Prior to decant was funky and phenolic, not a lot of fruit but had subtle red fruits and cassis, mild tannins and low acid with a good bit of oak influence, medium long finish, after decant acid became noticeable and had hint of balsamic vinegar, red fruits really came out after decant and funk was completely gone, this was excellent!
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6/26/2022 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
Tasted double blind. From magnum, this was drinking very well with all telltale tertiary aromas you want to have in your Bordeaux. To get to the 97-100 pts category, the aromatic intensity and especially the precision would have needed to be a bit higher/better. Anyway, this is a wonderful wine with the elegance and drinkability as the best traits. 95/96 pts.
TN: Dark berries, pencil shavings, some faint hints of truffles and wet forest floor. On the palate dark fruit, red berries, pencil minerality, some floral notes, violets. Some Merlot meaty notes. A beautiful sweetness. Fine, melted tannins but good tension and vivacity. Good, medium acidity, beautiful freshness. Very round with a beautiful intensity from start to finish. With more time, more minerality, wet forest floor and truffle come out and the gets more expressive and even better balanced.
Decanting: Decanted for two hours, which worked.
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6/21/2022 - sdr wrote: flawed
Château Margaux Mini-Vertical (Eddy V’s, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Peter R.’s bottle. Obviously corked immediately to everyone else but it took me a couple of sips to agree.
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4/5/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Drinking at peak, once again, I am having a hard time picking a favorite between the 82 and the 83. But today, both are great. So here, you find a violet-infused, cherry, plum, tobacco leaf and cigar wrapper core. Full-bodied, rich, supple, fresh and elegant, the earthy, red-toned finish is long, refined and supple.
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3/31/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 97 Points
OMG. Beautiful and graceful. Decanted for 1/2, back in the btl and then decanted again at the restaurant. Floral, perfume, green pepper, forest floor, graphite. Drink and enjoy as we did.
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3/26/2022 - fclarity wrote: flawed
Very dark and young, this seemed rich and ripe and likely to be great. Unfortunately it was corked.
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2/26/2022 - oldwines Likes this wine: 98 Points
In my cellar since release. Decanted at 4pm for 90 minutes then returned to bottle to bring to a restaurant, then again decanted and mostly consumed from about 7-9pm with some small tastes throughout the early stages. The wine was a brilliant medium garnet (12% ABV on the label) with no bricking. Nose was somewhat muted at first showing some brett but evolved slowly and favorably throughout the evening. At times the nose wafted gloriously with smokey red fruit, florals and graphite hints. It has bright acidity and fully resolved tannins. Palate was silky smooth with cassis, game meat, black plum and cherry and seemed at its best around the 8pm mark. Finish is long and smooth with hints of wet stones. A glorious bottle that was shockingly youthful yet mature. Not tired or washed out in any way. I see no reason to rush to open my last bottle.
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1/22/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
80's Bordeaux (Friend's house): This is a wine that I was really excited to try esp given we've heard from a few folks claim it is one of the best Margaux years of all time and the '89 is prob one of our favorite wines ever. So I guess net-net is the expectations were very high and I'd say this was a good wine but not quite ready to live up to the very high expectations. It's quiet and it started to open up with some time in the glass and I had meant to go back but dinner went fast and our car showed up and I never quite made it back. Some liked it more than I and I certainly liked it, but would have liked to see it perform a bit better.
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12/31/2021 - Sean Tay wrote: 95 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with notes of mushroom, earth, spices, toast, charr wood, cooked black fruits. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Tannin had been integrated and smooth. Had similar notes with 1982. Drink it side by side with vintage 1982 and the comparison was that initially the 1983 had a better nose and palate. When 1982 had enough aeration, my personal preference was 1982. There’s more structure and complexity in 1982 as compared to 1983.
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12/25/2021 - wicozani wrote: 90 Points
Auction purchase 12 years ago. Top shoulder fill, with corrosion around cork with evidence of ceepage. Needed the Ah-So cork remover, which properly removed the soaked, ragged cork. Initially thin, with cherry, plum, tomato leaf, and acid. Slow-ox'd for 9 hours before pairing with a medium rare rib roast. Tomato leaf now mitigated, this features a medium ruby in the glass with slight bricking at the edges. Decent nose of cherry, red alpine currant, plum, cassis, a floral element (lavender-ish), and oak spices. Medium bodied, decent acidity, but certainly no powerhouse. Was a nice pairing with the prime rib, but overall was not one of the better red Bourdeax we've consumed in 2021. Second auction bottle remaining with slightly better fill (base neck).
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12/25/2021 - jfpwine Likes this wine: 96 Points
Ruby color with just hints of bricking. Very complex nose of red cherries, red currant, soil and lead pencil. Very soft and balanced palate, with hints of acidity on the finish. Excellent bottle and absolutely gorgeous wine.
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12/24/2021 - mdahar wrote: flawed
From a half bottle took about an hour to open. This was good bottle but clearly the down slope as it does that match the other 80s first growths I have had from full bottles
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12/17/2021 - vinhonotte Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep garnet, and significantly browned and fading edges. Earthy, mossy aromas with some peppers, meats, and dried grass, as well as ripe blackberry. Tannins softened, and somewhat lean yet focused on the palate whilst some bright acids, and very developed, somewhat stewed blackberry flavours, black pepper, black florals and capsicum. Very long finish though. Glad it still shows life, but it’s a wine at its sunset already. Drink up!
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12/15/2021 - Fftjr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent . So overshadowed by ‘82. Vastly ignored vintage. Drank surprisingly well. Great balance. Elegant.
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12/15/2021 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 94 Points
Acquired on release- Full bodied and held up throughout the night. In prime or slightly past, these need to be drank now. No need to decant. 10 min in the glass and it’s ready.
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12/12/2021 - bortender wrote: 90 Points
Not the best bottle. The nose was as previously reviewed by other but the taste was thin. Not very mouth filling. Maybe not a great bottle
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11/5/2021 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 96 Points
Double decanted an hour or so before drinking (maybe 90 min or 2 hrs—I lost track of the time). But was beautiful on pnp and only better with a bit of air. Intense nose that you could sniff all day long. Prominent red fruit, cassis, earth, pencil lead. So elegant and integrated with a finish that went on forever. A real treat.
Edit: had ticked the flawed box by accident. Was in perfect form
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11/1/2021 - BradE wrote:
This bottle was good, but for my tastes not great, particularly contrasted to the 1983 Palmer drunk with side by side. It's a good night when 83 Margaux comes in fourth out of four Bordeaux!
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10/19/2021 - walkerjfw wrote: 96 Points
At Boka in Chicago with Rick, good opportunity to open this, it's been several years since trying this vintage. Somm was able to get the cork out clean, decanted.
Color is medium, murky/faded ,ruby and plum color. Nose showing right away with red fruits, cassis, earth, mushroom, pine cone. Palate was flat and reticent when first opened, we put aside for a bit and revisited. Started to opened after about 20 minutes showing red currant, cassis, violet/floral, herbs, faint graphite. Floral notes evident through the mid palate. Silky and elegant texture. Medium body and finish.
As noted, this was not really opened when first out of the bottle. With old wines like this it can develop and fade quickly - so we set aside but checked on it. Once it started to show there is lot going on. Continued to improve over the hour we drank it. I wouldn't recommend a decant/walk away for an hour with this. My guess is each bottle may be different at this stage. Great experience but took some coaxing. Beautiful representation of an aged Margaux.
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10/2/2021 - jmoore431 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted blind: deeply colored; shy, deep, brooding nose of plum, violets and a touch of fine cigar smoke; wonderful purity of fruit and subtle underlying power; gorgeous right now but suggests decades of life ahead of it. 95+
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9/28/2021 - WKC Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wonderful aromatics of pencil shavings and lead. Decanted for 1.5-2 hours which was sufficient as it didn’t improve that much more beyond. Elegant snd silky. Last bottle unfortunately but Wonderful bottle to have for a big birthday.
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8/10/2021 - Winemaker51 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Opened at Charlie Palmer’s New Steakhouse in Napa, CA. Was not decanted and glad I didn’t. Opens with Sois Bois, Red Currants, slight leather and oak brilliantly integrated. Opens and intrigues with more “Chateau Margaux” aromas and terroir; with mild to little tertiary aromatics (surprisingly fresh). Super silky, elegant and fruit hasn’t faded. Really, quintessential; elegant styled Bordeaux Cabernet blend that only Lafite can rival for that style. Drink now. Was 750ml with intact cork. Best Chateau Margaux I’ve ever had! Love to find a magnum.
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8/7/2021 - paulst Likes this wine: 97 Points
Light and elegant; soft and tender; perfect cedar and berry; long cedar-earth berry finish.
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8/1/2021 - skyblue80 Likes this wine: 96 Points
The nose started off slow with plethora of earth, leather but comes to complete life after 30mins with lilac, blackcurrant, coffee bursting out. The elegance in the wine was top notch as silky tannin, layers of fruit, with a tinge of coolness. Superb length.
Had A&B with 1989 Margaux, and the 83 wins by 2 points.
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7/19/2021 - Topper wrote:
Was once a favorite for me but this was, while still decent, faded and clearly on its way downhill. Not my bottle so not sure of the provenance.
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7/9/2021 - Leto South wrote: 95 Points
Mid shoulder. Cork very soggy. Decanted 3 hrs. Some funky notes on opening. Colour blackish red, edge brownish w some paling. Very generic velvety Margaux bq, fairly large, cedar, tobacco, black currants. The bq feels a lot younger than it is! Fully ripe tannins, acidity still fresh, plenty of dark fruit. Aftertaste long and complex, with hints of sweet fruit (strawberries?). While the aftertaste does linger, the volume fades a bit. Can be kept a bit longer. A superb wine!!
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4/30/2021 - HFLED Likes this wine: 91 Points
Struggled with whether to rate this as it was purchased at auction and may have had heat damage.
From a 375, mid shoulder fill. Decanted for 90 minutes though tasted briefly at PNP and at 30 minutes. Color is light rust, particularly around the edges, some garnet towards the very middle.
Nose was a bit thin - some raspberry and cherry notes, a bit of light tobacco, and cedar. Palate similarly thin with red fruits, sandalwood, tobacco, and a hint of forest floor. Not as much happening here as I’d hope. Tannins are fully resolved.
Again, may have been heat damage, a bad bottle, or just past it’s prime in 375, but while no obvious oxidation or other flaws this just wasn’t that exciting.
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4/11/2021 - Misterobit Likes this wine:
Bouteille ouverte 2 heures avant le repas, niveau à l'épaule. Le bouchon est imbibé aux 2 tiers. Le nez est envoûtant, sur le fruit et des notes cuirées. Belle complexité et persistance. Beaucoup de plaisir à boire cette bouteille, même si elle manquait un peu de fraîcheur comparée à la précédente bue il y a une année.
Bottle opened 2 hours before the meal, level at the shoulder. The cork is soaked in 2 thirds. Charming nose displaying fruit and leathery notes. Nice complexity and persistence. A lot of pleasure to drink this bottle, even if it lacked this freshness my last bottle had.
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4/3/2021 - jhbehrens Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted in a Zalto carafe. Restrained initially but after an hour it opened up. Wood, lilac, violet, blackberry and raspberry. Very fruity still with tannins fully integrated. Lovely velvety mouthfeel, medium body and medium+ length. Wish I had kept this 5-10 years longer
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4/1/2021 - Vinum Deorum wrote: 98 Points
Slightly below the last bottle drunk about 6 months ago, but still an awesome wine with amazing freshness and incredible complexity. I am in love with 1983 Margaux.
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3/26/2021 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 92 Points
Well...unfortunately this one didn't hit the heights that I know '83 Margaux can. Not exactly closed, but quite straightforward. I suspect not enough time in the decanter. From previous experience it needs 4+ hours to really open up.
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3/2/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
The nose is striking with aromas of lilacs and violets on full display. The wine is rich, supple, poised and polished. Full-bodied, concentrated, silky and expansive, the voluptuous finish seamlessly goes on and on. Fully mature, this is at its apogee where well-stored bottles could remain for up to another decade.
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12/24/2020 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 98 Points
blind
Again a beautiful perfect aged Margaux 83. The shining stars from 1983 with Palmer. Everything is at the right place. Still primary notes in nose and palate. Love this wine. 97-98
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12/18/2020 - hprphf wrote: 94 Points
Dark woody tone, explosive perfume, delicate yet dense, so elegant, great representation. 94-95
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11/30/2020 - reesq Likes this wine: 99 Points
Drank with close friends at an outdoor dinner comparing Bordeaux, Burgundy & Tuscany along with a 2005 Nicolas Potel Latricières-Chambertin representing Burgundy, a 2001 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova representing Tuscany, with a 2001 Château Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant for dessert. All decanted. Perfect cork. 37 years old and the wine still had a deep ruby color, with some bricking at the edges. The nose started off a bit musky, which quickly blew off revealing a stupendous classic Margaux nose of currant, cherry, tobacco, cedar. Silky smooth with the tannins fully integrated and a finish that just kept going. Over the course of a three-hour dinner, the Ch. Margaux just kept opening up and getting better and better. Clearly, much life ahead. Completely outclassed the other red wines, which in any other setting would have shone brightly. Started off the evening as 97, but ended as a 99. Easily my red WOTN and WOTY.
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11/16/2020 - Vinum Deorum wrote: 99 Points
Magnificent wine, absolutely stunning and sublime in any way. The best Chateau Margaux I have tasted so far. Way better than my last bottle (rated 94 points two years ago), which shows important variation from a bottle to another.
Amazingly young, this will age for further decades effortlessly. Extremely focused, perfectly balanced, aromas of cedar and graphite on the nose, vivid and fresh on the palate, long and subtle, huge complexity, great freshness. This was truly awesome. One of the very finest wines I have tasted in a long time.
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11/7/2020 - Jofie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great and intense nose full of black fruits and spices. Medium bodied, medium length, elegant and smooth, although less smooth than expected - it has still some tannins and freshness. This freshness shows still much fruity notes of cherry, which suites the wine perfectly.
Overall interesting and very, very good wine - however, for greatness the wine is not sophisticated, smooth and full enough.
The wine is ready to drink, although I expect it can ripe another decade or two without losing anything.
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11/5/2020 - ruffsurf Likes this wine: 92 Points
Did not decant (minor sediment clung to bottle side down.) Classic tobacco nose. Much less bricking than expected. (Bought as futures and stored 56 for 35 years) Impeccable balance. Light body. Good not great concentration. Plus finish. 1 bottle left & feel safe to drink in 5+ years to note changes.
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11/2/2020 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
Some barnyard, brett, black currants, graphite; fresh and intense, long, but lacks weight and complexity. My weakest bottle so far. Suspect heat damage.
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10/30/2020 - paulst Likes this wine: 95 Points
Light earthy tobacco; elegant and balanced with sift tannin and sweet tobacco finish.
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10/30/2020 - Trent Walker wrote: 96 Points
Well now, isn't this pleasant. Pure cedar and gravel on the nose with a perfectly balanced palate where the fruit is subsumed by pencil shavings and a hint of dried unsmoked cigar. The easiest wine in the world to blind taste and say "this is older left bank Bordeaux from a time where the fruit was less ramped up". I have drunk 3 of those (sorry, getting better about recording notes) and it's an "old reliable" when you want something special.
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9/14/2020 - khybner Likes this wine: 97 Points
Great wine, still felt quite young and it took about an hour in carafe to open up. Enjoyed it over the course of the evening.
Unfortunately the only bottle but I wouldn't be afraid to keep this for many years in the cellar.
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8/29/2020 - Renevin Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fruits noirs, cuir, un peu d épices. En bouche, belle ampleur, tout est bien fondu, c est rond, chaleureux et une longue, longue, longue finale. Du grand vin
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8/19/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted over cocktails. Light but beautiful nose of dried leaves and herbs. On the palate full-bodied and savory with sous bois, dried blueberries and cranberries, shoe leather. Fairly short finish. Tannins firm and first then started melting after an hour or so. A good showing but not sure if it will hold at peak too much longer.
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8/11/2020 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 95 Points
Served blind. This had a deep dark core, that was almost black, reminiscent of Syrah or young Cabernet. A wonderfully classic style of wine that had a lot of black fruits without being overbearing. This felt like a cool vintage with a very balanced palate. Our Jaws hit the table when this was unveiled, a 1983 Margaux, that had the colour of a 2000s Aussie Shiraz. This has decades left. Such a treat to try one of the all time classic legends of bordeaux. Drank with VO and DrK.
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8/10/2020 - jwhiggins Likes this wine: 94 Points
Quintessential Margaux. Wine had definitely peaked as to drinkability. Old Bordeaux character of leather and old cigar box with some dried rose petal. Served with A5 Wagyu ribeyes. Bottle was just a tad too tired to fully complement the richness of the beef, although the inherent complexity of the wine did show off some of the savory notes of the meat.
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6/7/2020 - vindictive wrote:
Sublime Margaux - bottle and fill excellent, cork slightly depressed. This needs at least 3 hours in the decanter to blow off some bottle funk and open up. A big wine and years to go, but fantastic tonight with reverse seared steak, braising greens and Caesar salad. Long life ahead but remember to give it time to breath
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6/6/2020 - Ara Kafafian Likes this wine: 92 Points
Blind, brick rim, notes of humus, forest floor, bell peppers, cassis, leather, tobacco, floral ending with silky smooth tannins. Has age but fruit is still present. What ever this is, it’s very typical of an aged Bordeaux and requires drinking as it’s nearing the end of it’s peak drinking window as it’s barely hanging on.
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5/25/2020 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 94 Points
blind
It is for sute not the best bottle I had from this vintage, but at th first day it has a lot of mushrooms in the nose, some minimal fruit left. Also a bit of cola or someone in the Group said it is not Bordeaux and we only drank half of the bottle. The next day I tried it again and it completely changed. Much more structure, fruit and precision. Lovely. It starts with 90 Points and ended with 94-95.
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5/13/2020 - Jammy Wine wrote: 90 Points
Tasted non-blind. 1983 Chateau Margaux is muscular and powerful wine. Rich and structured with lots of depth. 1982 seems to be more graceful than the 1983, but the last bottle of 1982 I tasted was 4-5 years ago. This should age for another half a decade. (89-90/100)
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5/10/2020 - racerchris wrote: 90 Points
Weak, crumbly cork, managed to extract it with nothing going into the bottle though.
Decanted at noon, and had a taste. Modest nose of cedar and tobacco. Dark red color. No bricking or thinning at the edge. Decent clarity.
Waited 3 hours and had a glass. Was nothing special, showing old wood, mild tannins, little fruit. Not unbalanced but not very interesting. Sipped on another glass while cooking until dinnertime. Drank more thru dinner. The last glass was poured near the end of dinner at 6:30pm.
There was no significant evolution, although the last glass was perhaps a touch better, showing a hint of fresh cherries, and it didn't ever fall apart.
There was no hint that it was corked. Sad to say it was just an old bottle of wine.
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4/3/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
A stunning wine drinking in its apogee. The perfume pops with flowers, tobacco leaf, cedar chest, wet earth, herbs and red berries. There is ample weight, concentration, length, complexity and freshness to keep any taster busy. Texturally, the wine is soft, silky and rich, with a finish loaded with sweet fruits.
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3/21/2020 - YourSomm Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank over the course of 3.5 hours as state lockdown took hold.
Dark Raspberry, strawberry preserves, green olive juice, tar
Holiday spices, dried flowers, potpourri
Integrated tannins, smooth as silk
Finish that lingers and says “open another, I know you want to”
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3/20/2020 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
The cork crumbled and I feared that the wine underneath could be fragile or over the hill but the contrary is true, the wine actually needed extensive swirling and time to fully open up. This is a dream wine with the Margaux softness and femininity, finest tertiary notes and pure red fruit embedded in a fresh structure. The depth and sharpness are not on par with the greatest vintages of Margaux but still this one of the best vintages of the past 40 years (but not top 5 with 15, 10, 09, 05, 96 certainly ahead, and likely also the 00 and 90 which I haven’t tried yet). 96 points and in the best moments even with 97.
TN: Finest tertiary aromatics with superb tobacco, leather, wet forest floor and some truffle scents, underneath sweet red fruit, floral aromas, a glass left 4 days later showed much more darker fruit. Intense and good but not great delineation. Excellent structure with ultra fine, melted tannins, very good freshness (the others had it blind and guessed it to be a 90s wine) and good medium+ fruit and tobacco driven finish.
Decanting: This bottle was in prefect condition and the wine would have needed an hour (or even more) in the decanter. Got better by the minute.
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3/12/2020 - Life At Your Leisure 🍷 wrote: 97 Points
Tasted blind. Dark purple color turning ruby rust at the rim with a transparent edge. There’s considerable age in this, but has been extremely seductive on the nose. The palate shows mature tannin and acid to carry the flavors of sweet, ripe dark cherry, raspberry and black currants with secondary flavors dark chocolate and leather to the ling, mineral-tinged finish. Lively fruit, elegant, sublime. WOTN during First Growths tasting. Drink now.
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3/7/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Rather cool type of mixed forest berries, red cherry, earth, dried tobacco leaves, leather. But secondary / tertiary aromas are complemented by fine perfume providing a sexy allure. Great versatility. Given age, a surprisingly bold and muscular structure with a sweet red fruit core. I would give it only a quick decant to rid it of the cellar smell, then behold the flavour permutations that keep increasing over time. Given the privilege of having just recently attended a 2003-15 Margaux vertical, I was surprised to see this out-shine many of the more recent vintages - but then again maybe just testament to the magnificent aging potential!
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3/7/2020 - sdr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Compared with a recent tasting of a rustic ‘82 Margaux you would have to assume 1983 is a much superior vintage for Margaux. Really silky, sexy and fragrant, it’s clearly in its prime. Beautiful fragrance, elegant, sweet and disarming. Apotheosis of Margaux.
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3/3/2020 - Wine by Bok wrote: 97 Points
It’s probably a best kept secret but strangely 1983 was a superb Margaux vintage, but it only applied to top chateaus and not across the board. Fragrant and concentrated nose. Content was feminine; blueberry, silky, sexy and in fact a friend used the word slutty to describe the wine, of which I didn’t oppose. more tasting note in finewines.com.sg
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3/1/2020 - johnh1001 wrote:
This was not a perfect bottle
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2/29/2020 - FoinZap Likes this wine: 92 Points
2 hour decant, then back into rinsed bottle to enjoy at a restaurant. Nice nose, with an olive tapenade scent the primary. Started out earthy with a range of fruit flavors. Nice, but not exceptional drinking experience. Actually seemed to become a bit less interesting with more time in the glass. I had expected much more based on reviews. Not sure if it was a bit past its optimal drinking window, the bottle had a quality issue, or this one just was not for me. 3 other people drinking with me had similar notes.
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1/16/2020 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous nose: 94 Excellent palate: 90
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1/6/2020 - sdr wrote: flawed
I thought is was corked but K said it was not. But something not right, it was dull and lacked Margaux fragrance. Improved very slightly in a sample glass over a couple of hours.
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12/31/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
This could be the finest example of 83 Margaux I recall tasting, at least in ages, everything was as it should be. The lilac filled nose also boasted ripe, red fruits, earthy, floral and forest floor notes with cigar box in the perfume. Full-bodied, with a fabulous depth of flavor, the wine provided energy, length, complexity and a lush, sensuous, velvet-textured finish. Perhaps if well-stored, there is a moderate amount of improvement available here, but if you have been itching to pop a bottle, there is no reason not to scratch that itch!
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12/25/2019 - Redteeth wrote:
This bottle was acquired on release and stored in good carefully. When opened the cork was in pretty good shape but I used an Ah-So to remove it. The wine was double decanted back into the rinsed bottle. There was a fair amount of sediment and a bit of crystallization but the wine smelled and taste good immediately upon being opened. It opened up very nicely and was very smooth and flavorful. It was a treat to share this bottle. A real testament to the worthiness of First Growth Bordeaux.
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12/15/2019 - rocknroller wrote: 96 Points
Very dark red color, 2mm clear margin. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 3 hours. Out of the gate this is impressive, but as good as it is, it's over 30 minutes that the volume is turned up. And wow, this is really blowing up after two and three hours in glass. The nose gradually builds to such a gorgeous perfume of lavender, leather, pencil shavings, red and dark berries, with earth, funk and hints of truffles. The palate offers a silky texture with cassis, raspberry, mulberry and cherry; full bodied but very light on its feet, elegance and finesse, pencil, earthy, spices, polished tannins and a long harmonious finish. This is extremely impressive and it as great as it is, it really doesn't give away its age. This is fantastic now, but I'm quite certain this is going to be better yet. It was fairly funky on opening and to my liking though it blew off to an extent over time. This was a joy to drink. No rush to drink, give it an hour decant if drinking now and be rewarded. Thanks to Jason for opening this while we worked on entering wines in CT. 96+( +)pts.
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12/7/2019 - oxwombat Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened at Kahani in London. P&P and enjoyed slowly over dinner.
Still had good fruit concentration, and everything was seamless. Tannins completely integrated, and the resulting balance between the fruit, minerality and acidity meant that it was drinking effortlessly.
However, it was walking a thin line between just being perfectly silky smooth, versus feeling a bit tired. I think I would start drinking up lest it start going downhill.
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12/6/2019 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
Zachy's BYO 2019: Developing quite nice, good show of peppery flavor. 93
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10/26/2019 - sdr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Simply superb Margaux at it’s very peak. Gorgeous fragrance of sweet blackberry, cassis and clove. Perfect harmony of fruit, acid and tannin. Silky. Sensual and deeply satisfying. Stunning and exquisite. Great Bordeaux has no equal in the world of wine, at least to me. From a very top shoulder ullage bottle via WineBid.
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7/25/2019 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 96 Points
90 min double decant. Still powerful and youthful despite the age with many years left to drink.
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6/29/2019 - dchain Likes this wine: 95 Points
Thank you again Richard! Beautiful ruby. No signs of old age just well matured claret. Amazing nose from the first pour. Still lots of blackberry, cassis fruit, some soil notes but just beautiful jasmine, lily and violet perfume. Dazzling stuff. On the palate just so mellow and balanced. Only medium bodied but in a good way, nothing exaggerated, natural beauty, fantastic balance and length. Drinking better than the 82! More feminine and Margaux like than the 82 which is almost Paulliac like and powerful at the moment. Delicious if you can get your hands on any!
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6/15/2019 - rosenst1 wrote: 96 Points
Last bottle or second to last from a couple of cases bought on release in 1985. Cellared mostly at 58 degrees with some years in the 60s. Fill bottom to neck. Cork removed largely intact. Poured a small amount; nose is amazing right out of the bottle. Violets, lavender, sage, and spice. Decanted about an hour before consuming rest of bottle over 2-3 hours. Medium red with slight hint of browning at the end. Wonderful nose of violet, sage, lavender, and spice. Smooth as silk on the palate with any tannins completely integrated but with good acidity and a finish that went on and on. One of the best bottles I've tasted of this at age 35. I think this is at peak but could age for another 5 years with pristine cellaring. Great bottle of a great wine.
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6/10/2019 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 95 Points
Not blind, dark colour
I had the luck to enjoy this wine a few times, some of them from Magnum. The nose is still perfect. Everything what you expect from a beautiful aging left bank. Black currant, leather, tobacco, cedar wood. The palate is really fresh, good acidity and firm, soft tannins but in the late palate I missed as my friend Thomas concentration and deepness as the promising scent. It lacks a little bit. Great wine and not at his peak. 95
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5/23/2019 - RayOB Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank at 67
Needs about two hours of decanting and then it sings
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5/20/2019 - Old Claret wrote: 92 Points
Good but disappointing - no great wines, only great bottles?
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4/18/2019 - acheng wrote: 94 Points
Tasted against the 59 tonight and this is clearly showing better. Opened for 2 hours and then decanted. It definitely benefited from the airing. A sound bottle and showing better than last time I had it. Black fruit, mineral, oyster shells and a complete wine. A testament to Pontailler inaugural vintage.
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2/16/2019 - StefanAkiko wrote:
I think this bottle was a little tired…
Or, the competition tonight was simply a little too much :-)
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1/25/2019 - thomasito2001 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very clean nose, very open too and really characteristic of the Left Bank. The nose is really remarkable, evolved but fresh, fruit is still largely present. Palate is elegant but almost full bodied, great aromatics in the palate with good lift and classy tannins. Really nice!
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1/12/2019 - tbabes wrote: 98 Points
Opened about 2 hours before dinner, then decanted right before service. The color was a beautiful dark ruby, turning to garnet a the rim. An elegant and complex bouquet, offering up notes of dried plums, blackberry, briar patch, and cigar box, with hints of black truffle, and crushed stones. Medium bodied, with great depth, texture and precision on the palate; a long and focused finish. Fully mature, these bottles had been acquired on release and stored in a cold cellar. Charity dinner to benefit the Chaine Foundatio, graciously donated by Jackie!
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12/28/2018 - canan wrote: 99 Points
Champagne Brunch (@Terkel): Juicy black currant fruit. Huge acidity and a crazy long aftertaste. Spice and elegant. Amazing wine!
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12/24/2018 - dafmd Likes this wine: 97 Points
In my cellar for twenty five years; low neck; Decant one hour; ruby with only slight bricking; lovely bouquet with some violet cedar dark berry; medium bodied, so smooth, cooking herbs, lasting finish; really delightful, and complex; mild fade of bouquet after an hour
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12/24/2018 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 99 Points
Achim's Magnum Tasting 2018; 12/24/2018-12/26/2018 (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): From Magnum, not blind
Margaux 1983 did it again. Everything is at the right place. Maybe not so "accessible" as the Palmer 83 but so silky and graceful. Cassis, tobacco leaves, still too young, at least 20 more years ahead. 99
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12/14/2018 - Vinum Deorum wrote: 94 Points
A very nice wine, from which I was nevertheless expecting more given its pedigree. Nice floral nose, with hints of pencil shavings, cassis and blackcurant. On the palate it is very nice, but it lacks a bit of tension and gives the impression the wine has started declining from its plateau because of some tertiary aromas. Elegant structure, soft tanins, good length.
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11/10/2018 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
A wonderful nose of dried dark fruits and violet earth. On the palate the wine tastes of faded blackberry liqeuer and smoky dark earth with notes of violets and dark spices. Quite round and silky-fine with soft tannins and a luxurious finish showing a classic aged left bank nuttiness along with complex notes of smoky violets and cigar box. Still at its plateau and from a perfect bottle.
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10/21/2018 - aquacongas wrote: 96 Points
Ingo's Birthday Clash 20.10.2018; 10/21/2018-10/22/2018 (Jörg Müller Sylt): Magnum
Still very young but compared to the 1959 Mouton not the concentration and deepness. Graphite, leather, cigarbox and black currant. 96
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9/24/2018 - Rabaja wrote: 97 Points
This presented itself like Henry VIII with its broad shoulders, regal demeanor and filigree attire. Tobacco leaf, pencil lead, blackberry jam, blueberry compote, brambly black currant leaf, loads of cedar, and a touch of capsaicin spring from the glass. Suave on entry, the palate shows a wonderful interlacing of blue and black fruits with spice elements and fine tannin. Still youthful with some baby fat to help it along it way. Should go another thirty years. Impeccable wine.
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9/8/2018 - jviz wrote:
Slow ox for 2 hours. The nose on this wine was somewhat subdued. Tannins are fully resolved. You can appreciate the greatness and texture that the wine once held. I wouldn't say it's over the hill, as the tertiary notes are not overwhelminga. Neither is it out of balance, and there remains a lovely fruit presence on the palate; but several in our group, including some tasters very familiar with Margaux through the last few decades noted that the nose on this bottle on this particular day was nowhere near as effusive as the same vintage in past tastings. Provenance being the same, I suggest to drink. Notes of coffee, boysenberry, plum, and subtle asian spice for me. Good, not great at this showing.
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9/4/2018 - mye Likes this wine:
Really a treat to try this. Purchased on auction. Decanted 2 hours, and enjoyed along side a 90 Latour at Meadowood.
Initially it was earthy, leather, and mostly tertiary. With air, it picked up weight, and red fruit started to come out. Lovely balance, depth, complexity, and great finish. Yum.
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8/22/2018 - SommStags wrote:
Mag purchased from auction: maturing nicely and probably drinking close to its peak. While the 83 has always been a favorite of mine, it is clearly not one of the legendary vintages but still fun and yummy. I preferred Margaux next to a 83 Palmer purchased from the estate.
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8/13/2018 - galewskj wrote: 96 Points
When the first wine posted is a 1983 Chateau Margaux....: Decanted, drank a small glass right away and another glass a couple hours later. The structure and elegance is evident. Perfumed red fruit, with just a touch of earth, funk, leather, cedar.
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8/10/2018 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 97 Points
Maybe the best bottle of this wine I can recall. Very generous with only two hours of air. Compared to the lighter advanced color of the 83 Cheval, the color of the Margaux was dark, opaque, and youthful. The nose was inviting from the get-go, with black currant, plum, violets, cigar tobacco, and sous bois. The wine never lost its nose for the entire evening. The palate was elegant, generous, and soft. Also had a nice sweetness, but with a gorgeous balancing acidity on the finish. Silky tannin gave this a nice soft mouthfeel on the medium-plus length finish. I could still taste the wine minutes after drinking it.
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8/9/2018 - rocknroller wrote: 95 Points
Guys Night - Bordeaux '99 and Older/Napa '04 and Older (Joe's Place, Mpls, Mn): Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank 2 pours over 3 hours. This has a wow nose, quite glorious, violets, blue fruit, cassis, dusty, black cherry, graphite, slightly meaty and umami. The palate is satiny, gorgeous texture, dusty tannins, savory, a complex mix of dark fruit and red cherry, earth. The tannins still have some firmness and despite its age this is not fully mature. Outstanding and it has a very long future yet. Thanks to Jason for sharing this. 95(+)pts.
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8/4/2018 - G_H wrote: 97 Points
Very expressive nose, opulent, mineralic, four fruit jam, great balance and length on the palate.
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8/3/2018 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
More rounded and less exuberant than some recent bottles.
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7/28/2018 - rosenst1 wrote: 93 Points
Cellared since release. PnP, then decanted. Cork soaked all the way to the top; top shoulder fill. Lovely red little if any browning on the rim. Sutle nose of violets, graphite, and spice. Savory on the palate with well resolved tannins and lovely complexity. This was in the middle of the bottles from the case I bought on release I would say. Given the cork and fill I would think perfect bottles would be better and still have considerable life ahead though at this juncture at age 35, there are only good or great bottles...
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6/18/2018 - lepetitchateau wrote: 92 Points
A fine wine but seemed a bit harsh on its acidity... consensus is that the 1983 Margaux is on the downslope.
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6/5/2018 - scamhi wrote:
beautiful bottle. drinking a peak, but feel no rush to open has years to go
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6/2/2018 - psyrah wrote: flawed
This bottle was drinkable with no obvious flaws, but was very muted on the nose and palate. The fill was mid shoulder with cork intact but wet all the wet up. Perhaps poor storage in the past.
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5/27/2018 - nywine68 wrote: 90 Points
Nice depth of secondary and tertiary flavors. Dark fruit and mocha on the nose. However, there was a persistent green vegetal note that distracted from the enjoyment. Without it, it would have been a very enjoyable wine. The cork was in good shape, base neck fill, and the wine was otherwise fresh and alive.
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5/20/2018 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 93 Points
First night Shlappes & N with meat
Very subtle / restrained
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5/15/2018 - Gen NY Likes this wine: 95 Points
Mother’s Day Dinner with the family. Decanted for about 30 mins which was all it needed. The nose was rich wirh peat and forest floor, color was garnet tilted to the red side with only a hint if brown at the edge. The palate was pure and clean with light fruit and complex earth. I saved a glass to have while watching the Caps win game 2 of the ECF. It was not as good after the two extra hours of air. Still a class wine and a significant step up from the 83 Priuere Lichine.
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5/10/2018 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 96 Points
Château Margaux vertical dinner (Taberna Del Alabardero): The first vintage made by Paul Pontallier for the estate and my preference in this flight of 1978-1983-1986. “Effortless power,” remarked Michael Sands of Calvert Woodley. I just loved the graphite and pencil lead here, along with beguiling aromatics of dried flowers, pot-pourri, patchouli and orange rind. The palate was deceptively soft, as the tannic grip showed on the finish, but in a softer register than - say - the wines of the 1990s that tried later. A vintage that followed a legend (1982) but that particularly favored “Margaux”, as August rain was not as pronounced in Margaux as in other parts of Bordeaux... The wine leaves you with the impression of seductive perfume - and it is so ready to enjoy today.
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5/9/2018 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Chateau Margaux dinner with Thibault Pontallier (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): My contribution. Expressive nose displaying decadent black fruit, cassis, blackberry jam, lavender, lead pencil, eucalyptus, caramel, cedar and earth. There is a hint of bitterness/oxidative note indicating that it was not ideally cellared in the past. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of packed cassis, good acidity, a hint of medium coarse tannins and a medium to long cassis and eucalyptus driven finish. There is a hint of oxidative note that is slightly bothersome and shortens the finish a bit. The floral aspect of the nose is wonderful. If ideal cellared, the 83 has the concentration and structure to develop for another twenty years or more. Perhaps the best vintage of Chateau Margaux from the 80s.
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5/3/2018 - aquacongas wrote: flawed
corked
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3/10/2018 - europat55 wrote: 94 Points
Nose: A Palate: A-
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3/7/2018 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Clear, deep ruby; clean medium nose of cedar, lilies/violets, cassis, fresh vanilla, creme fraiche and raspberry; dry; full body; pfn but better with addition of tobacco and wet soil on finish; medium plus tannins; medium plus finish; medium plus acidity; beguiling wine
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3/6/2018 - OenoEd wrote: 90 Points
Light dark berry nose, surprisingly one-note. Lovely acidity, but a little hot and simple. Underwhelming, drink or sell.
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3/6/2018 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 92 Points
Château Margaux Vertical (Chef's Club NYC): Mocha and blueberry fruit on the nose. Savoury but chocolatey. Chocolate covered cherries. Expressive. This palate is delicious with ripe red berry fruit and savoury character. Fun but imagine you’d better drink this now.
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3/3/2018 - ESTEELE90 Likes this wine:
Bryan's Epic Birthday Bash (Gwen): At dinner. Brief note. This is so seductive, graceful, and feminine. Ultra perfumed nose and palate show a multitude of cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, red currants, and black cherry. Worn leather is cloaked in cigar, and the nuanced baking spice perfumes the whole package to no end. Tons of finesse here and the finish just goes on and on. An incredible treat to have! Upside is certainly there for the future as this shows secondary right now with gentle structure that will see this through to a balanced tertiary stage 7-10 years from now.
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3/3/2018 - lovewine123 wrote: 92 Points
Probably not a good bottles cause the cork completely soaked through. The wine still show some energy. Restrained nose and palate but it's still very fine and elegant, remind me some Burgundies. Did't fall down during 4 hours dinner. A very good wine but just not a blockbuster like 82, 90, 96 or even 85, 89. I hope the next bottle will be a good one and can show its real potential.
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2/8/2018 - ricknat1 wrote: 94 Points
This was a killer dinner based on first growths of 82 and 83, all from 6 Liter format. First smell and taste had a cardboardy feel which never blew off completely. Most of these wines were double decanted at 2 hours (I wanted 4) and as I held part of the glass back for each one they improved tremendously. nevr the less, this was a very good but not great bottle of 82 Margaux
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1/17/2018 - Markus IWC wrote: 83 Points
Bordeaux BYOB #10: corked unfortunately, drinkable initially but faded away with salt water notes and dill. Wine stripped of all the beautiful fruit normally present in this great vintage for Margaux. Sad. Votes 0
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1/15/2018 - RockinCabs wrote: 94 Points
Boston Palmer Tasting (South End - Boston, MA): Nose: Dark blackberry, violet, cassis and explosive spice/cedar notes. Quite spectacular actually on the nose at moments, but then it would close up and hide again. Palate: Great deep black fruit and spice notes, bits of floral perfume in the mouth. Slightly drying when it closed up however, which is worrisome for the future. Finish: Great cedar/spice with cassis and mint. Drying at times however.
Unlike prior attempts at the 83 this bottle was correct, and hitting many of the notes that others describe. However, it was bested by the Palmer and played a tease for much of the time it was on the table.
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1/14/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 95 Points
The Boston Palmerathon: We had the chance to follow this over the course of several hours in the decanter and I'm glad we did, because different elements came and went on the nose revealing raspberries, lilies, cedar, chocolate, an exotic spice profile with cardamom notes at different points. But overall, this is so coquettish - it flirts and gives bits of itself, but compared with the 83 Palmer in the next glass, it's so ungenerous. 94-95 but likely not a future purchase.
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1/8/2018 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
I have always felt that this vintage of Margaux was more accessible and superior to the 1986. So, it was interesting to compare the two again today. Initially, the 1983 was elegant and generous, but needed time to really show its pedigree. On the nose, there were red fruits, truffle, fresh violets, tobacco, and wet earth. And while these were pretty dazzling aromatics, they really didn't fully reveal themselves for 2+ hours. The palate was equally complex, with lots of finesse. Lots of sweetness on the finish, but with the right amount of acidity. And the tannins were silky-smooth, giving this such a soft mouthfeel. Medium-plus length on the finish. So on this day, the 1983 outclassed the 1986, but it was a photo-finish.
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12/20/2017 - Cgrant1029 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Cork completely soaked through. Wine wasn't bad, but I think clearly had aged more than well stored bottles. It had a disjointed feel to it, it seemed more like a 70's St Julian than an 80's Margaux.
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12/11/2017 - BradE wrote:
A great Margaux, and among the best in our vertical last night.
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12/2/2017 - KenK Likes this wine: 95 Points
At Chevalier for my Bday, on a great day with lots of nice Bordeaux this really shined along with the Palmer 1983 which just beat this out on this day. Dark dense sweet rich and layered with loads of spice. Awesome balance and depth.
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12/2/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Another Saturday at Chevalier...Mostly Blind: Tasted double blind alongside Palmer 1983. This was clearly richer and more concentrated, but also more forward and fleshy, so not as elegant or complex. Still exceptional now, with upside from here.
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12/2/2017 - Nanda wrote: 97 Points
Saturday Blind Tasting - Bordeaux '03 and Older (Chevalier Fine Wines): Blind in what turned out to be 83 Palmer / 83 Margaux flight. A wow nose with big rich, plum fruit that has layer upon layer of cigar, tobacco and bell pepper. The palate is dense and chewy. Cleary of high pedigree, again. Tannins are still chalky and firm to match the dense fruit. Still quite young, and should age effortlessly.
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11/25/2017 - paulst Likes this wine: 97 Points
Solid and concentrated; sweet full blackberry-cassis nose; smooth and supple with balancing tannin support; long sweet finish.
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11/22/2017 - Burgnick wrote:
This is probably not the best performing bottle. Nose is a bit muted with some fruit and classic bordeaux flavour such as pencil lead, tobacco and earth. It is missing that margaux perfume which is why people could not identify it in this semi-blind tasting. However the palate is very solid with some red fruit, sous bois and tertiary flavour. Good complexity with layers. Palate is better than the nose today.
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11/4/2017 - Ary Likes this wine: 99 Points
VEO London, Bordeaux 80-s in Magnum (Restaurant La Trompette, Chiswick): The epitome of Elegance and sophistication. Complex, powerful and top delineation. Should age well for another 15 years, probably bringing the additional point leading to a perfect score. Notes of dark cherries, blood and graphite in the nose. A very seductive, polished and graceful palate with earth, tar, iron, lots of dark fruits. So smooth and 'effortless'. Another perfect magnum on this great evening with friends in London.
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10/24/2017 - Rob-Rah Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cork soaked, crumbled on removal. Wine at base of neck, and perfectly sound fortunately.
Took an hour or so to open up in the glass/bottle, but started to lose interest after that. Graceful and interesting wine. Bouquet better than palate, although it didn't captivate so much as intrigue. Fruity-mushroomy-cedary notes. No Margaux smoke and violets. Perhaps tending now too much towards tertiary flavours - I would have liked more sheer fruit and a smoother texture. Palate a bit pedestrian really: I have had better aged Bordeaux at a fraction of the cost. Mature and well-put together but nothing which shouts top year first growth.
Not a great deal of sediment, surprisingly. A pleasant wine, but on this occasion not living up to what some others get from their bottles.
92-93 only
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10/16/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Elegant and energetic, this bottle was barely middle age. Soil and woodsmoke highlights
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10/11/2017 - tinybubbles wrote: flawed
Corked. Soft cork.
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10/7/2017 - NJwineguy wrote: 96 Points
great to drink after cheval blanc
still big and tight
lots of fruit
delicious
did not decant - opened after a bit
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9/29/2017 - MaxSiegel Likes this wine: 96 Points
Exceptionally elegant and constantly changing in the glass, as Margaux should. Nose opens with lots of leather and violet, followed by cassis, cigar box, and spice. Eventually, opens to its full spectrum of sensuality, with redder fruits and smoky autumn leaves. Develops a saline minerality after nearly 2 hours. Palate shows vibrant red and dark fruit, along with leather and spice. Slightly vegetal but relatively sweet. Extremely elegant mouthfeel with very long finish. Tannins are velvety and well-integrated, and wine retains relatively lively acidity (i.e., enough that this doesn't need to be drunk immediately, but it will not improve from here). Decant for at least an hour, preferably 1.5 hours. Drink within next 3-5 years.
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9/8/2017 - liber Likes this wine: 96 Points
3rd of 3, decanted 80 minutes, perfect cork and level, previous notes since 1995 at least VF, darkish garnet, not too dense, just starting to show development on rim; very classy, almost ethereal on nose, violets, cassis, bramble, graphite, with a touch of cedar and tobacco, lighter but more layered than the Palmer; medium bodied, very long and persistent, plenty of energy, silky, great complexity and poise, more graceful and harmonious than the Palmer, if perhaps a tad less powerful, my WOTN, though W preferred the splendid Haut Brion. VF+ (19). Remarkably this wine has always shown well and never gone through the sulky phase particularly evident in Palmer between '03 and '07!
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8/18/2017 - MattMauldin Likes this wine:
Society of Wine Educators Conference- Napa Valley Through The Decades (single blind); 8/18/2017-8/19/2017: Full ruby color, lightening at its edges. Aromas of baked fig & currant fruit, a melange of spices, dried florals and earth- deep and complex. Silky palate, highlighting succulent black fruits, vibrant and seamless with endless layers of secondary and some tertiary depth. Medium bodied with elegant density. Silky-fine tannins, full range and depth on the finish. Beautiful.
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8/12/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
Château Palmer vertical tasting dinner (3030 Ocean, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): I have compared this wine to the 1983 Palmer on numerous occasions. On this evening, the Margaux was the better wine (but not by much). It was so complete and complex, showing off fantastic concentration and longevity. The nose was open and wonderfully fragrant, with black currant, blackberry, cigar box, fresh violets, earth, and leather. The mouthfeel was super-elegant, and with a very nice weight. There was so much depth in the mid-palate, and the finish just kept resonating. Another note: this wine has been remarkably consistent, and always seems to show well.
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8/12/2017 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Château Palmer Vertical: A great example of '83 Margaux, purchased by Hugh on release. It behaved more like luscious '82, ripe, round, sweet, fragrant and generous. Great mouth feel. Fully mature yet still youthful. Far superior to the '83 Palmer on this night which is not always or even usually the case.
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7/28/2017 - rosenst1 wrote: 95 Points
Fill bottom of neck; one of the last of 2 cases purchased in the mid 80s and cellared since. Cork was wet all the way up; broke but was able to extract it without leaving any in the bottle. Double-decanted about 2 hours before serving; wine had thrown quite a lot of sediment which was solidly attached to the side of the bottle. Medium deep red with slight browning. Gorgeous nose of Margaux violets, rose petals, and graphite. Smooth on the palate with a touch of acidity providing interesting though perhaps suggesting these need to be drunk. Long long finish. A beautiful wine though not ostentatious; all about elegance, maturity, and just lovely. One of the better bottles.
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7/26/2017 - NJwineguy wrote: 93 Points
Took a bit to open.
All was great - felt like it's starting to lose a bit of fruit but drinking very well.
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7/22/2017 - Snowryeder Likes this wine: 97 Points
This wine is amazing! Blackberries, currants and Margaux minerals. Soft tannins. Nice acidity and long seductive finish. I think it will last a few more years.
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7/2/2017 - Winemaker51 Likes this wine: 95 Points
We were in a bit of a rush to Herringbone Restaurant in Vegas; and it had only 1 hour of decanting. Not a problem, because it opened up beautifully. There is also lots of sediment; so I recommend having it stand up 3 days (if you can) prior to decanting. Classic Chateau Margaux aromas of mild tobacco, red fruits of bing cherrys and blackcherries. Lots of terroir that only Chateau Margaux has. Soft tannins now with ample acidity (1983 thing?). I would drink this wine now with a wide variety of foods; owing to drink ability. Although not going downhill, I would drink this wine up within 3 to 5 years.
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6/26/2017 - NJwineguy wrote: 95 Points
Just terrific.
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6/25/2017 - rnellans wrote: 95 Points
Tobacco, cedar, lily, dark fruits. Very well balanced. Soft tannins. Silky. More balanced than the 89 served alongside.
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5/14/2017 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really excellent example of this variable wine. When it underperforms it's too thin and acidic. Not this one (from a recent WineBid purchase). Excellent dark berry perfume, although less fragrant than ideal. Great intensity of ripe fruit. Acidity just a bit high, well integrated tannins, nice texture. This bottle darker and more youthful than most at this stage. Plenty of life.
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4/21/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Wine Dinner Extravaganza; 4/21/2017-4/22/2017 (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Open 5 hours before serving alongside the 1990. Ripe and rich with black berries and currant, very good spice and liqueur hints. Very good concentration. Should hold for several decades if well stored.
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4/21/2017 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Annual gathering with Chicago winos in Chicago - Burgs, old Bordeauxs and SQNs (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Expressive youthful nose displaying cassis, crushed blackberry, lead pencil and mineral. Excellent concentration, youthful cassis driven palate impression, noticeable but none obtrusive tannins and a long cassis driven finish. This is still quite young and can easily improve for another decade or two even longer. I clearly prefer the hedonistic 90 but this is darn impressive. Excellent showing.
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3/28/2017 - NJwineguy wrote: 97 Points
Just fantastic
Got even better over a couple of hours
All you would expect
Can't imagine this gets better
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2/24/2017 - SimonG wrote: flawed
David Pope's 60th (Medlar, London): Very muted. Not much on the nose let alone any great fragrance. Slightly herbal, dry. Richard is convinced it's corked, but if so it's not not woody corked, but certainly stripped / muted. Doesn't get worse though, but substandard in some way. Huge shame.
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2/22/2017 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautifully aromatic and just about fully mature with lovely notes of dark violets and smoky black fruits. At this age now quite soil-driven with classic flavors of Margaux earth and Asian spices. Finishes smooth and complex as it flows over the tongue in waves. An ethereal wine with hints of eucalyptus and herbs on the long, seductive finish. Stood toe-to-toe with the '82 tonight.
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2/5/2017 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Super Bowl 2017 (Alpharetta, GA): Dark crimson core with brick rim; screams Bordeaux, green pepper, tobacco, red currant, mineral, funk, metal, leaner and tertiary, mushroom, leather; smoke, wilted roses, leaner, structured, cedar, holly bush; a complete and complex wine just seemed a bit frail in its age.
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1/11/2017 - cct wrote: 97 Points
Still youthful appearing color. The nose is intoxicating with deep stony fruit, cassis, chocolate, with wet tobacco leaf, a floral lift, and a little leather. Powerful, yet effortless with a silkiness to its texture, broad palate presence, yet with great clarity and focus, all without any sense of heaviness or clumsiness. Grace and power. A regal, statuesque wine. Beautiful and early peak. 97
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1/8/2017 - UPL Likes this wine: 99 Points
much better than the 1982 -- despite so youthful -- try this beauty -- it´s a pity that´s my last bottle - in 10 oder 20 years more than perfect
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12/31/2016 - cridershow wrote: 96 Points
Simply stunning that something 3 years older than me could taste so youthful! Beautiful fruit is still shining through but with wonderful secondary flavors of tar, leather, herbs and floral notes. Had a bite of top end filet with a mushroom sauce on top. I could not imagine a better pairing. Still has 10 years+ left in the tank. A benchmark wine for sure.
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12/28/2016 - dharrison93 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Enjoyed with friends at a local French restaurant after a splash decant.
Dark purple ruby with no sediment, this wine is fully mature
Exhilarating nose of black raspberry, mocha and fig compote. The wine continued to improve over dinner with more air, so decant thoroughly (2 hours?) if you're planning on opening a bottle.
If a date, this was a 35 year old lingerie model who keeps you spellbound over dinner before bringing you home to enrapture your senses fully and completely. Highly recommended++.
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12/25/2016 - NJwineguy wrote: 89 Points
Overall very nice
Cork almost bled through
Felt a bit past prime but certainly enjoyable
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12/24/2016 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Out of magnum: needed a few hours of air before it showed at its peak. Medium bodied, complex, a lot of blackberry on the palate. a touch of gravel and something burnt (toast?) on the edges. Bouquet was not overwhelming: classic Margaux, with that hint of sweet florals on the nose. Still seemed quite youthful to me, tannins still not completely tamed -- no signs of decline, dare I say it is still on the ascent? Might be even better in another 5 years, and in the larger format at least seemed able to sit for at least 15-20 more years before starting decline. No rush to drink.
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12/12/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
My notes say "lovely, earthy and refined. So feminine with this beautiful violet note." At Rarities, Nomad.
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12/11/2016 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 95 Points
Five Bordeaux By Five Decades (Rancho de Los Olivos): The cork came out cleanly, and I decided not to decant after taking my first sip. So silky and perfumed, with earthy tones, some mushroom, black currant, cranberry, cedar and plenty of structure. A bit less floral than I expected. Seemed to shut down after 90 minutes, to my surprise.
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12/9/2016 - SlimShaney Likes this wine: 93 Points
Supple, elegant, juicy and sexily caressing. Enough supportive tannin to finish with considerable conviction. Other than achieving perfect integration, that perhaps is only brought by the hand of time to French wines, there's just nothing at all old here. This is prime!
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12/7/2016 - RayOB wrote: flawed
Chateau Margaux Masterclass Dinner (67 Pall Mall): It just was not singing like previous bottles. It was not off just slightly dead. But I do love this vintage and the old saying goes "There are no great old wines, only great bottles. "
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12/7/2016 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 97 Points
For our Bordeaux First Growth Dinner, Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, and Chateau Lafite Rothschild, nose of forest floor, blackberry, black currants, and leather, same on the palate, big body, intense fruit, mouth filling flavors and fruit, small amount of soft tannins on the long finish. My second place and group second place.
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12/6/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Young with wood notes still at the fore. Deep but light on its feet. Clean, pristine and with great clarity. A perfect bottle but in need of more development.
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12/3/2016 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drank it side by side with Margaux 83 and HB 88
For me the WOTN, it was getting better and better with time, the beginning was slow and reluctant, after time it Shows a great fruitieness with a great acidity Backbone, soft and ripe Tannins, maybe at his Peak but enjoyable over the next 10-15 years, Even this was a good bottle I had it better. The Magnum last year was a stunner, 96-97
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11/26/2016 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 94 Points
Medium dark red. No signs of maturity in the color. Nose was a bit tight, though it showed lots of perfume as the evening wore on. Perfume and dark fruit. On the attack I got more perfume, some focused red fruit in the midpalate with some darker fruit as well. There is a really nice acidity, and a slight tinge of leather, but no real tertiary development yet. It was strangely austere without being all that tannic. I would have never figured this for a 33 year old bottle, and I'd love to see where its at in another 33 years.
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11/24/2016 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Light and elegant with smooth blackberry and long finish.
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11/11/2016 - tinybubbles wrote:
A not fully representative bottle likely reflecting modest storage issues.
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9/29/2016 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at La Grenouille in NYC. Nearly perfect aged Bordeaux.
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9/17/2016 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
I always love drinking this wine, though it is a bit polarizing. I have found that some don't care for this wine, but I don't understand this. To me, this is classic Margaux. A beautifully perfumed nose of black currant, violets, truffle, leather, and tobacco. Just as impressive on the palate. A smooth, elegant mouthfeel. Tannins also smooth and silky. Nice length on the finish with fresh acidity. At or near its peak, this wine is drinking very well.
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8/12/2016 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Mostly Bordeaux dinner with Bob (Magdalena restaurant at the Ivy Hotel, Baltimore): There is a hint of brett. This particular bottle seems slightly leaner and more evolved than usual. Showing mostly secondary notes, cedar, leather, caramel and mineral. Also plum, a hint of cassis and Margaux flowers. Good concentration, slightly lean, nicely integrated tannins and long finish. Good showing but not great.
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7/12/2016 - Sean Tay wrote:
Nose of black fruits, toast, spices and cedar. Tasted at Bar a Vin.
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6/25/2016 - JulianSkeels wrote: 94 Points
Full bodied, and ready with only 30mins in a decanter, this has great fruit density and persistence, but lacks the floral characters I look for in a good Margaux. I had the same issue recently with the 1996, although this also was cassis dominant, it wasn't as dry as that wine (which was more St Estephe in style) - instead adding a touch of earth and blackberry. Noticeably less aromatic and 'fresh' as the 1983 Palmer served alongside. A very good wine, but one I find it hard to love. Both bottles were perfect and from my cellar.
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6/20/2016 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 94 Points
great nose, silk, soft...impressive
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6/18/2016 - William Kelley Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a very creditable wine, but perhaps the Pontallier-era Château Margaux vintages are just not for me, as I felt this was just lacking some of the perfume, precision and elegance that one looks for at this address, and which is so abundantly present in wines like the '53. A bouquet of cedary cassis, redcurrant, coffee, subtle spice and rich earth is followed by a nicely balanced, quite powerful Bordeaux which just didn't quite have the magic of the Palmer served alongside.
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6/12/2016 - acidqueen wrote: 96 Points
Low neck fill. I have been carting this bottle around for 31 years and no storage problems here. Decanted 2+ hours and drank over next 2 hours. Still medium red, no sign of orange. Firm, still tannins and acid, dark berries, camphor, floral notes (orange blossom?) and cedar. Lots of life ahead and not at peak I think. None of the greenness that some mentioned - just not a ripe style. Best with food, as expected. Hold a bit longer.
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6/12/2016 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 97 Points
Half year ago from Magnum
Still very young, dark coulour, no signs of oxidation, cassis,plums, dark berries in nose, typical Bx earthiness, ceadrwood, cigarbox, more me the better wine - even uncomparbale - than the Verite La Joie 2007 in the same evening.
Very fresh acidity, perfect integrated tannins but still firm, I think this Margaux didn't reach his peak. Not so brialliant as the Magnum a few months ago but still a remarkable wine 96-97
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6/10/2016 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
1983 Bordeaux horizontal tasting and Allison's birthday dinner (Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar): This wine simply exploded after an hour. A classic Margaux nose, with a beautiful perfume of black currant, violets, white pepper, leather, and tobacco. This was easily the best nose of the night. On the palate, this did not disappoint either. Outstanding ripeness of fruit. Impressive concentration, and an ultra-smooth, elegant mouthfeel. Tannins round but need a bit more integration. Impressive length on the finish with fresh acidity. This bottle performed better than the last. This is at or near its peak, but is drinking very well now. My #1, group's #1 (of 5 wines).
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6/3/2016 - nywine68 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Initially felt a bit thin but wine puts on weight as it sits in the glass for a while. Fully mature but still some good structure and tannins left. Blackberry and mocha flavors. Bottle in good shape. Color still fully saturated with some brick color at the rim. Not a Wow wine but very enjoyable nonetheless.
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6/1/2016 - MrOctoberfest Likes this wine:
Pretty damn good for Bordeaux. I got delicious red and black fruit, smoky meats, dusty/chalky soil, leather/dried paper/library notes and licorice. Not even close to a decline; this should still be kicking in 2050. Almost as delicious as the Côte Rotie I had last Sunday. Near-perfect to perfect.
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5/15/2016 - mclanew Likes this wine: 97 Points
What a stunning wine. Leads with an otherworldly nose, then flavors of black fruit, tobacco, cedar and flowers. Full bodied, multi layers and developing lots of subtle notes. Aging gracefully with a ways more to go.
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5/6/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
I can never seem to make up my mind about which wine is better, 1982 Margaux, or is it the 1983? They seem to alternate, as to which is on top. Mature and ready for drinking, the wine is full bodied, concentrated and rich, displaying all its floral, tobacco, blackberry, earth and fresh cherry charms. There is a touch of greeness in the finish, but there is so much going on with the wine in every other sense, it's hard to notice. Drink this beauty, or age it, either way, you are in for a treat.
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4/23/2016 - ricknat1 wrote:
Still young and fresh and at opening the tannins are quite pronounced. At 2 hours it is beginning to open. Clearly beautiful. I would decant at least 3 hours.
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4/10/2016 - FloridaMizes Likes this wine: 94 Points
A rich deep berry, hints of ground dirt, medium bodied with light to medium tannins. Paired with steak, root veggies, and finished well with white chocolate (with Madagascar Vanilla). Would also pair well with a spicy red sauce and perhaps even moldy cheeses
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3/26/2016 - Mark H. LeQuire wrote: 96 Points
Wonderful bottle enjoyed in celebration with friends. Straight up, no food pairing. My palate is not accustomed to vintage Bordeaux, so, I don't know where this wine is in its bottle life. Pulled the cork. It was wet almost to the trailing edge of the cork. The nose was astonishing. Initially I thought the bottle was corked. No. Absolutely the most old world, musky, rotten nose ever! In my wife's words: Dirt and blood. Very earthy. No flaws. Moderate rim variation. Amazing, no sediment. Opened up beautifully in the glass. Low tannin/acid. Medium alcohol. Long, long finish. Unquestionably drinkable.
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2/10/2016 - onboisduvin Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very good experience before, but not tonight..........C. sauvignon goes not well with Chinese food.
20190421 Wonderful experience. Agree with recent notes. Now it's time to enjoy this bottle! 95
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2/9/2016 - hultman Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tämligen lik 82an. Aningen tunnare. Mycket bra.
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2/5/2016 - soyhead wrote:
nose - earthy, hay
mouth - cherry, orange peel, barnyard, and bigger fruit than the '82 but less refined. filter the '82 through hay and that's sort of how this felt to me. still impressive
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1/11/2016 - amateurwino Likes this wine: 97 Points
This tasted amazingly young for its age, with powerful and lively fruit. Tasted blind, I should have known this was a Margaux by the lovely perfume, which had so much presence. On the palate, the vibrant fruit melds with notes of green pepper that don't come across as green, but simply add complexity, together with notes of graphite that also fold seamlessly into the harmonious whole. Quite simply, a great wine - one of the truly memorable Bordeaux among the many that I've had.
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1/6/2016 - d'Auvenay Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank along with the 90 Montrose. Wine a little restrained and only opened after 2+ hrs. It's likely better if it opened a few more hrs ahead of time.
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12/30/2015 - svdheijden wrote: 94 Points
Maybe not the best bottle, but no obvious faults. Better on second day, though not living up to its reputation and beaten hands down (again) by the stunning 1983 Palmer.
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12/25/2015 - rlove wrote: 97 Points
This started out worrisome: Crumbled cork, totally closed bouquet, dull palate. But with air, the '83 Margaux is one of the most gorgeous bottles of Bordeaux I have had the pleasure of enjoying. The nose shows sexy Burgundian sous bois notes, followed by coffee, cassis, and cedar. Earth, red, and dark fruit on the palate, with great acidity that gives this wine a remarkable freshness. The texture is plush and sensual. This should remain a stellar wine for another decade.
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12/16/2015 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 99 Points
Achim's Magnum Tasting 2015 (Behrens am Kai in Düsseldorf 1 star restaurant): For me the WOTN. Very perfumed but plesant scent afterfresh cutten flowers and cassis. You can smell the elegance.inthe palate you have cassis accomanied with cedarwood and roasted coffee, very powerful in the finish. The most important fact is that the acidity gives him an endless freshness. Beautiful.
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12/9/2015 - schan109 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Stunning wine! It remains powerful after 32 years. It takes 2 hours decanting to open up, and another 30 minutes before the lovely floral nose showing off. Full of elegance and forward. Very long finishing.
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12/1/2015 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
1982 blind tasting. Brought as mystery wine next to 1982. Didn't stand up well. Much lighter, more rustic. Decent price difference but for me the 1982 is a much better wine.
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11/28/2015 - Dave Canada wrote: 98 Points
The Fourteenth Stonefields Dinner (Guelph, Ontario, Canada): 2nd of 2 bottles. 1st was subtly corked
Wow...this was unbelievable! So explosive....liquified flowers are everywhere....lavender, violets, roses, forrest floor, earth, cedar, cassis and sandalwood....quixotic wine!
The palate is so pure...cassis, lavender, cedar, leather, black currants, earth, forrest floor, mushrooms and flowers, flowers, flowers.
Finish is a knockout, so long.....unbelievable wine.
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11/28/2015 - englishman's claret wrote: flawed
Will I ever find a good bottle of 83 Margaux? Cooked - this time from a different source.
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11/20/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 96 Points
A very good bottle of this wine. More mature than other recent examples. Much more appropriate for current drinking than the '82 served alongside. Classic Margaux elements link seamlessly across the palate.
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11/16/2015 - dharrison93 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wonderful+ +. Seamless, fully mature with layer upon layer of berry, spice and fig paste. Seems to be holding at the high level it was 10 years ago. No hurry to drink these beauties up since there's enough stuffing here for another 10 years easily.
If a date, this was your home room queen age 38, who is still Playboy sexy, yet has gained so much intrigue from a life fully lived.
Highly recommended++
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11/12/2015 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 97 Points
Generously contributed by Daniel....... near perfect fill and cork. Briefly decanted. Plush velvety red silky colour rather than jeweled but still looking 15 years younger than its age. Nose is restrained, reserved but very pinpoint-perfect pencil lead and pencil shavings....absolutely refined hauteur...compellingly complete, refined and harmonious. Silence-creating, which is the highest compliment I can pay a wine. Palate is really fresh, structured but harmonious, linear in its precision, you would likely guess Latour or Lafite rather than Margaux, it has a black/red totally "pastille reduction" quality that deserves 3 Michelin stars. So fresh. Thrilling. Superb, elegant endless reverberance inside the head on the finish with such a harmonious masculine/feminine balance and still tons of luscious fruit. Absolutely majestic - sleek and elegant, it just cut a perfect path unwaveringly throughout a long evening. As a contrast to the sublime but volatile Grange '71, this is Grace Kelly on the Queen Elizabeth I. Thanks, Daniel.
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11/6/2015 - sj38 wrote: 95 Points
Double decanted 7 hours. Deep purple-red with no sign of bricking in the glass. On the nose, perhaps slightly less fragrant than some other vintages (1982, 1990) but notwithstanding that a classic Margaux with a nose of mushroom, cedar, tobacco and forest floor all of which combine in the mouth with beautifully balanced, subtle acidity and gorgeous tannins which traverse the tongue with a velvety touch. This wine is clearly at its tertiary peak and I guess will stay there for several years, maybe 7 or 8 or so.
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11/4/2015 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
A Margaux & Pauillac tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): Has that perfume one would expect. Dark and red fruits, spice, and floral notes. Solid mid-palate. Still with prominent tannins. Long finish. Again, a wine with exceptional balance. Its strengths are its complexity and concentration, but not really a stunner.
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10/18/2015 - jvstier1 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Pretty special. It had all of the flavor and was likely right at its peak or close. It was one of the best wines that I have ever tasted.
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10/17/2015 - GA Old World Guy Likes this wine: 95 Points
What a wonderful wine. Consumed with lunch at Sotheby's Margaux Auction last Saturday. Cork was very saturated. This bottle was certainly at it's peak and would not have lasted another 5 years I suspect. The nose had bright red fruit and a little forest floor. If this wine had been served blind it could have almost passed for a powerful Bugundy. Tannins had all but disappeared and nothing left but beautiful flavor. Wish I had another bottle.
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10/16/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose took an hour of air time to open, although this bottle was served unusually cool. White pepper, red fruit, and some sweet spice, overall mature but subtly engaging nose. Palate was thin with fading red fruit, light chalk back, but lacking depth to pull you in. Served with a cheese course although consumed largely without. Not the equal of the magnum of three weeks ago.
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10/8/2015 - paul195 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was decanted an hour before serving.
Color was deep ruby red, showing little signs of age. Bouquet of plum and cassis along with violets, spices and some cedar. Engaging mouth feel, energetic structure with layer after layer of dark fruits and spices. Beautiful balance and texture with an elegant finish. Worth waiting for and should be at this level for at least a decade.
(This is the first bottle of a six pack I purchased on release.)
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9/25/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
From magnum. A young nose on this bottle with light must, brambly dark fruit, still noticeable wood, dark ripe fruit, yielding to notes of menthol, eucalyptus and light tar. The wood on this bottle still needed more time to integrate. On the palate, coal dust, dark plum and blackberry, viscous tar, and wood elements. This bottle would have certainly merited a higher score in 5 years. 94+
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9/14/2015 - TWSA wrote: 94 Points
Food: chinese
Duration: 2.5 hours
Condition: neck
Aroma: blue and blackberry, pepper, some flower
Notes: this is probably the 4th or 5th time for me to have this wine. Very classic Margaux, I am guessing that this is reaching its prime drinking window, as the wine became ready to drink after 30 mins in the bottle. It's extremely smooth in palate and indeed a very feminine wine for a left bank bordeaux. I like this wine now. I think we can keep this for at least another 10-15 years.
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9/13/2015 - Purple Tooth wrote: 94 Points
Bright and enthusiastically vibrant, this wine still doesn't seem to be finished developing! If I had to take a guess, I would say that this is at 70% development, so there are more great things to come from this 32 year old bottling from a spotty vintage that rewarded those those who figured it out...Lots of structure, and this bottle would have benefited from decanting! Astonishing and very respectable. Drink or HOLD.
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9/11/2015 - joshbryer wrote:
Non-descript and lost next to the '89 Palmer that was served in the same flight. Not bad but not special...short and a bit clipped.
Based on some of the notes in here, perhaps this was an off bottle.
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8/31/2015 - rosenst1 wrote: 92 Points
One of the last bottles from a couple of cases purchased on release in the mid-80s. Fill was top shoulder. Cork was soaked completed through but was extracted intact. Not decanted. Deep red, little signs of browning/bricking. Lovely classic Margaux nose of violets and cedar; nice fruit on the palate but over time this began to show an acidic side to the finish. As noted by others this is probably past its peak and may not need too much air before consuming, although there is now significant bottle variation; this one was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
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8/29/2015 - BradE wrote:
Three Nights In San Juan; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015: Generally a killer wine for me. This bottle was good, but didn't hit the greatness that I've come to expect.
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8/29/2015 - RaphaelMalago wrote: 86 Points
Out of a case of 12 btls of Chateau Margaux 83 I must say that we had 5 stellar bottles but all other lacking power, finesse and most would not stand a Margaux 83. The case was purchased en primeur and kept on refrigerated cellar...so no reason whatsoever for such difference.
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8/19/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
quite good. Better on the palate than the nose. Lower fill bottle.
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7/19/2015 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
Solid ruby core with fading edges. Loved aged nose that is classic Margaux with that combo of cassis and violets also with notes of grilled peanuts and Asian spices. Needed a good hour decant to soften some and then shows lovely flavors of dried flowers, ripe cassis, dark spices along with hints of eucalyptus, smoke and dried blackberries. The finish is dry and less complex than I remember but there is still a gorgeous fine density that envelopes the palate. The 10th bottle of a case purchased on release and to me, this wine peaked 3-5 years ago and now shows a slightly angular finish with some astringency. There are no other signs of excessive aging so it is possible the wine is going through an off period which is something I see that happens to first-growth Bordeaux over time. Still very fine and very terroir-driven and therefore a joy to drink especially with grilled steaks. 94-
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7/15/2015 - mark.gularte@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points
decanted for 90 minutes, tint of brownishness when held to the light, dark fruits, earthy notes, a bit closed but quite well balanced, nice long finish. A treat to try such a renowned wine!
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7/12/2015 - vivt Likes this wine: 95 Points
clear rim cayenne, violets on nose earth. long finsh complex lovely alive glad I driank it with prime rib my last one bue beau tiful and elegant as margaux should be.
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7/2/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
BYO at Goosefoot (Chicago): Sweet red fruit, watermelon, dark fruit, earth on the nose. Great depth and symmetry on the palate. This was slightly more exotic than others in the lineup.
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6/20/2015 - paulst Likes this wine: 97 Points
Earthy and herbaceous; light blackberry with little tannin backbone; hopefully an off bottle.
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6/19/2015 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 96 Points
Underbara mognadstonerna av en klassisk Bordeaux. Svarta vinbär, körsbär, tjära, rosor, mörk choklad, tryffel, läder, cigarrlåda och lite mint. Ett otroligt balanserat, silkigt och elegant vin med lång fin eftersmak.
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6/6/2015 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
Good bottle, nice perfume, but clearly behind Palmer 1983
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5/30/2015 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
60th Bday celebration (Goosefoot Restaurant Chicago, IL): The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle.
It smells like mushroom, forest floor and cedar. The body is medium/full. The wine has linear texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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5/29/2015 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: flawed
With anticipation of great things, our tasting group jointly purchased a well-cellared bottle of this wine from our local purveyor (who had sourced it from a private cellar). The fill was low-neck, the label intact and the capsule (and cork) in good shape. Alas, the stars were lining up for something special...until the first whiff of horrible TCA taint! Needless to say, the stench only got worse over the ensuing 20 minutes. Sadly, this bottle was virtually undrinkable.
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5/25/2015 - karl.1480 wrote:
Tasted along with '79 Lafite-Rothschild, '93 Ridge Monte Bello, '89 Latour, '94 Petrus and '98 Haut-Brion.
Clear, medium intensity garnet color.
The nose is developing with a medium(+) aroma intensity. Aromas of black currants, prunes, grass, sweet spice, cigar box, lead pencil, cedar wood, pine, mint, cold coffee and a hint of stable. It has a disturbing hint of damp cellar and old mushrooms which made some of us think that this bottle may be flawed.
Dry on the palate with a medium acidity, medium body and medium tannin. The flavor intensity is medium with flavors of cassis, green bell peppers, grass and old wood. The finish is medium.
Seeing other tasting notes on this wine makes me pretty sure about this bottle not being 100% correct so I choose not to score it. I thought that the nose was fine but on the palate the wine was somewhat subdued. I just figured that this wine was too old but apparently it's not.
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5/24/2015 - BillyT wrote: 94 Points
Wine of the Night! Decanted 4 hours and returned to the bottle. Removed 98% of the sediment. Wine was dark garnet to the rim belying its age. Nose of dark black fruit, dark chocolate and a hint of tobacco. Medium legs on the glass and weight on the palate. Palate tasted as nose with an elegant mouth feel and lingering fruit finish. Elegant and satin finish. Excellent.
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5/24/2015 - Lilja wrote: flawed
Looking at all the other notes on CT, this could potentially have been a flawed bottled. There was also a touch of wet card board on the nose. Not enough to convince everyone around the table that it was corked, but in my opinion it was lacking in complexity and depth as well.
Medium intense nose with clearly developed aromas of ceder, sesame seeds, apple core, cilantro, roasted oak, coffee, chocolate, prunes and a little cherries.
Medium+ acidity, very dry with lots of tannins. Medium intensity and length. This was clearly sub par. Felt tired and did not show any improvement during the night.
I will be a good sport and call this flawed.
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5/22/2015 - d'Artagnan wrote: 95 Points
Verticale du Château Margaux: Un beau nez frais de sous bois, un peu de thé.
Très belle bouche ronde et fine, ce n'est pas un vin de structure mais un d'élégance. Superbe équilibre pour un vin plutôt tertiaire, mais délicieux. Un vrai grand vin, je soupçonne qu'il était encore meilleur il y a 10 ans. Le 1983 ? 95 pts
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5/1/2015 - RayOB wrote: 99 Points
Drank at Home
This wine really is incredible. Beautiful complex nose, rich long silky smooth palate. You just can't help loving this wine. WOW
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4/25/2015 - mwanasheria wrote: 98 Points
Unbelievable nose of chocolate, herbs, mocca. On the palate still quite youthful with mouth-filling tannins, cassis, milk chocolate, thyme, raisins. Spectacular.
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4/17/2015 - tcarter Likes this wine: 97 Points
Peter Bothe's 40th Birthday (Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak in Glendale): Contender for Wine of the Night. Killer wine. Drinking perfectly right now.
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4/9/2015 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow! Outstanding! Great old Bordeaux nose of some musty notes, pencil shavings, flowers, and red fruit. quick 10 min decant heavy sediment. Incredibly smooth, and the finish was like having a piece of strawberry licorice in your mouth. Literally. It was unlike any finish on any wine I have had.
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3/30/2015 - acheng wrote: 93 Points
Cork completely soak through. Oyster shell, black fruit and cedar. Somehow not as good as previously tasted with Potallier. Missing mid palate. Nice persistence and obviously completely resolved tannin.
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3/24/2015 - mwanasheria Likes this wine: 98 Points
What a wine. It never fails to please. Classical Margaux with bouquet of pepper, berries. On the palate unbelievably elegant, spices, thyme, fresh fruit. Full of life and young.
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3/22/2015 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
I love Margaux - the 1990 is one of my all time favorites. I bet the 86 will get there eventually. I was hoping this would show up, but found only a decent wine, not more. Dark, blocky, unsophisticated, inelegant - basically the opposite of what you'd expect from Margaux and all the more so from a great vintage.
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3/22/2015 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
The lesson with this wine is decant, decant and decant some more. The first three hours this was barely accessible at all and improved significantly with another hour in the glass. Alas we never really got the 99pt fireworks others describe.
Nose: beautiful dark blackberry nose with forrest notes, floral notes, hints of leather and a bit of mineral sea air. More depth and purity to the blackberry emerges and florals get more finessed. Palate: textured black fruit, sweet wild berry, blackberry and currant. Elegant across the palate with well rounded tannins. Some nuances of eucalyptus and flowers with Margaux elegance. Finish: dark and penetrating with sweet blackberry, leather and sage.
Good bottle, but there are definitely better ones out there.
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3/14/2015 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ripe fruit with gorgeous dark flavors with notes of tobacco and Asian spices. The finish is tannic and a bit angular and the '82 and quite a few other vintages tonight were drinking better than this. Either going through a strange phase or simply drying out. Time will tell.
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3/12/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bottle from chateau. Not the best showing for this wine. Herbaceous nose with white pepper and a slight chalkiness with time. Good spice, full and complete in the mouth, this should have a lot of time ahead of it. Ripe fruit on mid palate with strong tannins with some bitterness on the backpalate. The '85 outperformed the '83 tonight.
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2/28/2015 - shutto1992@gmail.com Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wine was bought on future and stored under ideal conditions. Top shoulder fill. Bottom third of cork crumbled. When opened, the wine had little nose and a flat taste. I decanted the wine for 3 hours and tasted throughout the decanting time. The wine slowly improved. The wine did not fully open until about an hour in the glass and then the wine blossomed into a spectacular mature bordeaux. The next bottle I open will be decanted for 6 hours or a 24 hour DD.
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1/22/2015 - RayOB Likes this wine: 99 Points
Drank in Hong Kong
Drank along side the '83 Palmer which I love but this was on another level. My god the complexity with a nose of cedar, tobacco, forest floor, chassis, earth and spice. Wonderful rich palate and a long finish. This has legs to last quite a few more years. Yum Yum
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1/19/2015 - willthethrill Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really two wines - the dark, aged, challenging forest when drunk without food, and the floral, almost delicate wine that accompanied my steak at August. Thanks to EM
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1/19/2015 - rnellans wrote: flawed
Not nearly as good as last bottle a couple of years ago. Very floral nose with cedar, some tobacco. As the wine aired, some hints of TCA started to emerge. Off bottle.
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1/16/2015 - -E- wrote: flawed
Lettere korket. Spak frukt med tørr utgang.
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1/8/2015 - solana wrote: 99 Points
Absolutely wonderful wine. Incredibly complex aromas and an endless finish. Between the two the flavors coat the palate with a liqueur like persistence, but with no weight. I did not take notes, but wanted to write here to stress the importance of a long decant. Kudos to NewFrenchClaret for his great note below, his observations are spot on: 3 hours in the carafe and the wine was singing. For me it improved for another hour, but my wife found the 3 hour expression perfect. The color was ruby almost to the rim, with only a little ring of tawny at the edge. So if your wine shows more mature when decanted perhaps a shorter decant is in order. Well stored bottles ( I have a normal, not temperature controlled, cellar that moves between low 50's and low 60's over the year, but has neither light nor vibration ) will certainly benefit from a good long decant. Enjoy.
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1/2/2015 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 97 Points
Slightly bricking dark red violet color; aromatic, cedar, tart currant, olive, tobacco nose; tasty, velvety textured, tart red and black currant, tobacco, cedar, ripe plum palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish
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1/1/2015 - jmcelroy wrote: 82 Points
Very disappointing. Open for New Years eve dinner and never really developed all that much. Started out with little fruit and nose when first decanted and never really opened up over the next 4 hours. Had next to a 2002 Shafer HS in magnum which was clearly far superior. Previous bottles had been much better. Last bottle in cellar so no chance to revisit.
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12/25/2014 - MauriceE wrote: 98 Points
Brilliant. Fresh nose, berries, ceder, mahogany, multi-layered. In the mouth: velvety, soft, delicate, mysterious, complex, endless finish. Still at its zenith and no sign of decline in sight.
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12/21/2014 - winelover1808 wrote: 97 Points
amazing. popped, decanted for about 30 minutes before we couldn't help but start drinking this. fantastic perfume still - hints of lilacs, floral, sweet nose, particularly compared to the Pauillac first growths. Pretty red fruit in the mouth and a very long, seamless finish. A wine that seems to be hitting its peak now but def has years ahead of it. But it seems to be at a peak drinking window now. glad I have one more of this!
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12/14/2014 - the player Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lovely mature Margaux and compares well to the 82 which I have had the pleasure of having a few times although not as opulent but with more balance mid palate. Ruby red, dense body to this wine and a lovely nose of ripe red berries, cherries, pipe tobacco, and jasmine tea. Decanted and drank over two hours. Very delicate upon entering the palate, like a Bach sonata that tickles your senses. Mid palate there is a density of red fruits that dominates, and a long seamless strawberry tinged finish. Good acidity which drops after two hours in the decanter so not sure how much more mileage this wine has, but true finesse, decent power, all the pleasures one expects from a mature Bordeaux. I still prefer the 82's finish but this is a close contender for one of the best Margaux I have had, in the same league as the 89, but slightly below the 90, 96, and 82.
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11/26/2014 - King JR wrote: 97 Points
Magnificent! Still ruby in color and powerful, yet incredibly smooth. Majestic wine. Thrilled I had the opportunity to taste.
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10/13/2014 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Wine of night
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9/7/2014 - admid wrote: 95 Points
Vingruppen Winefair (Solsiden, Oslo): Ap: Dark Purple
Ar: closed in the beginning, but opened up inthe glas with a intense and complex nose. Very intense tomatoe leaves on the nose.
Full bodied and lean. Very structured and balanced. Still rather tannic.
Very lingering
50+5+13+18+9
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8/16/2014 - burgified Likes this wine: 100 Points
spectacular. with good friends at Lincoln Ristorante. Everything is balanced and integrated. the nose, oh the nose.
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8/4/2014 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 100 Points
Bordeaux 1983 Horizontal; 8/4/2014-6/11/2019: Disclaimer; I am aware of how terribly pretentious this wine review may seem. But there are some wines which are beyond conventional description. To merely list some flavors would be a disservice all round.
======================
There is a scent. A truly marvellous scent. It's what I spend most of my life chasing. Every bottle bought, every cork unpopped, from the lowliest supermarket wine to the most decadent Premier Cru- every single time there's a part of me that is hoping to find it. If I can't find it I'll settle for being reminded of it.
I often get echoes of it from elderly Californian bottlings. The odd Barolo here and there has a bit too. Like being shown a photo of a loved one, they bring back happy memories. But there's only one commune which can give you the real thing, and that's Margaux.
Almost all Margaux wines of any quality show this character to some extent, just as the St-Juliens have their own unique aromas which others doubtless crave. But for me the Margaux wines' unique character is what I'm looking for. And the zenith is reached at Chateau Margaux.
To stick your nose in a glass of Chateau Margaux in a decent (or even half-decent) year is to experience the essence of this flavor; its most distilled form. And 1983 is the greatest year in Margaux in the last half-century.
So I'm expecting great things from this, right?
Well, this bottle decided to play a little trick on me and keep me waiting. After a two hour decant I poured a glass and tasted a superb wine; deliciously balanced and poised, youthful but complex and complete, and concentrated and long. All very nice, but not worth four times the price of the 1986 Dunn Howell Mountain from the previous night. Hopes dashed, and gnashing of teeth.
And then, suddenly, after a further hour, everything is there. And I do mean everything.
The first word that sprang to mind at that point was NARNIA. The moment we all imagined when you burst out of the wardrobe-tunnel into the forest. The Margaux scent is all around as you stop to smell every wildflower. Violets and roses. The trees drip with dew, lending a vegetal air; the damp bracken adds a background of freshness and openness.
Every now and then the nose forks off in another direction; soy sauce, lamb jus (a recurring theme) and similar meaty aromas; cedar and graphite and similar Lafite-ish tones; sherbet and chocolate, and similar candied treats. But in the end we return to the elusive Margaux character.
The concentration is absurd, the balance impeccable and the finish sublime. But none of that really matters. It's almost a waste to let this wine into your mouth; it just means tearing your nose away.
This is what I buy wine for. Every wonderful wine I taste is colored with the tiniest tinge of sadness because it wasn't like this. But every new bottle fills me with anticipation, for perhaps I will taste the echos of this perfect bouquet.
To score this seems almost absurd- to score it less than 100 even more so.
=================
I have two more bottles. I'm going to open the next one much earlier. I am down to my last glass and new things are starting to happen.....
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7/2/2014 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
This bottle tonight was hard and firm and lacked the grace I've always loved about this wine. Perfectly stored and now my last two bottles of this wine have shown a lack of charm that is a bit disturbing. It could be bottle variation, of course, or could be this vintage is going back to sleep for a while or, hopefully not, the wine has seen it's best days and the fruit is fading before the tannins. Very margaux for sure with dark fruits and violet notes and that classic, incredible sweet margaux earth. We'll see.
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6/10/2014 - rsbeck wrote: 96 Points
Popped, breathed in bottle 90 minutes, consumed over next hour. Wonderful perfume pours out of the bottle and the show continues on the palate. Seamless tapestry of cassis, tobacco, cedar, lead, lavender, leather, a touch of earth and some others too subtle to pinpoint. Continually evolving in the glass culminating in an utterly fascinating, elegant, well balanced, lengthy finish. Drinking beautifully now and feels well packed for a long life with further upside potential.
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6/9/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 94 Points
Double decanted. Very dark and youthful in colour. Wonderful nose, not a lot of evolution and a bit of restraint there as well: Red fruit, flowers, cedar, forest notes, silky and fine. Superb structure and balance, lots of lush fruit, great grip, rather tannic, firm and surprisingly closed. Great length. Needs more time. 93-95+
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6/8/2014 - Yagil wrote: 91 Points
Septet wine-lovers 6th meeting in 2014 (at Eli Farkash, Savion): dark red-purple opaque colour
distinct tertiary aromas of dark ripe fruit, leather, wet earth, sous-bois and fungi.
full bodied, firm tannins, rustic flavours, med balance, lacks complexity, med finish. Med harmony: while the nose was sedative - the palate seemed a bit over the peak with lack of structure...
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6/8/2014 - Topper wrote: 95 Points
WOTN out of 24 very good wines. What I particularly liked about this wine was the combination of medium to medium full density, soft tannins, lots of remaining fruit, and a quality that can only be described as 'grip'. That's a sometimes ambiguous wine term that in this case means it grabs hold of your mouth and won't get go. GIves you all sorts of flavor combinations while maintaining an aggressive palate in a medium structure. Really contrasted well (and showed well) next to some huge cult Cal cabs that just couldn't match the subtlety and complexity of the Margaux.
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6/7/2014 - Russell Faulkner wrote:
UAE Wine Dinner: Showed off a bit, but so polished and refined sweet perfume of red fruits, smokey finish, sublime.
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5/31/2014 - G_H wrote: 96 Points
Very very elegant wine. Still needs an hour to open up but then is really amazing. All the ingredients are here, leather, cigar-box, tobacco, prunes... Great wine!
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5/17/2014 - Argrath wrote: 98 Points
Extremely elegant, seductive nose. Beautiful perfumed aromas of smooth blackcurrant, gravel, subtle gun smoke, sweet tobacco and iron minerality. Mature, profound, deep and full. Splendid!
Medium-fullish palate, with splendid grip, lovely elegant dark fruit. Harmonius and succulent. Classic, sweet fruity and generous. Utterly balanced. Mature but without barnyard. Perfume, oak and minerally smoke in tremendous balance. Very, very long and concentrated at the same time that it is totally open.
Tasted half-blind, this was WOTN, and the winner in our PC-83 tasting. Utterly harmonius, seductive, balanced and fresh. Among the top ten best Bdx I've tasted. Depending on your tastes, this can of course be cellared further, but we didn't see any reason to wait longer.
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5/8/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
With age, clearly some bottles are better than others and this was a very good bottle. From a magnum, the wine was floral, soft, concentrated, deep and complex, with a length and depth, this delivers a lot more and could serve up even more in the future.
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4/23/2014 - nortonnose wrote: flawed
Great wine, hiding behind a thick robe of TCA. What a bummer.
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4/6/2014 - Wine Expresso wrote: 92 Points
Pop and aired in bottle for 3 hours. Aggressive first attacks but slowly developed into more complex floral, leather nose with very good length.
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3/25/2014 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 94 Points
Se tidigare noteringar 2013-11-16
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3/23/2014 - McKraftyWino Likes this wine: 93 Points
great sip
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3/12/2014 - G_H wrote: 93 Points
Coravine'd: couldn't resist the temptation so I took another glass out of the bottle. Again spectacular elegance, very long, very nice mouthfeel and still very young. Fir needles, cedar wood, still a very long life ahead. Impressive!
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3/10/2014 - G_H Likes this wine: 94 Points
First try at the Coravin, do you might see multiple notes from the same bottle...
Very young still, needed time to open up. beautiful classic bordeaux nose, pure elegance. Sunday roast, leather still quite a tannin structure. Great wine
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3/5/2014 - Thoughtful Likes this wine: 98 Points
Stored in a cold cellar since release. Fill bottom neck. Excellent cork. Wine in perfect condition. For some 1983 was something special in Margaux. Deep and intense - for Margaux. Great complexity.balance and length. Still young but completely ready -drink to 2030 but only if stored in perfect conditions. Probably will not get any better.
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2/16/2014 - meqoubal36 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Longue aération de cinq heures avant la première gorgée. Le vin étant encore un peu fermé, j'en bois très peu, et lui laisse deux heures de plus, alors, lentement, il impose ses notes explosives et expose sa profondeur hors du commun.
Comme dans un vieux Château certan 1947 jadis, et quoique de façon très différente, je retrouve dans ce nectar les cinq goûts selon les Chinois : sucré, acide, amer, âpre, salé. En bouche il semble changer de goût très vite, sa palette se compose un peu comme mille et un reflets jouant à la surface lumineuse des eaux. Vin protéiforme et divin. Une fraîcheur soudaine, délicate, minérale et pleine de fruits mûrs (cassis, framboise, myrtille) vous envahit le palais dès l'abord. La longueur, le soyeux et la présence impressionnent. Beaucoup de richesses en milieu de palais - tapissé de soie -, longue finale alcoolique, merveilleusement inlassable.
Algues, soja, venaison, herbes amères, thym, sauge, mûre, chocolat, cassis, etc., cèdre, plume, notes de Porto ou de Cherry, etc.
Je précise que les notes sur 100 que j'attribue sont en partie symboliques, et que le passage d'une note et à une note d'un point supérieur marque pour moi un saut qualitatif (un vin noté 94 est vraiment d'un autre niveau qu'un noté 93). C'est une échelle instrumentale qui se construit peu à peu au fil des dégustations, elle tente, à sa manière formelle et limitée, de rendre compte du fait que chaque grand vin a son degré unique de perfection, et que, comme les étoiles dans le ciel, chacun est à sa place au milieu d'un ordre parfaitement harmonique.
" pourtant, si on laisse aller son esprit au-delà des huit
extrémités,
qu'on regarde en haut ou en bas c'est partout la même
quiétude
quand on comprend enfin sa véritable nature,
n'obtient-on pas l'or magique de l'immortalité ?"
TU FU, UNE MOUETTE ENTRE CIEL ET TERRE
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1/18/2014 - stiang Likes this wine: 97 Points
En vin jeg har et sentimentalt forhold til; min første "Grand vin", smakt i 2006. Starten på min vinkarriere, på mange måter. Åpnet, ganske rå ved åpning. Skremmende ung. Tok et glass og lot den stå åpen i to timer. Ekstremt elegant nese av sekundær og tertiær Medoc-frukt. Tobakk, lær, noe floralt - som å åpne de gamle skatollskuffene hos oldemor. Ikke veldig uttalt nese; nesten Lafite-aktig diskresjon. I munnen ekstremt lineær og "solid" - konsentrasjon!! Nokså tannisk, voldsom struktur. Flott lengde, vinen gir og gir.
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1/9/2014 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 97 Points
Bordeaux matters, along with Burgundy and Champagne and Port and ... (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): What elegance and richness here. A white floral aspect with cool notes that I really liked. Very fresh. Red fruit but subtle, adding to the complexity of the aromatic and gustatory profile. This was yet another highlight from a fantastic evening. Perhaps just lower than 100 (I am not really very keen on scoring but what the hell) because a certain steeliness late on the finish detracted. Don't get me wrong: The finish was long and echoing but there was a bit of a steely aspect to it as well. I wonder if the wine just needs more time in fact to reach its apotheosis.
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1/9/2014 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Belated holiday dinner - Mostly Burg and Bordeaux (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Very youthful nosed displaying intense sweet dark fruit, cassis, lead pencil, light caramel, ink, mineral and a hint of flower. Incredible concentration, unctuous, intense dark fruit driven palate impression and nicely integrated tannins. This particular bottle is ripe intense and hedonistic. Although pleasure to drink, it is still at best secondary and not showing much tertiary notes. A long life ahead. I may have to use Dan Kravitz decimal point system as I slightly prefer this to the 89 Montrose which to me is a clearly 97 point wine and I like this slightly less than the 02 Confuron RSV. Perhaps 97.759?
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1/6/2014 - esburgundy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great nose, deep floral component and hints of clove. Silk comes to mind in the mouth, the wine had a very feminine component which i liked. The acid was there but certainly muted. I don't think the wine gets better but its drinking quite well.
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12/9/2013 - mouton45 wrote: 95 Points
Brought to dinner with some friends. Showed great. Also has a ways to go (surprisingly)
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12/8/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
Beautiful mature Bordeaux. Very dark color. Same flavor profile as the bottle we had earlier this year, but this was quite tannic on the finish whereas other examples have softened.
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12/5/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 95 Points
At CVAs home in London, thx for being generous with your cellar and a wonderful home cooked Belgian meal.
Opened for 2 hours - mature Bordeaux, medium red/purple color. Nose was pencil/lead, lavender and floral notes, black fruit in the background. Fragrant, nose is not one of a 30 year old wine...Palate was dark fruits, cassis, tobacco, earth. Some chocolate. Dusted red berry finish.
Elegant, mature and refined. I have had the 78, 85, 89 vintages, closest in age if not in style. Have not had the 82, so no point of comparison there. This is a fantastic aged Bordeaux - drink beautifully now, my guess is it holds another ~10 years.
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11/29/2013 - winebling wrote: 95 Points
40th Birthday Old Vino Dinner (Era Bistro, Brisbane): This was a little musty on the nose at first, but after more time in the glass really shone. Colour looked excellent, and had a beautiful, pure nose to it. The balance and complexity on the palate though were superb. This wine should cellar another 10 years, but is wonderful drinking now.
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11/16/2013 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 94 Points
Har verkligen rundats av sedan jag drack det senast. De relativt påtagliga tanninerna har verkligen integrerats och mognadstonerna träder fram på ett helt annat vis. Svarta vinbär, körsbär, tjära, rosor, mörk choklad, läder, cigarrlåda och lite tryffeltoner. Verkligen ett balanserat, silkigt och elegant vin med lång fin eftersmak.
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10/31/2013 - robertek wrote: 95 Points
Great bottle of mature Grand Vins.
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10/30/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
This was a good, but not great example of 1983 Margaux with its cocoa, chocolate mint, truffle, cassis, tobacco, cedar wood and ash character. The wine was soft and polished, finishing with a sweet and tart black and dark red berry finish. Drink now, or let it age another decade.
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10/19/2013 - canan wrote: 93 Points
30th Birthday - Bordeaux Wine (1983) (Le Sommelier, Copenhagen): Young black currant fruit nose with a hint of shrub and cigar box. Medium intensity.
Tightly wound sweet black currant fruit on the palate with an impressive balance.
Beautiful and feminine wine.
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10/19/2013 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep, dark reddish-purple in color, almost opaque with no visible signs of aging. Fragrant, vibrant, complex & aromatic nose of ripe dark fruit aromas of cherries, currants & cassis, with classic overtones of cigar box notes of cedar & tobacco and lovely floral notes of violets & lilacs, some exotic Asian spices, herbal/minty, a hint of anise, dusty, truffles, leather and earthy. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, developed, elegant & refined, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries, plums & some cranberries, earthy, exotic spices, truffles, some dark cocoa, herbs and minerals. Long lingering velvety smooth finish. The aromatics are absolutely wonderful. Drinks quite well at present with decanting and may hold at this plateau for several more years if cellared properly although I doubt it could get much better than this.
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9/21/2013 - aquaman wrote: 94 Points
Cork in very good shap. Open n decant but open up in glass.. Smells good but a little acid at first... But got better but most of the people like the 83 haut brion better... It was a side by side tasting
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9/20/2013 - gsquireh Likes this wine: 99 Points
As good as it gets! Not the 1982, but better, spectacular, close to perfect as one can hope for. No bottle variation problems here, this was as you would wish for any Bordeaux bottle of wine. Nothing but superlatives as we drank at Per Se after a magnum of the utterly delicious 2006 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet. Pure and balanced like a Bordeaux from a novel by Dickens edited by EM Forster, this rich royal purple classic had aromatics that meged all the fruits and flowers that we dream of in surgar plum fairies - the cassis caressed, the smoke was sweet, and the earth elevated the wine to a once in five year phantasmagoria phenom. Balanced like a Russian or American gymnast whoever is the best and prettiest.
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8/17/2013 - sdr Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was one of the less successful bottles of '83 Margaux but it wins points for its beautiful aroma. But on the palate, it was surprisingly coarse and inelegant. Good density but texturally moody.
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8/10/2013 - McNeill wrote: 97 Points
Cork was in poor shape in magnum bottle. Strained and decanted for one hour before serving. Color was bright and the nose was, well...incredible. Notes of cherry which developed to tobacco and pencil lead. Well-balanced, complex and nice depth. Wine should be good for at least 10 more years.
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8/4/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 96 Points
Dinner at Rob's. Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Outstanding nose of dark fruit, leather, mint every now and then. Nicely sweet on the palate. Superbly silky texture and wonderful depth and complexity. Fully mature and perfect balance. A very complete wine. Long, lingering finish.
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7/26/2013 - clairenclarence wrote: 84 Points
tis is veri disturbing.tried margaux 83 twice.last year n tis year.if tis is blind taste,it doesnt show 1st growth quality.didnt get much aromas like the d issan 00.its like a aged bttl in btween $100.wat it left in the bttl is evident cabernet "green herbaceous" n some slight leather notes.tis bttl is really a let down for the 2nd times.wat went wrong??cud it b tis bttl have not yet reach puberty stage or cud it b tis "impotent" bttl cant "perform" anymore??keke.just wonder
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7/25/2013 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 99 Points
1983 tasting. All wines opened immediately before serving. This wine still has 5-10 years of life and needs some decant. My wine of the night (and the one I brought). Its a blockbuster with finesse. Continue to drink and buy. my favorite Margaux to date
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7/8/2013 - allfalkedup Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted about a half hour before drinking. The nose was initially strong with notes of dark berries and mushrooms, but that changed rather quickly giving way to a light berry/leather scent. The wine was ruby red and clear. The flavor profile was one which definitely indicated the maturity of the wine as the tannins have almost completely retreated, the fruit softened into a complex blend of black current, leather and red fruits. The finish was silky smooth, but not as long lasting as we had hoped. The wine drank very nicely for its age, after all, it is a beautiful Margaux, but it wasn't the same blockbuster we enjoyed 5 years ago. If you have it, drink it, as it is not getting any better with the passing of time.
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6/29/2013 - Rosengoo wrote: 92 Points
This was drank at a local restaurant after being decanted for 15 minutes. The wine was quite clear (it had a very slight haziness to it) with a medium garnet colour. The nose was clean with a medium intensity of fruits.
In the glass was a dry wine with well low to slightly medium levels of both tannins and acidy. It had a medium body of black fruits with blackcurrant being the most prominent. There were also some fig flavours as well. Very nice for a 30 year old bottle.
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6/3/2013 - mpdonnel Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for 2 hours before tasting. Initially had a medicine-like scent that burned away. Aromas of cassis, licorice, preserved fruits and smoke. Deep ruby color and medium-bodied with dark fruits and cherry on the palate and more tannins than expected. Developed in flavor over the next 2 hours, though the finish started to dissipate.
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5/23/2013 - cooberp wrote: 92 Points
1983 Margaux Mini-Horizontal (Tocqueville, NYC): Translucent ruby. Intense nose of pencil and redcurrant. Herbs come out with air. Very light for its concentration, and good acidity. Longer finish than the '83 Palmer tasted alongside, but a bit more straightforward. A lovely, classic wine, but didn't quite offer the fireworks its pedigree would suggest.
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5/7/2013 - -E- wrote: 97 Points
Ch. Palmer vertikal (Oslo): Klar mørk, rød med innslag av oransje. Himmelsk nese! Parfymert, elegant, floral og feminin med nydelig dybde og innsmigrende sødme. Friske toner av mørke, røde bær, fioler og mildt krydder. Ren og klar frukt. Høy konsentrasjon, men fremstår sømløs og elegant På topp, men fremdeles ungdommelig. Delikat med nydelig, presis syre. Milde, faste tanniner finish. Sitter svært lenge i.
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5/7/2013 - LWI wrote: 98 Points
Palmer vertical: Deep and sweet fruit on the nose, spicy and floral, very complex; a combination of a surprising full body (for a 83), sweet fruit and fine acidity/structure. A crowd pleaser, but what is wrong with that? Approaching its plateau.
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5/4/2013 - Dave Canada wrote: 96 Points
Super Tasting 5 of 6 - Chris does 1983 Bordeaux (Dundas, Ontario): Tasted blind
Great wine with all the hallmarks of Margaux in a great vintage….flowers, spice, pure red and dark fruit and a long and complex finish.
Despite its obvious complexity, I thought this wine would be even more unfurled and resolved…..it seemed like it still had something to give. As it was…it was still a spectacular wine.
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5/4/2013 - alittle wrote: 95 Points
Tasting Dinner Series (5 of 6); 1983 Bordeaux Horizontal and Trickery (Chris' House): Served blind. Deep garnet with a slight brick. On the nose, red and black currant, graphite, herbs, crushed rocks, fresh coffee grinds, but seemingly a touch reticent. On the palate, quite rich and concentrated with quite a bit of unresolved tannin, and medium acid. Finish is long, but this seems to be hiding something, although the class and pedigree of this wine is evident.
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5/4/2013 - Wine Canuck Likes this wine: 95 Points
Super Tasting 5 of 6 (1983 Bordeaux w/cali ringers, Hosted by Me): Found this wine to be a bit tightly wound compared to the other 1st growths on this night. The capsule was corroded so it's possible that the bottle wasn't completely sound, however it was in very good condition and fill level looked good. Opened and left to breathe in the bottle for a few hours, not decanted. A very dark wine, it initially had a fresh baked french pastry note, then gave way to pine resin and sawdust, with dark blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Palate is dense and concentrated with fresh acids. Very nice bottle showing on the young side at this tasting.
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5/2/2013 - dream Likes this wine: 97 Points
At "Rarities" - a perfect bottle of this great wine that really shows the earthy, floral terroir of Margaux. Dark fruits combine with exotic spices and a floral lift that is a thrill to drink. There is still very good intensity here and the finish is everything you could ask for from first-growth Bordeaux. Magnificent and still on the upswing. 97+
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4/29/2013 - salil wrote: 96 Points
Drinks at La Silhouette (NYC): Not all that different from my earlier experience with '83 Margaux a few years ago. This doesn't seem to have changed much, there's an amazing fragrance that just keeps building and becoming more complex with time in the decanter, combining layers of savoury cedar, tobacco and leathery notes with sweeter floral and richly fruited elements. One of those wines I could have kept smelling throughout dinner. The palate presence is remarkable; powerful yet very refined, absolutely seamless with the structure fully integrated and the flavours echoing the aromatics, and remarkable persistence. Phenomenal. Thanks Ross.
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4/21/2013 - MilaBuchelska Likes this wine: 90 Points
Delicate, fragrant, developing nose.
Fine, etheral mixture of floral notes, red and blueberries, a touch of leather and sweet spices.
On the palate is subtle and elegant with fresh acidity and silky tannins.
Tight in the middle with a luscious finish.
A lot of redfruit, redcurrant and a mix of fine herbs and spices.
Delicate, sensuous and harmonious.
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3/23/2013 - bpj87 wrote: flawed
Los Angeles "Bucket List" Offline (Los Angeles, California): Heat damaged.
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3/10/2013 - WorldChamp Likes this wine: 95 Points
This bottle scared me to death. I thought it was dead in the bottle. But I have had enough Primier Cru wines to know that you have to give them time. After about 3 hours this beauty finally opened up to deliver that classic perfumed Margaux bouquet. floral and fruit filled in the mouth with a two minute finish. If you drank yours early, then shame on you. You must let these ladies open in their own time. This one did not have the magnitude of some other Margauxs that I have had, hence the 95. But still a worthy First Growth. What a great evening with wonderful friends too.
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2/12/2013 - Stevey Likes this wine: 94 Points
Medium bodied, tannins have settled, this wine is in drinking window now but can last another 10 years. Elegant, not powerful, well balanced. Drinking like an aged Premier Cru should and like the others, I'm not sure it's worth the current market price.
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1/19/2013 - Nuromri wrote: flawed
Dark, full, ample fruit. More cork. Very disappointing
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1/8/2013 - maw246 wrote: 99 Points
Arguably the finest wine to pass my lips - ever. Nose, structure, fruit, complexity, and loooong finish. Wow. It only gets better after 3 hours.
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12/31/2012 - adanacsim Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted the wine about 1.5 hours prior to drinking. Good deep color, though some browning at the edges. Paired with osso buco. No doubt "drinking the label" was part of the experience, but everyone at the table found this wine to be outstanding: fruity, beautifully balanced, more elegant than powerful. This wine is a delight to drink now but should last for many more years.
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11/18/2012 - rosenst1 wrote: 94 Points
This bottle had a good fill; top shoulder/bottom neck. Cork largely soaked through; decanted 90 minutes prior to tasting. Medium deep red with perhaps slight browning on the rim. Lovely floral nose of violets; classic Margaux. Medium deep on the palate with superb balance and enough tangy acidity to keep one's interest. Long finish. One of the better bottles and much more interesting than an 82 Las Cases drunk in parallel.
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11/16/2012 - dream wrote: 95 Points
Dark, brooding color. Perfumed nose of violets and blackberries. This bottle was drinking incredibly young. Full-bodied for a Margaux with gobs of glorious black/blue fruits. Deeply concentrated on the finish with lovely notes of violets, minerals and Asian spices. Perfectly stored bottles of this are aging very slowly and this is a fabulous if atypical Margaux that should reward extended cellaring. 95+
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11/15/2012 - godx wrote: 93 Points
Alvin’s 60th Birthday Dinner (Le Gavroche): Medium red and slightly more youthful looking than the ’83 Palmer. This has a wonderfully elegant nose that was sweeter and perhaps slightly more complex with dark red cherries, blackcurrants, cedar, spice, peppermint and traces of violets. Similar flavours on the palate with a perfectly balanced mouthfeel with powdery yet tight and firm tannins, excellent acidity and a long persistent finish. This is tight and more structured than the ’83 Palmer. Fantastic to drink now but I think will be even better with another 5+ years in the cellar. Outstanding. 93+
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10/25/2012 - curtr wrote: 90 Points
Disappointing bottle.
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10/25/2012 - curtr Likes this wine: 94 Points
A great two bottles. Lots of character. WOTN.
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10/7/2012 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Old Burg and Bordeaux at the Capital Grille Tysons (Capital Grille Tysons): Corked.
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10/5/2012 - petitblanc wrote: 90 Points
CT Wisconsin Offline 2; 10/5/2012-10/6/2012 (Madison, WI): Very deep ruby-cherry color. In the glass, a raw sewage note slowly blew off to reveal primary cherry fruit and very faint Margaux perfume, then this faded away quickly into tannins and alcohol. Not a great showing, but pleasurable. Base neck fill, slight signs of dried seepage.
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8/22/2012 - clairenclarence wrote: 91 Points
1st growth wine bcoz it can aged many yrs??yup,i agree with tat.decant 15 mins.a very "youthful" wine tat refuse to bow dwn based on tis bttl age.no sign of aging of tiredness.veri showing.well integrate.the onli let dwn is it doesnt has the omph factor.if tis is blind tasted,i wud hve gues its nt more than $300 sing dollars.is tis bttl worth 1k nw.nah.save your $ n xplore more exciting bttl with lesser price
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8/16/2012 - curtr wrote: 91 Points
Not one of my better bottles. I have had bottle variation.
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7/28/2012 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
From Chicago Wine Company, so probably purchased on release. Deep ruby, no lightening at the rim. Level into the neck. And it tasted like something 10 years younger than it was. Simply beautiful and more intensity and power than some previous bottles of this wine I've tasted in the past. Velvety, deeply fruity in its secondary phase, gaining in complexity and compelling on the palate and finish. Many more years of life from perfect bottles like this.
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6/10/2012 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Chateau Margaux vertical dinner with great whites and 2007 Rayas (Ruth Chris Tysons Corner, VA): Another classic floral cab based Margaux nose but significantly more youthful than the 82. Fresh blueberries and blackberries, cassis, blue fruits and a hint of green which for me gives the wine lift and complexity. Some mentioned initial band-aid note but mine was fine, must blew off. Intense yet seamless palate. Lovely showing but had better bottles in the past.
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6/9/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: flawed
Acker Merrall June 2012 Chicago Auction (Waldorf Astoria - Chicago IL): Musty to start, fell off sharply after 20 minutes in glass.
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6/9/2012 - tooch wrote: 94 Points
Acker Auction (Waldorf Astoria - Chicago, IL): Great dried floral and tobacco on the nose with lots of red fruit and earth. Loved its mineral-edge that combined with gorgeous dark fruit, mint, soil and truffle. The palate was relatively soft which suggested to me that it's drinking close to peak. Great stuff.
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6/7/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Acker Merrall BYO (Sepia - Chicago IL): I was looking forward to tasting this wine alongside the Palmer 1983, and this wine certainly didn't disappoint. Red and black cherry aromas with hint of cassis. Lush, elegant and incredibly charming. Long sweet finish with great spice.
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6/7/2012 - tooch wrote: 93 Points
Acker BYO - Chicago (Sepia - Chicago, IL): Found another bottle at dinner...hope it's better...oh good, it is. Great nose of tar, herbs, red fruit, earth, and florals. It's palate was beautifully composed and had this lovely feminine profile - lots of florals, dried cranberry and tilled soil. Great length to the body this seemed to have a lot of life left.
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6/7/2012 - tooch wrote: flawed
Acker BYO - Chicago (Sepia - Chicago, IL): The string of flawed Margaux began with this one!
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5/15/2012 - Tad GW wrote: 94 Points
So very different from the last time I had it. Last time it was a much more feminine wine with a fabulous floral bouquet. This time dark ripe fruits, mocha were the dominant scents and this opaque black beauty still held copious but soft tannins.
50+5+13+17+9=94
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5/10/2012 - wr12162 wrote: 94 Points
Part of my wife's birthday dinner. As the other wine was an 89 HB, this was not in the same category. That said, the longer it was open, the better it got. Decant for at least 2-3 hours. Wine was fairly light and floral by comparison, still a great wine. Better to drink now than hold onto.
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5/2/2012 - Lord of the Bottles wrote: 93 Points
he Wine Society Dining Club 250th Dinner (Drapers' Hall, London): Strong roasted fruit, bit of coffee and earth. Still seems young, not as refined as the '90 and with a slightly shorter finish with more capsicum overtones.
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5/1/2012 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
The Wine Society Dining Club 250th Dinner (Drapers' Hall, London): Single bottle, double decanted. A relatively light and elegant rendition, fully mature, smooth, subtle and elegant, fresh and with some tannic grip, fragrant and floral, develops well in the glass.
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4/18/2012 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Part of a dinner at Bouley pairing 79, La Mission and HB, 82 Barton and Las Cases, 93, Palmer and Margaux and 89 Pichons
The Palmer was winning at the first taste as the 50% merlot gave immediate gratification. The Margaux has depth, complexity and perfect balance that made it the ultimate winner
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4/15/2012 - Trickyone wrote:
Over 25 Tasting (Home): This was a strange experience. The bottle was decanted about 3 hours before consumption, and the nose seemed off at the beginning. For the next 3 hours, I went back to it and it veered from off to fine and back again. The same was true once it was in the glass. Every third sip or so gave the classic cedary fruit of Ch. Margaux; the rest had a sort of mushroomy taint to it. Ironically, the scent in the decanter the morning after was sublime. It's possible I should have decanted it earlier? The remaining bottles of this vintage will definitely be given at least 4 or 5 hours to open up before they're drunk.
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3/29/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
The second bottle of this wine in a week. I am a lucky man. Both bottles were similar in character. Over time, this cassis, forest, floor, truffle, tobacco and blackberry scented wine is developing rustic qualities to the mouth feel. This is still an outstanding wine, but it’s not developing positive traits with time.
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3/25/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Floral, truffle, earth, cassis, tobacco and cedar wood make up the perfume. Full bodied and concentrated, the tannins are a little rustic, which takes away from this normally, elegant, refined wine.
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3/23/2012 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Great to pair this with the 55. This was a fabulous showing. The wine was at a young adult stage of its development. Dark colour with just a hint of bricking at the rim. Plenty of power but with grace and precision around a package of red/black fruit. Superb.
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3/3/2012 - Fatty Cat wrote: 96 Points
Early Mar 2012, Chateau Margaux tasting (22 different vintages) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: rubin color; intense aromas/flavors of coffee, wood, dark chocolate mingled with red fruit notes; medium body; smooth, ethereal texture.
Loved the 1983 Margaux peculiar due to his magical levity. At least this bottle was at the peak of his consumption live. Don't think it'll further improve and would advise to drink all remaining bottles in the next 5-10 years.
Flight V: 1982 - 1983 - 1986 - 1989 - 1990
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2/25/2012 - Rob MacKay wrote: 97 Points
A stunning example of what I love about Bordeaux. Incredibly lively for a wine nearly 30 years old. A great mix of earth, fruit, a bit of rose and some cigar tobacco on the nose and the wonderfully complex and integrated mix of flavors on the palate. Fully resolved tannins extend the excellent finish. Wines like this easily renew your appreciation for the good stuff.
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1/29/2012 - rosenst1 wrote: 95 Points
See previous note.
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1/29/2012 - rosenst1 wrote: 91 Points
3 bottles were consumed at my 60th birthday celebration. All had been cellared since the mid-80s at 58 - 60 degrees. Fills were bottom of neck; 2 corks in good shape, one crumbled. Wine was decanted just prior to serving. Two of these were in dramatically good shape; superb aromatics, full bodied, perhaps a slight bit of acidity creeping in; the third was less good, with a somewhat more muted nose, but still excellent body. The consensus was this was drinking at or near peak but didn't seem in danger of falling apart at all.
Will drink my last few bottles over the next 5 years or so.
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12/27/2011 - MauriceE wrote: 98 Points
Sublime, at its zenith. Compared to Margaux 1982 (drank the day before yesterday) this is even more fresh and backward. Very, very fine. I couldn't choose between 1982 and 1983, though very different wines, both brilliant.
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12/11/2011 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 99 Points
This wasn't tasted under ideal circumstances- for various reasons I had to decant it pretty quick before serving it, so it probably had about 5 minutes in the decanter before my first sip. I also couldn't take any notes unfortunately, so this is from memory.
The nose is simply enchanting; a glorious blend of fruit, flowers and earthy notes. Everything is in such perfect harmony that every sniff brings something new. It's hard to describe what makes the difference to the nose of a 90 point wine and a 99 point wine, but this nose just had that X-factor that propelled it to stratospheric heights.
On the mid palate the wine is smooth and full bodied, and the finish lasts practically forever. Over an hour or so the wine opened up even more, and by the end had reached 99-point status for me.
I've always had great luck with the top '83s, and this one was no exception. I feel like I could spend 8 hours with this wine happily hoovering up everything the nose had to offer, but it's so hard to find the time!
A perfect wine at its peak.
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12/10/2011 - BenU wrote: 97 Points
Tasted at 'The Sampler' merchant in London
This is only the second time i've been amazed by the smell of a wine.
There was rich dark berries, cherries and cassis on the nose.
The colour was beautiful dark ruby with the taste being full, smooth and beautiful to drink.
A simply outstanding wine
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12/5/2011 - curtr wrote: 90 Points
Partially flawed bottle. Oxidized.
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12/1/2011 - jantor wrote: 97 Points
Deep, dense, warm red with brick at the rim. Utterly elegant, rich complex and mature nose with spicy almost perfumed flowery character. Cedar, pine, leather, tobacco, cassis, blueberries, blackberries. Mature and rich taste with wonderful fruit, woody spiciness, and firm fine grained tannins. It has a harmony and balance that few wines can show together with a dense and rich core. Very attractive wine at its peak.
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11/24/2011 - Edward A wrote: 98 Points
Gift from private collection stored in ideal temperature and humidity in custom cellar. Cork was split mid-way, but bottle was otherwise perfect. Decanted. Initial nose was very complex with dark currant and cherry notes, definitely farm-y, but cleared shortly thereafter. After decanting for 4 hrs, served with Thanksgiving dinner. Beautiful orange tinged hue. Delicious full body with very rounded tannins. Nice cedar notes on the palate, even a vague hint of mint. Earthy, well-balanced, delicious.
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11/10/2011 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
Amuse Bouche HK with L and N: Thought still somewhat tight - but great structure and poise with a hint of tobacco, cigar box, and perfect balance. Would give this another couple of years - less sweet and opulent than the Palmer 1983
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11/6/2011 - curtr wrote: flawed
Oxidized bottle.
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9/6/2011 - Old Claret wrote: 94 Points
Drank at Fiola for Ann’s birthday. Very good but a bit disappointing. Not exciting.
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8/25/2011 - Yiannis wrote: 95 Points
Drank with my friend B. Dylan and spouses to celebrate his I.W.S.P.C. graduation. Color was dark garnet with no signs of bricking or browning. Initially intense barnyard and animal aromatics that gradually settled down without disappearing completely, maraschino cherry, herbs, coffee, floral scents and earthiness. Medium to full-bodied and silky textured with sweet tannins, unbelieveble freshness and vibrancy of fruit, balancing acidity and an almost endless aftertaste. Much more impressive on the palate than on the nose. Perfectly drinking now, but seems to have the potential to age further for many years.
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8/24/2011 - Stefanos T. wrote: 95 Points
Dark ruby colour not yet garnet - very lively. Nose had none of the problems Robert Parker talks about but was really rustic, full of heavy barnyard aromas, funky dung and leather. Yet even if slightly funkier than what I would have liked there was ample berry and cherry fruit behind it. Nose I would say was evolving but not fully mature, the wine has at least two decades ahead of it. Perfect to drink now but could possibly become even better with time. Amazing complexity and finesse which showed mainly in the mouth with silky tannins, refreshing and balancing acidity, medium body and great power of flavour and unending finish.
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8/20/2011 - SB_Spakrs wrote: 97 Points
Dry prunes, vegetal, canned green beans, pipe tobacco, cedar, clove, medium sediment, medium viscosity. Double decanted over an hour. The flavor kept changing every 5-7 min, getting all the better. Still some life ahead, looking for another bottle to drink in a few years. Maybe 5 years left to peak!
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7/31/2011 - rnellans wrote: 95 Points
I haven't had the wine for some time so was anxious to see where it stood. Very dark with bricking on the edge. Huge tobacco, cedar,leather, dark fruit, floral aromas. Big in the middle with still a lot of tannins peaking there way through the nice fruit still present in the wine. Sweet finish. An excellent Margaux . I think it is at its peak..I wonder if the fruit, which is adequate at this time, will last? I think I would tend to drink over the next few years.
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6/25/2011 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 97 Points
June 25 (home): Once again, - It can't get too much better than this. This was truly elegant, with great finesse and yet an animalistic undertone that made you crave more and more. Truly excellent. At the top of it's game and showing no sign of waning
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6/14/2011 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Spectacular showing for this masterpiece of Margaux. The texture is now silky smooth. Fragrance of white flowers and rose. Deep into it's secondary stage, fresh, medium weight, soft yet flavorful. Extraordinarily elegant. Long sweet finish. Brilliant.
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6/11/2011 - Margauxguy wrote: 95 Points
Still big and brooding. Lovely with gobs of complexity. Classic margaux perfumer, cedar and dark cherry. Took 1.5 to 2 hours to open. Some bottle variation, perhaps a touch of va, but GOD I LOVE this wine!
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6/1/2011 - Pre-emptive wrote: 94 Points
Still young and needs time.
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5/27/2011 - Ary wrote:
Mature Left Bank Bordeaux (semi blind) (Amsterdam Wijn Antiquariaat): Again a disappointing bottle of Margaux 1983. Leaves on the nose, cherries and eucalyptus. Smooth on the palate, soft fruits and elegant. But drying. We had a much better bottle (from the same case) some years ago.
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5/16/2011 - Le Musigny wrote:
Decanted for 2 hours. Still a baby. Dark color with earthy, dark fruit flavors. Needs more time to become for the tannins to fully integrate.
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5/11/2011 - La Grappe wrote: 91 Points
Still a deep colour, but with brown edges; classic mature claret nose; the palate has depth, but there is a slight bitterness and also some dryness. The finish is long, but a bit sludgy. Perhaps the fruit has retreated and it may have been better a few years ago. Fine, all the same.
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4/16/2011 - curtr wrote: 92 Points
Had a bottle that did not show as well as usual.
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4/6/2011 - keithgg wrote: 95 Points
A lovely bottle.
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4/1/2011 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 97 Points
April Fools Wine Dinner: Dom, Coche, Burgundy, Margaux (Pera Restaurant, San Francisco, California): Slightly bricking medium dark red violet color; lovely tart cassis, mushroom, rich berry, blackberry, violets nose; tasty, youthful, rich, complex, tart blackberry, black fruit palate, with decades to go, an excellent bottle; long finish (group's and my WOTF)
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3/25/2011 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
It's very good, but still a disappointment compared to the best bottles of '83 Margaux. Color a little advanced with considerable orange at the rim and medium ruby at the center. Pleasant Margaux-typical aroma of violet and blueberry. Medium weight, nice finish. But overwhelmed by the '83 Palmer we had next to it.
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2/26/2011 - Papies wrote: 96 Points
Needs decanting of 1 hr and has lots of sediment. Elegant, pure, lots of menthol elements on the nose, herbal notes . Fine and reserved beauty on the palate, like a victorian lady only shows just to the ankle but what a beauty and bordeuax at this level easily ranks supreme
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2/26/2011 - samwise801 wrote: 90 Points
Still quite good -- it is a Margaux, after all -- but it's probably past its peak. Dense body and strong tannins, with dark, heavy fruit in the middle. Bold, strong, and long-lasting flavor; classic fine Bordeaux style, just what you'd expect from a top Chateau. Somewhat disappointing in how reserved and contracted it was; should have been fuller, brighter, more complex. If you have some, find a reason to drink it soon.
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2/21/2011 - dream wrote: flawed
Just the slightest bit corked but it was enough in a 28-year old wine to blunt the gorgeous finish I know this wine possesses. Bummer.....
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2/21/2011 - dream wrote: flawed
One of the bottles I recently got from Hart Davis. Double-decanted for 5 hours prior to comsumption with the Wine Boys in NYC at Ceska. Excellent color with a somewhat muted nose and just not delivering the usual peanuty-aged flavors I usualy get from this wine. The finish is short and a bit hot. Something is off with this bottle although the wine is fresh and I just can't put my finger on what's wrong.
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2/15/2011 - ricknat1 wrote: flawed
high cost vinegar
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1/22/2011 - ricknat1 wrote: flawed
Corked
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1/15/2011 - Khamen wrote: 92 Points
1 hour decant. Really quite stinky on opening but this settled after a few minutes in the jug. An element of old style Bordeaux funk remained on the nose right through however. On this showing that nose was perhaps a little shy, but some good complexity coming through with a meaty, savoury edge rounded off by a slightly floral layer. As you would hope and expect some good complexity in here - very earthy and a little gamey. If I'm being picky I was chasing a little more elegance and possibly a litte more freshness to the fruit on the palate. Curiously this started to shut down a little after some time in decanter and glass - and I do mean shut down, not fade! Unfortunatey we didn't get the chance to see if it emerged again later n the evening as it had all gone! Ah well. Certainly ready, and this was perhaps slightly bretty, but a fine Margaux with life left in it. To 2020?
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1/14/2011 - pjaines wrote:
Interesting bottle - very crisp, leafy cabernet fruit and bright acidity give this bottle a young feel. The freshness of the structure is quite remarkable in a wine of this age - plenty of years ahead of it.
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12/20/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
1983 Margaux for the third time two weeks. I'm not complaining. My comment is a cross between sharing and bragging. Each bottle has been different, which is natural when a wine is only days away from its 28th birthday. This bottle had a tight nose that needed coaxing and swirling to reveal the earthy cedar, blackberry, cassis and fennel aromas. On the palate, the wine felt soft, round and regal. However, the finish lacked the length necessary to be considered a great wine. This was a very good Bordeaux wine. But it was not a great bottle of Chateau Margaux.
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12/12/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
83 Margaux is a baffling wine. At times, it's an elegant, floral expression of Margaux and on other occasions, it shows increased rusticity and hard tannins. Sadly, this bottle displayed more of the later than the former characteristics. With an earthy, truffle, cassis and tobacco laden nose, the wine felt rustic and beefy on the palate, with an austere leaning in the cassis filled finish. 94 Pts
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12/1/2010 - curtr wrote: 94 Points
A wonderful bottle! Decanted 1.5 hrs and enjoyed over the following 45 minutes. Still some tannins in the mix, yet they add to the experience. I will enjoy my remaining bottles over the next 7 years.
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11/26/2010 - mactheknife wrote: flawed
Had held this bottle for 12 years since I drank my last one. The cork disentigrated unfortunately as I removed, and the nose was nasty; I decanted and sipped over the next 3 hours, hopiing the nose would disappear and the taste would improve; threw out after 4 hours.
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11/20/2010 - rosenst1 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted approximately 1 hour before being poured with a birthday dinner of rack of lamb. Fill was bottom of the neck; cork was a bit moldy on the outside with perhaps a little leakage. Lovely nose immediately of violets and complex scents; dark red with little signs of browning. This had largely resolved tannins and a satiny texture with much less "edge" than the 86 Gruaud Larose which accompanied it. This was a very good representative of this wine but perhaps not the best I have
tasted over the last dozen years.
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11/5/2010 - ricknat1 wrote: 97 Points
Once again, - It can't get too much better than this. This was truly elegant, with great finesse and yet an animalistic undertone that made you crave more and more. Truly excellent. At the top of it's game and showing no sign of waning
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10/16/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
The star of the vertical lineup of Chateau Margaux, 1990 back to 1961, with all the great vintages on display. This is the best example of the '83 Margaux I have ever had since its release. Stunning fragrance of violets. Very sweet, pure, elegant, lingering. Indubitably at peak now.
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9/24/2010 - bonniewai@waiconnor.com wrote: 97 Points
Have had this wine on numerous occasions and each time it always exuded so much class & appeal. Very attractive nose of violets, smoke, blackberry, with waves of concentrated black fruit, cassis, complex, well-balanced, and was quite stunning. Normally this wine would be WOTN for me, but on this night, it was eclipsed by the 1983 Palmer, 1982 & 1990 Chateau Margaux.
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6/29/2010 - Goldstone wrote: 98 Points
Cold War Nuclear Escalation Wine Club Dinner (Otto e Mezzo, Alexandra House, Central, Hong Kong): Graciously provided by Daniel. Impeccable fill on the lower neck and a near-perfect cork. Slightly lightening translucent blood red colour. The nose is welcoming, extravagant, pencil lead....wow!...lovely.....eye-closingly good....deep.....rich...velvet dusty curtains......a woman's damp armpit. The palate is initially strikingly acidic but with a tannic harmonious poise that is perfectly balanced....lovely plum, liquorice stick, cinnamon stick and a touch of raw opium....beautifully complex and harmonised....like an orchestra in perfect synch with a trio of opera singers. Resonant. Huge length.....rolling thunder.......constant firebursts on the back end......like your favourite rock track live in a big stadium that you just don't want to end....but even with a couple of top-ups it dropped off a little after 2 hours in the glass and thus didn't win WOTN, although it came close for me.
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6/25/2010 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 88 Points
Verticaal Margaux (Chalet Royal): 1983 Château Margaux (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux) Kleur: Diep robijnrood Aroma / bouquet: Vlurkje. Jeugdiger indruk, wel wat gebrand, indrukken van caramel en toast, opvallend veel paprika / wat vegetaal. Smaak / Afdronk: Niet helemaal mijn wijn, omdat ik ook bij dit glas twijfel aan de zuiverheid. Wel romig, veel kracht en een enorme lengte. Algemeen / potentieel: 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 9 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 7 = 88/100
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6/25/2010 - PeterH wrote: 97 Points
Just fantastic juice
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6/20/2010 - prakashkrishnan wrote: 98 Points
WOW!!! Fantastic wine. Took 45 minutes to open. Great balance of fruit and tannins. Tannins still present but this wine is drinking beautifully and will last a long time.
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5/28/2010 - KeithAkers wrote: 95 Points
Pinot Smackdown 2010 (Ken's, northbrook IL): nose: very deep and refined nose that took a bit to get going but unravels into flowing tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, leather, mineral rich earth tones, perfumes, incense, and some violets. Intoxicating and complex nose that brings an array of tones in waves
taste: medium/full body with silky tannins that still show off a good amount of youth on the palate. Regal and satiny tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, leather, mineral rich earth, incense and bits of violets all blend in well together. Wonderful depth that just layered itself on the palate
overall: oh to have had a small group on this bottle. This was starting to kick into another full gear after about 30 minutes but there was a lot of people drinking from it. The glimpse that I got though was more than enough to leave an indelible mark on me. This may have been at the end of a very long night, but its greatness certainly shocked me back to life
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5/20/2010 - Zweder wrote: 98 Points
This is so much better than the bottle I tasted last year. Beautiful and classical elegant Bordeaux/Margaux bouquet with dark fruits, luxurious oak and some sweetness. Same on the palate. Full bodied and so lush and complex. Everything in perfect harmony. Soft and powerful tannin. A great bottle!!! And then I wonder... An over the hill bottle last year, an almost perfect bottle now. What to do? In a perfect world/bottle this can last another 5 - 10+ years, but the chances it will loose its beauty only becomes bigger with more ageing, and it will not improve anymore. If I had any, I would open the next bottle the first special occasion that comes by.
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5/20/2010 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 96 Points
1983 Château Margaux (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux) Kleur: Zeer diep donkerrood Aroma / bouquet: Zwoel expressief, boers, donker fruit, zoethout, inkt. Smaak / Afdronk: Vanaf de eerste waarneming verbluffend. Vol en krachtig, zachte zuren, boordevol boterzachte tannines, geweldige balans. Royaal in de alcohol. Indrukwekkende lengte met een mooi bittertje. Algemeen / potentieel: Ingeschat als nieuwe-wereld in verband met de kleurdichtheid en de alcohol. Atypische Margaux. Staat nog volop overeind en is nog in ontwikkeling, superkrachtig. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 96/100
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5/8/2010 - jcgarcia wrote: 93 Points
Classic Margaux nose. FIne tannins, well balanced. A medium finsih
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5/7/2010 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 97 Points
It can't get too much better than this. This was truly elegant, with great finesse and yet an animalistic undertone that made you crave more and more. Surpassed the 1982 for sure. Truly excellent
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4/30/2010 - soyhead wrote: 92 Points
1st Gro(w)th Nite at PRIMAs (PRIMA, Walnut Creek): This was, i believe my first Margaux, and in retrospect i think i drank it way too quickly. Couldn't contain my excitement i guess.
nose - although it blew off, i swear it first it smelled like freshly diced parsley. I passed the suggestion by Jeff, but dont think i really convinced him. Later red fruit and dirt/dust which made me briefly think of Rutherford dust, just so you have an idea how I would have fared if tasted blind. Per Mario 'leather'
mouth - mid bodied, and drinking really fresh despite its age. Cherries, red berries, and herbs. Well balanced, classy, and completely belying its age. I would like another glass, please. Score may be conservative.
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4/28/2010 - Cellargenie wrote: 98 Points
Very aromatic, violets, cassis, pencil, sous bois. Integrated tannis but very youthful, could go another 20 years.
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4/22/2010 - balassis wrote: 99 Points
Dinner at home with my friends George, Vassilis, Manos and Costas, without our spouses.
Vertical tasting of Ch. Margaux.
My second bottle of this amazing wine.
As the the first time I opened the bottle, the cork had big problem, but the wine was in perfect condition.
It is realy a blockbuster!
Muddy but deep ruby in color, with some brown hues to the edges.
Nose with scents of forest floor, smoked herbs, mushrooms, cedar, and sandalwood.
Medium bodied on the palate with good acidity and well integrated tannins.
After some aeration into the glasses reveals flavors of red and black forest fruits, lead pencil, oak and ink.
Still has an excellent ageing potential.
Perfect match with a mushroom soup which Manos cooked for this exceptional night.
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4/18/2010 - GSW wrote: 95 Points
Just a lovely wine. Soft, round, drinking beautifully. Hugely outshone the '83 Ausone that we drank alongside, but in fairness to the Ausone, the bottle was perhaps not as well cared-for.
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3/22/2010 - cct wrote: 96 Points
Hugely perfumed, with cassis stony fruits, dark chocolate, and lovely perfume. This is still very primary with just touch of leather. Extremely well balanced and pedigreed . Pure flavors that blend into each other seamlessly. Full bodied, powerful, and simultaneously poised and quick on its feet.. Some bitter chocolate along with a lovely perfumed sweet fruit core. Lovely and very young. Still pretty tannic on the back end. Early peak and great. 96pts.
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12/29/2009 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 96 Points
1983 Château Margaux (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux) Kleur: Opvallend diep donkerrood Aroma / bouquet: Prachtig tertiair bouquet met een vleugje jammig donker fruit maar vooral koffie, tabak, laurierdrop en een hint van madeira. Smaak / Afdronk: Opvallend krachtig, krachtige zuren, nog boordevol stevige maar prachtig rijpe tannines en daarmee nog supervitaal. Indrukwekkende lengte. Algemeen / potentieel: De wijn maakt een opvallend jeugdige indruk. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 96/100
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12/19/2009 - JJL wrote: 95 Points
It has been a long time since I had a really good bottle of '83 Margaux, but finally it has happened, and from a 375. The nose had a touch of barnyard, with oak and some cinnamon. The palate had oak, plum, currants, sour cherry, with a black licorice finish. The acidity was was still going strong, very nice. Paired with a 750 of '83 Palmer that was a tad better.
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12/10/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Refined power describes this lovely bottle. With decanting, aromatics of black fruit, cassis and floral notes with hints of tobacco and forest scents are easy to find. More powerful than 83 Palmer, but not as elegantly complex, the lengthy, black fruit filled finish is pure, but shows a bit of rusticity. Still young, additional bottle age will only make this already outstanding wine get better and better
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11/21/2009 - Edclr wrote: 98 Points
Wow! Very soft, typical margaux nose of violets, totally ready to drink. Double decanted, then put cork back in and took cork out an hour before drinking. Absolutely stunning wine. Served along with 82, 85, 86 and 90. The 85 was over the hill, probably a victim of storage. The 82 was still tight, after 4 hours in decanter. The 86 opened as the meal progressed, which surprised us, and the 82 did not. The 90 was the one that had a totally different nose and palate. 82, 83 and 86 were obviously Margaux. The 90 could have been from anywhere. The 83 won the wine of the night vote.
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11/14/2009 - MauriceE wrote: 97 Points
Again an impressive bottle. What class, what sophistication, wow!
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10/21/2009 - PatrikO wrote: 94 Points
Not sure this bottle was 100%. The last few bottles have been perfect or close to. Less of everything here sadly.
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10/20/2009 - JorgeH wrote:
Objects, and Wines, of Vertu (Christie's - New York City): Amazingly elegant nose of cassis, cigar, leather and perfumed cedar. In the mouth this wine is still youthful with chewy and tight tannins that are, at the same time, smooth and refined. Dark chocolate, currants and plums are at the forefront. Very masculine but a very refined wine with years of life still ahead. A+
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10/12/2009 - Khamen wrote:
Under the recommendation of the sommelier at Pont de La Tour this was not decanted but poured straight from bottle. On reflection i should have gone with my first instinct and insisted he popped it in a jug. Very dense colour for a Margaux noting the age and some fine aromatics. Almost meaty aromas of cassis accompanied by a depth of powerful graphite and lavender perfume eventually came through in glass. Surprisingly tight attack, possibly due to the lack of decanting and rather austere. As a fan of Margaux in general I was a little disappointed by my first foray into the highly rated 1983 vintage. Tannins were rather chewy and a little woody. Closed. I think this is an (expensive!) lesson learned - when you're dealing with wines you know or like then serve them your way, even when faced by the indignation of the "professionals". Next time one of these gets popped it's going into a decanter for a good hour first. No flaws but a potentially great wine badly served. No score.
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10/6/2009 - dream wrote: 95 Points
This showed young and big and needed quite some time in the decanter to come around. Then that gorgeous earthy perfume of Margaux began to emerge with flavors of liquid violets and minerals with hints of all-spice. Gorgeous and full-bodied and not yet at its peak, this is a classic, somewhat masculine Margaux that finishes long and complex with that haunting character of aged Bordeaux. 95+
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9/26/2009 - MauriceE wrote: 97 Points
This is a "wow" wine, first out of unopened OWC. Very, very elegant, backward, the wood perfectly integrated. Very inviting nose, broad, fruity. It is still very, very fresh. Again: "wow"!
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9/25/2009 - wino_tim wrote: 95 Points
A simply stunning Margaux - a textbook example of the glory of aged Bordeaux, this fully mature wine boasts soaring aromas of cherry, crushed flowers, mint, graphite, cedar and grilled rosemary. Almost velvety on the palate, the tannins here are completely integrated, and the flavors persistent, though the finish is notably short.
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9/24/2009 - salil wrote: 96 Points
Older Bordeaux at Troquet (Boston, MA): Haunting aromatics; a combination of violets, leather, spices, cigar smoke and red and dark fruited flavours merging into one awesome fragrance that keeps expanding and gaining more nuances and dimensions with air. In the mouth it's all silk, most of the flavours from the aromatics echoed on the palate with amazing finesse and elegance; the texture is incredibly smooth and gentle with tannins mostly resolved and good acidity beneath, finishing with great length. Spectacular.
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9/8/2009 - phenricsson wrote: 98 Points
Blind. 90;68. Beautiful mature looking wine with very dark core. Amber edge. Nose is initially ripe, almost pruny, then opening up and getting much more intense, with spicy black currant and spicebox (Lynn got roses). Later tobacco, smoke and herbs. Very fresh. Mouthfeel is soft, rich and end-to-end. Superb balance. This tastes like a fresh 10 year old wine. Sweet and good intensity. 15 years ago we loved this wine, then it's been a bit iffy but this bottle was exquisite.
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7/12/2009 - Margauxguy wrote:
Always a great bottle, time and time again pure class and grace
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7/11/2009 - peternelson wrote: 95 Points
Hiro’s: Medium ruby, light fading; Beautiful nose with nice tertiary notes, just a bit of fruit showing, much more elegant, silky, and dignified compared to the youthful Haut Brion; Very nice balance, just hitting it’s stride. What a beautiful wine. Joe and Bonnie
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6/11/2009 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 90 Points
Opened with a Florence Meat Market ribeye with an homage-a-Outback-Steakhouse rub. But instead of Foster's or Cokes with free refills in frosty beer mugs with the steak, I decided to go for the Margaux. Still a somewhat backwards wine and not as pleasurable to my taste at this moment as, say, the '81 - it took a few hours in the decanter before the coarse tannin turned into something elegant and it definitely needed the steak fat to get there. Unfortunately the aromatic expressiveness was at its best right out of the gate, filling the air with scents of mesquite and cigar smoke as I decanted it. By the time the palate was at its best, the aroma had kind of shut down, but you got a backdraft of the same stuff on the finish. Especially the cigars. Chateau Margaux has always been a tough-to-grok wine for me - Margaux the commune is supposed to tend towards the feminine but the Chateau itself is sometimes brutishly masculine, and this one definitely fits in that category, at least for the first glass or two. The end of the bottle is a big improvement in finesse over the beginning but I'd still prefer to give this wine another decade or so to let the tannins melt away and give it more transparency.
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6/7/2009 - balassis wrote: 100 Points
This wine is a whole forest in the mouth!!!
Still alive and perhaps immortal.
No other comments...
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6/4/2009 - kenv wrote: 97 Points
WCC First Growth Bordeaux Tasting @ Provence (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Double-decanted at 5pm] Long, riveting. Another wow wine! We are really in the glory now!
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5/10/2009 - happytom wrote:
Disappointed. As with any mature fist growths, the variability from bottle to bottle can be tremendous. I had one that did not evolve well. Initial taste had promise. The silkiness and the violets with a bit of dark fruit seemed there. Color was good. After an hour only thing left were tannins and vinegar. Bought at an auction.
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5/10/2009 - rosenst1 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted an hour or so before tasting. Deep red still with minimal bricking at 25+ years of age. Initially classically fragrant with Margaux violets,
then deep fruit, but not heavy or thick, like many 82 Bordeauxs. Continued to put on depth over the next few hours but never rose to the seamless
deep quality the best bottles of this wine have shown. A bit of a disappointment, especially compared to a bottle tasted a year or so ago which was
magnificient; bottle variation, apogee of maturity, time will tell.
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4/24/2009 - sdr wrote: 94 Points
Now we began the always fascinating comparison of the excellent '83/'82 duo. Both were true to form. This '83 is a wonderful wine in a "cool" style, Very Cabernet Sauvignon in flavor although I do not know the exact blend. Beautifully ripe, supremely elegant, completely mature. A backlash of perfectly ripe black fruit assaults the back of the palate seemingly giving the taster two hits of wine for each swallow. Fabulous and compelling.
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3/11/2009 - JJL wrote: flawed
Oxidized.
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2/28/2009 - noppakit s. wrote: 96 Points
I wait many years for testing this wine. My first time with Ch. Margaux 1983 and now I realize that it's less seductive than 1982 in nosing and texture.
Anyway, the nice clean and deep typical scent of Ch. Margaux contains a beautiful fruity, elegant style. Perfect balance of the great vintage, very delicious, good sweetness but I can not forget the feeling of 1982...I don't know why....
The aftertaste is great, long long finished than 1982 but still in the fame not go far beyond.
Maybe....maybe I'm not a fan of Ch. Margaux so....dot dot dot....
Drink now - 2022
ps. I've read somewhere lond time ago about Margaux was chosen to be served in the Royal dinner or something like that...I totally agree...this is a table wine of 1st Growth. Easy & delicious.
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2/27/2009 - winefool wrote: 92 Points
LdC Palmer vs. Margaux Dinner (Primehouse): Medium soft red color. medium tight nose of red fruit, spice,and just a hint of heat? Full tight black cherry fruit iwth licorice and spice. Almost a bit austere. Not showing nearly as well as other examples I've had.
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1/31/2009 - JJL wrote: 92 Points
Brought to Neil's B-Day dinner. Decanted 3 hours. I have had a lot of bottle variation with this wine.
This one was average. Much darker and thicker than the '82s it was paired against. Great texture, but the fruit was muted.
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1/31/2009 - dream wrote: 96 Points
Wow, this is developing into a great Margaux with a wonderful nose of tobacco, earth, violets and grilled peanuts. Quite full and powerful with firm but integrated acidity and wonderful depth and richness to the black fruit flavors. Lovely complex notes of tobacco, violets and all-spice on the finely concentrated finished. Yet to reach its zenith, this is a classic Margaux that will live for a long time. 96+
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1/25/2009 - BradE wrote:
Matched with 83 Palmer and 83 Pichon Lalande. All were great, but tonight the Margaux won by a hair. Sweet fruit, and simply a touch more sophistication than the Palmer.
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1/23/2009 - Siggy wrote: 96 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - '75, '83 and '85 Bordeaux (Brad's House, Minneapolis): Gorgeous perfume. Sweet, complex, and long on the palate, with a big core of ripe dark cherry fruit and an array of expressive secondary flavors. Elegant, beautifully pure, and amazingly textured. Pure silk. WOTF.
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1/19/2009 - Paul D wrote:
Chateau Margaux Tasting - 1983-2006 - With Paul Pontallier (Merchant Taylors' Hall, Threadneedle Street, London EC2): Complex, tobaccoey dark fruit. Spice, hints of fruit cake. Fragrant if perhaps lacking a little intensity. Attractive on the palate, without perhaps the depth and intensity of the previous few wines. Fully integrated tannins. A little short on the finish. ***1/2
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1/19/2009 - PatrikO wrote: 100 Points
This was the perfect bottle of wine matched up with Sonia's terrific italian cuisine. It had everyhing you can expect from a 100 pointer, dept, complexity, density, fruit and a long lingering after taste. We're having a Margaux vertical next week, would love to see it the 82 can match the 83 right now.
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12/31/2008 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
What a fun bottle to open on New Year's eve. Started off great out of the bottle -- wonderful signature Margaux. Tasted young and had a wonderfully long finish. After a couple of hours, it seemed less balanced, with a little more horse coming through, and less fruit. Nonetheless, a fun treat for New Year's eve.
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12/31/2008 - James B wrote: 97 Points
Astounding wine. Classic Bordeaux profile. Earthy nose; soft tannins on the palate; big and well-balanced in all respects; 60-second-plus finish. Thanks to Erik and Michele for sharing this treasure.
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12/27/2008 - dcwino wrote: 99 Points
Dinner at Cityzen, 82, 86, 89 and 90 first growth and LMHB (Cityzen, Washington DC): The nose is exotic and very expressive, expensive perfume, rose essence, sweet blue fruit, blueberry jam. This is a classic Chateau Margaux and quite different from the 82 which is a bit more kinky. It is as unctuous and shows as primary as the 86 Lafite. I lieu of the price, the best buy.
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12/27/2008 - bhalljr wrote: 97 Points
This was my first First Growth Bordeaux and my was it unbelievable. We shared this with our bartender friend at Maggiano's who had to painstakingly filter it 3 times due to the cork being shot, however, the wine was in great condition. The best way for me to describe this wine is to begin with the nose and follow up with the taste. As soon as it was brought to the table in the decanter, we could immediately smell it. In fact the waitress walked up and said wow, what a great smell. The nose was like walking through a field of flowers and the taste was like a fine cigar. Amazing wine. Not sure how much life is left to get any better but this was so silky smooth. Our bartender friend said it best. It was so smooth that it was like drinking water. You put the glass down and want to pick it right back up for another sip. Would love to get my hands on another bottle!!!
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12/20/2008 - vindictive wrote:
Certainly a wonderful wine. Bottle, fill and cork all excellent. Popped, decanted and let breath for an hour. Lovely wine , nice aromatics, everything in place. As a bit of an experiment, I served this wine with no fanfare to friends at dinner anonymously. Everyone liked it and enjoyed it with dinner, but no one was ecstatic and asking "what is this wine?". I loved it and watched with great interest as no one had a revelatory experience. I believe that this was something of a lesson on expectation in that we are often most impressed when a noteworthy wine is served and performs well. However, we may enjoy a good wine with dinner without knowing its pedigree. I wonder if they would have enjoyed it even more had they known its identity or would I not knowing the wine.
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12/16/2008 - PatrikO wrote: 96 Points
third bottle I've had of this in the last year, the other two would get perfect scores, while I found this bottle never reached the same highs. It's very muted upon opening and takes a good hour to come through, very thick and velvety, dark red and very concentrated. Nose is pretty discreet while in the mouth it's terrifically complex whilst well balanced, dark red fruits, cherry and mocca, finish is slightly dry, this got plenty of life still ahead.
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12/15/2008 - mariolanza wrote: 92 Points
Opened and decanted for 2 hours before drinking with lamb, this is a fullbodied, concentrated, powerful aromatic wine but has lost it's fruit. Extremely tannic Margaux with a black purple color, the nose is tobacco, cassis, black fruit and oak. Agree with austincarty that it was thinning need to drink my remaining too soon i think. I kept it overnight to finish the last third of the bottle next day, by then it had lost it's firmness but the aroma was till there.
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12/14/2008 - austincarty wrote: 88 Points
Ullaged to low neck. Heavy sediment. Good cork, no leak. Decanted 8 hours. Clear. Tannins dominated nose and palate immediately on opening. These were softer when it cam to drinking but fruit never really shone through. Obviously a noble wine but this was a rather thin example. Drunk beside 1982 Mouton Rothschild which was much better. Meal of pheasant casserole.
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11/25/2008 - gsquireh wrote: 97 Points
Astoundind and exhilirating, this is a fullbodied, concentrated, powerful blockbuster. An unusually tannic Margaux with a black purple color, the nose is a perfume of vilolets in the garden, tobacco, cassis, black fruit and oak. Classic, earthy Bordeaux in a bottle, the history of the terroir flashes into my present senses with the never ending perfectly balanced but multitudinous in flavors finish.
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10/29/2008 - Rupert wrote: 96 Points
Horizontal tasting of 1983 bordeaux (Institute of Directors, London): Broader and riper than the Rausan, dry, quite austerely so, but very substantial on the palate - this seemed to grow and grow in power and authority - really grand - a few complained that this lacked nuance, but for me the classical grandeur of this wine was a thing of wonder
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10/26/2008 - theusualsuspect wrote: 91 Points
Chateau Margaux can be elegant, the old style, or it can be powerful, the new style. I think the 83 for whatever reason is the last Chateau Margaux made in the subtle albeit rich elegant style that was long the hallmark of Chateau Margaux. This wine is very very aromatic with some leather and blueberries on the palate. But it seems to be drying out - a certain astringency. And storage is not the problem. On this night, the new style powerful 1990 showed better as a wine, but the 1983 better captured the food - sirloin and vegetables. In the context of the mediocre vintage of 1983, the Margaux appelation stood out. My thought is that we should not make too much of that. This wine may keep, but it won't get better.
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10/24/2008 - johnwine wrote: 93 Points
Bob and Lulu Devere came last evening for dinner with the Mayos and brought this wine as a gift.
The color is a deep garnet with some brick at the edges but the outer edge was clear. The nose is moderately open with scents of red and black cherries, boysenberries and rosehips. The taste is balanced and still has some acid and tannin to keep it lively. The taste yields flavors of cherry tart, kirsch and wild mushroom but lacks earthiness. It is a very fine wine but lacks the magic of the now famous 1981 which we had just the day before.
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10/16/2008 - sdr wrote: 92 Points
This Margaux has finally softened in a positive way so that the texture is more velvety and the elements more integrated. Fully mature. I may have over decanted this bottle (3 hours) because the bouquet immediately after opening was enticingly beautiful but it soon went into hiding in the glass. Still the sheer class of this Margaux can not be denied. I preferred this to the '83 Palmer this night although the Palmer seemed the bigger wine despite its lighter color.
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10/11/2008 - Teamcrev wrote:
Good bottle, but the 85 Cheval Blanc was better as was the 85 Leoville.
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10/1/2008 - City Wine Journal wrote: 96 Points
Auction bottle held 1 year. Opened in the morning, kept in bottle, in cellar, until service in the evening. In fantastic shape. Beautiful mature color, light bricking. This fragrance still haunts. It evokes the Margaux signature floral and cassis, with the shading from a beautifully ripe and maturing Bordeaux Grand Cru. Long, balanced, elegant and seductive, besting a still-young 1995 Latour served the same evening, to one veteran wine instructor specializing in Italian wines, this wine was finally "proof" that France did make great wine! When shared for others to experience something special, this wine is worth the tariff, even by today's inflated standards, for absolute classic and gorgeous 25+ year old Bordeaux. First rate.
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9/29/2008 - Wine2man wrote: 90 Points
Saved this for special occasion. I would not say that I was disappointed because it was a good wine. Decanted, then drank it over the next two hours. Got noticably better over time. Good tannins. Just did not blow me away.
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8/2/2008 - Tac wrote: 90 Points
I was disappointed. Saved for a special occasion and it was noticeably average. The bottle was given to me so I am not sure if it was stored properly. Cork came out easier than I wanted to see but had not seeped. Try again.
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7/1/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
With its concentrated aromatics with hints of black cherry liqueur and cedar is a stellar wine. M concentrated than the 82 as well as tannic. This wine was produced in a very powerful style.
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6/29/2008 - quagland wrote:
Wonderful floral nose, very lively. No bricking. Palate: hints of cedar and cheese with tannins still lingering. Balanced. Spectacular with a lot of life left.
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5/29/2008 - La Grappe wrote: 96 Points
Fully mature but still vigorous, with complex flavours of spice, mulberries, blackcurrant and other fruit. Very, very long and so, so easy to drink.
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5/28/2008 - Pavie Princess wrote: 99 Points
My biases first. I have a love affair with this vintage. I have had this wine 37 times since 1985. I love this wine compared to many other Margaux's. In my opinion it is the most underated Margaux in the history of the Chateau with 1961 and 1962 closely behind. The 1983 Margaux is magnificient. The bottle was in perfect shape and from my cellar. We drank this in a small vertical I brought with me. The wine as opened for 24 hrs. The color was garnet to ruby with a yellow meniscus. The bouquet in this wine always fools the taster. You always get the wet clay leather lead pencil and spice and cedar. But what happens when you taste this wien is surreal. It always overshoots the nose. The first sip this tiem revealed chapters of flavors that never ended. I got herb spice cassis currants berry mocha tobacco brett graphite citrus floral cherry and dark berry flavors. I broke for writing these notes and smelled and swirled more. I got more complexity in the nose and had to gulp and taste more. Now it revealed straw and raspberry and licorice smoked meat with cedar and cream. The finish is always long massive and complex. the construction and backbone of this wine is built for massive aging. I have always found the 83 to be far superior to the 1982 and this time was no exception. The end of this wine is smooth and extremely complex. I got many new flavors like nutty cigar box with kiwi and cassis and pesto herbs. The wine is just unreal. I love drinking it to see it evolve. Every time is a an affair of the heart and mind. This wine is a must add to any cellar. Rating up to 99 form 97 Still has 30 plus yrs left.
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4/11/2008 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 94 Points
Tasted alongside the 1983 Pichon Lalande. Not as good in comparison. This is still an awesome wine. In fact I think there is more structure here. The color is clearer, still quite red. The aromas begin more perfumed, with flowers and purple fruit aromas. Then goes to a grape smell almost like a cough syrup reduction( not in a bad way), or grape alcohol. The tannic backbone in this wine is much more noticeable than the Lalande. Is it too sweet. I believe that this wine could use a couple of more years to be at its peak. In the end it is now and will be an awesome in the future.
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3/29/2008 - Nutty08 wrote: 94 Points
Pebble Beach Food and Wine; 3/27/2008-3/30/2008 (Pebble Beach Resort, CA): Deep ruby color. Dark fruits with raspberry highlights on the nose. Palate with smooth velvelty tannins (though firmer than '82), some fruit and slate. Medium to long finish with complex earthy notes.
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3/1/2008 - mlhla wrote: 95 Points
Great bottle. This is at prime drinkability.
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2/27/2008 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Margaux vs. Palmer Dinner, served in single blind flights (Primehouse - Chicago IL): Single blind 82/83 Margaux/Palmer flight. Big and powerful fruit on nose, then continuing on to the palate. Anise and spice aromatics as well. Rich flavors shows both red and black fruit, which gave this great complexity for me. I liked this wine better than most people tonight, some of whom thought it more lean than some of the others in the flight that were showing blacker, darker fruit.
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2/6/2008 - goofy Yno wrote: 95 Points
nice nose with leather, cherry, good balance, chewy, complex long finish.
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12/31/2007 - etherscreen wrote:
it's hard to believe i was only 5 years old when these grapes grew. garnet center with bricking at the rim. this doesn't look like how i'd expect a 25 year old wine to look, although this is the oldest bottle i've had. we had a wonderful year with the birth of our first son, promotion at work, ability for my wife to remain at home to raise our son, and so on. needless to say, we wanted to celebrate a year well lived and this was certainly a nice adjunct following a nv krug grand cuvee. intense nose of cassis, cedar, tobacco, and interestingly coconut. medium body. elegant and blissful on the palate with cassis, sweet oak, and silky mouthfeel. impeccably balanced. not terribly complex and a bit too much oak. this certainly would detract points if i awarded them. finish lingers as long as you care to pay attention. oak still present. overall an incredibly well made wine although not much to contemplate. it is what it is, and it's very fine despite my complaints. not exactly what i'm looking for in a bordeaux, but a hell of an education at the very least and wonderful way to welcome the new year.
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12/26/2007 - ken wrote: 95 Points
Bought this wine at auction 15 years ago after a Margaux tasting at which I thought the "83 was one of the best. Garnet colored. Decanted for an hour and a half. Expansive nose dominated by tobacco, saddle leather and spices.Tremendous length. Drinking beautifully at this age.
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11/12/2007 - curtr wrote: flawed
Thin, slight corky aroma. I have had much better bottles.
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10/20/2007 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 97 Points
Bordeaux Dinner at Ronny's (Chez Ronny and Eric Gross, Westwood, California): Dark red violet all the way through; cassis, cherry and leather nose; elegant, youthful, cassis and red fruit palate; medium-plus finish
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9/1/2007 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
I did not add a back label to this bottle, so it probably was an original release from the Chicago Wine Company. It certainly looked pristine with excellent color and a mid neck fill. I decanted it for 4 hours before bringing it stoppered to 11 Maple with Greg, Brian and the Cataldos. This bottle seemed quite a bit different from all the previous ones I have drunk. There was a LOT of vanilla, even coconut, on the nose and the wine was almost sweetly ripe. Not exactly a bad thing, but puzzling. Still, it's so delicious I just had to rate it a 90. Others liked it even better than I.
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8/29/2007 - mlhla wrote:
Delicious wine, great fruit/balance herbs.
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6/13/2007 - Johann Von Mastiff wrote: 96 Points
Dark garnet red color. This beaut took a good hour to start strutting its stuff. Dark and brambly wine with all of the classic Margaux features. Cedar, tobacco, blackberrys and cassis. Just enough oak where you notice it but it certainly is the lipstick on an extremely pretty girl.
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6/8/2007 - G SQUARED wrote: 95 Points
Raid the Cellar Party at BWB. Another great wine. Just beautiful. Elegant, refined, lovely sweet fruit. Drinking perfectly right now and at it's peak I think.
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4/10/2007 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Offline with Jonathan Dinh (Seattle, WA): Mmm, funky goodness, cedar and horse with a slight green edge. Even as others raved, I found this a bit leathery in the mid-palate. Some notes of balsamic. A very firm finish. This is a big, spiny wine, but ultimately it was a difficult match next to the entrancing 1990 Cheval Blanc.
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2/17/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Earthy forest notes, flowers and cassis. Very concentrated and full bodied perfectly combining depth with complexity. Still youthfully tannic. The palate enjoys copious amounts of ripe black, red and blue fruit dipped in chocolate.
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1/18/2007 - MRichman wrote:
Chateau Margaux vertical (11 Madison Park in NYC): Warm, soft, full fruit with dark punch in the middle. Very well integrated. Herb and mint, very complex. Beautiful with an extremely long finish. Denser than the 1982, although not quite as elegant. Awesome.
A/A+
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12/2/2006 - Baron Samedi wrote: 92 Points
Brick red, dense colour. V/elegant boquet with smoked wood. More of that smoky wood on the palate, still some tanins. Quite well balanced as it is, but I wonder how much longer this will last, as there is not that much acidity.
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11/8/2006 - wineamateur wrote: flawed
Jeroboam Club: Ch. Margaux Vertical (Bordeaux Quay, Bristol): Corked. Tragic (though I gather this is the most variable, most TCA-prone Margaux around).
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9/30/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
HDH Pre-Auction Tasting Highlights (Chicago IL): Wine tasting. Floral start with great black cherry and black currant, then some tobacco hints. Same intense black fruit on palate with great anise and pepper. Long structure finish shows multiple layers of flavor and great complexity and spice. Still getting better.
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7/31/2006 - jdtonic wrote: 98 Points
Best bottle of my life. grilled violets, melting strawberries, minty cedar sparks, ripe warm plums, warm leather, peat, pencil, pork fat. absolutely in its prime. worth 400 dollars? Bay Wee. 50 second finish seems to increase in intensity! This wine is a shade more lush, and two years younger than the 1982. A beautiful thing, this wine. I prefer it to even myself, i fear.
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7/29/2006 - D. Fulton wrote: 94 Points
Darker than the ‘79 and ‘81 Margaux, the 1983 shows notes of cassis, blackberry, and black cherry. A very fruity wine, especially considering its age. Aromatically piercing in the mouth. Well structured. Now perfectly mature. 93-94
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6/25/2006 - norsktorsk wrote: 93 Points
From the cellar, cork deeply stained but completely intact. Decanted for a 30 minutes. Rich garnet color with no obvious browning. Beautiful rich nose of red fruit. On the palate classic with medium texture. Round tannins that attenuated nicely.
What a treat!
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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): Mmm, a bit of horse here. Dense and powerful. This was a strong example of 1983 Margaux albeit one with a rustic edge to it.
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6/3/2006 - Hank Gillespie wrote:
The Wine Summit; 6/2/2006-6/3/2006 (The Post Hotel in Lake Louise): Tasted from magnum. Interesting evolution of color – mature, but less so than the 1989 – more mahogany color – good density evident on swirling; magnificent bouquet – intoxicating medley of spice and cedar – cassis and a pungent scent of cigar box; terrific balance and harmony – cassis is the dominant flavor, but there are nuances of different spices; oak is fully integrated; very long, satisfying finish, where all of the elements continue. I could taste this one seemingly for several minutes. An elegant, stylish Margaux in all of the classical notions.
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3/19/2006 - aerlith wrote: 92 Points
Yet another dinner with GD and bro, ribeyes, lemon broccoli and a pear/golden balsamic salad that was terrific. Once again, a lovely velvety mouthfeel with a sweet underpinning of complex floral/herbal/cassis elements that slid down one's throat all too easily. Less tannic than the previous bottle but still present, a nice nose but still more reticent than I would have liked. Nice persistence but not stunning. Plenty of life left.Both this and the last bottle purchased from KL Wines a few years ago, marked with the sticker "from a private cellar". I'd rate this as good but not great bottle, a treat to drink. Wonder what a really good bottle would be like...
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2/19/2006 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 99 Points
Ripe berry and coffee nose; elegant, soft mulberry, cassis, coffee, lavender and slightly smoky palate with seamless fruit; long-plus finish (even better 3 hours after opening)
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2/1/2006 - winefool wrote:
eBob tasting - Deep black/purple color. Lovely rich ripe aroma of sweet red cassis fruit and hints of violet. Lovely rich ripe chocolate and lavendar fruit. Very nice. Mid 90s. Interestingly, these two wines were split for WOTF, but only the Margaux got a couple WOTN votes. 2/06
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1/31/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Good Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone Dinner (Custom House - Chicago IL): Charming aromas of ripe red and black fruit, violet floral elements, and spice form both fruit and oak. Same great fruit profile on the palate, with some early emerging signs of secondary development. Very nuanced with great textures and unfolding layers of flavor. Still getting better.
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1/14/2006 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
This outstanding wine was a step behind the competition on this night - '82 Margaux and '83 Palmer. It's a more cerebral type of wine which is more developed than the other two but less intense. More structured, more acidic , "cooler" than these others. By itself, it probably would show a bit better. Still, just about outstanding by any measure. It seems mature now and it will be interesting to follow its development over the years.
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11/27/2005 - tsutton wrote: 98 Points
Wow, I really love this wine. Of the four times I have had it, each time has been fantastic. Drank Saturday night with dinner at my place.
Opened and drank from the bottle since my two decanters did not survive a cross country move. This wine did not show it's age, no bricking that I could see. Very very smooth with loads of fruit and violets. This wine must have had impeccable storage because it tasted so much younger than any of my previous bottles. Would love to have more that is in the shape of this one. This is one of the best wines I have ever had.
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11/19/2005 - Eric wrote:
Seattle Tasting Group does Quilceda Creek (Seattle, WA): I snuck this in as a ringer, but as it turned out it was not a good bottle. I loved the nose which showed leather, cedar, some menthol and a hint of roast beef. This was clearly a different animal from the Quilceda. The palate though was tough, tannic and quite dry by comparison. I did find that it opened up well to yield nice, plummy fruit and good, silky length and depth. I even rated it as 93 points, but knowing this wine, it was clearly a slightly oxidized bottle. So officially, this is NR. (BTW, 1/3 of a bottle of leftovers were still hanging on fairly well 24 hours later.)
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11/19/2005 - JeffGMorris wrote: 77 Points
STG Quilceda Creek tasting at Eric Levine's house. The night's ringer, and Eric felt it to be an off bottle, maybe slightly corked. Lots of lightening of color with an earthy nose. After the vibrant '87 Quilceda Creek this seemed a little flat with not much going for it except some bacon aromas. 50+9+8+5+5 = 77
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6/14/2005 - BordeauxNut wrote: 92 Points
Healthy garnet color -- no browning. Sound bottle from a good source -- yet, it seemed to lack the stuffing of previous bottles. Cherry fruit, cedar, and floral perfume. Lacks the layered palate -- tasty but not especially deep, lush, or profound. Still, very nice -- finishes reasonably long. Very sound, but not the best bottle.
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5/3/2005 - CSteefel wrote: 94 Points
1982-83-89 Bordeaux at Masa's in San Francisco: Deepest color of the flight, this wine initially shows a reserved nose that only partly opens with time. In the mouth, this wine is marked by the great purity of its fruit, with excellent grip on the powerful finish. This seems less sweet and more structured than the others of the flight, giving it a decidedly youthful character. This should continue to improve nicely with bottle age.
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5/3/2005 - cassetta wrote: 96 Points
This wine really stood out in the flight. Much darker than the other ‘83’s, bright dark ruby with in color showing no signs of its age. The nose was initially tight but continued to expand and open in the glass over the night. Still a bit primary, the wine has incredibly concentrated sweet fruit and is perfectly balanced. This wine will continue to improve with another 3-8 years in the cellar and should have a very long life.
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5/1/2005 - aerlith wrote:
Drunk 4/24/2005 with GD at dinner, carnivore's special. Dark ruby to the rim, with just that hint of bricking to suggest a maturing wine. Nose sweet and berried, not soaring from the glass but present. Hint of a floral element. Sweet and round on the taste, tannins are still present. Spherical wine, still fresh and youthful at 22 years of age. Reticent nose and good but not great length are only disappointments. An excellent bottle of wine. 93 points.
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3/16/2005 - Alpine wrote: 93 Points
The best of the 83' First Growth flight, great nose, good structure, and very elegant...the tannins seem to be fully resolved and the wine had a wonderful mouth feel. I would like to believe that it would have been fresher....it seemed a bit dull in the mid palate and the flavor profile faded in the back end. This may have been a storage issue prior to my purchasing the bottles in 1995.
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2/15/2005 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux Legends with Leve at Sona (Los Angeles, CA): I have had better examples of this, although this was a very nice wine. Spicy and cedary on the nose, the palate was very tight with an unusually hard core of graphite and mineral. With an extra 45 minutes in the glass this came around, but it never delivered the open, lush, sexy goods that I would expect from a 95+ wine.
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2/12/2005 - sdr wrote: 93 Points
Hugh's bottle, purchased on release. Exceptionally backward for this great wine. Hugh says other bottles from the same case have been more developed. Cedary and loaded with dark berries, but dominated by tannins, though the tannins are round. Clearly outstanding, but based on this bottle, it needs at least 5 more years.
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1/12/2005 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
The perfume was intoxicating, candied fruit, flowers, truffles, wet forests and cedar notes that continued to expand in the glass. Very dense, opulent and extremely concentrated. Viscous, chewy, sensuous, decadent, black fruit filled every nook and cranny of you palate. This will evolve and improve for another 20-25 years or more if well stored.
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12/28/2004 - steffenpelz wrote: 95 Points
Prime Rib and Fabulous Wines: I am not even sure how to describe this wine. It was the most elegant, perfumed, balanced, and profound wine I've had yet. Every guest loved this wine and it was gone so fast that I didn't even get a chance to get seconds. I guessed Bordeaux and thought it to be from the mid-80s. Phenomenal. WOTN.
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11/27/2004 - jusuf wrote: 88 Points
A bitter disappointment. The wine is rather closed and does not open up.
After 5 1/2 hours of decanting, the nose became a bit finer but the palate died. Hands off 83s 1s GCs for me.
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11/15/2004 - bdenuyl wrote: 95 Points
Drank 10/04. Beautiful wine. Still quite youthful, but drinking very well. Elegant, with great balance and depth. Get more.
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11/6/2004 - otisabdul wrote: 92 Points
2004 WS Wine Experience: Ch. Margaux Vertical (Hyatt Regency, Chicago): Said Suckling: “Upon release, there was general consensus within the Margaux appellation that ’83 was better than ’82. It is now showing lovely fruit and elegance.” Said Pontallier: “I am suddenly smelling a floral aspect that never belonged to the vintage. To me, this signals that the wine is ready to start drinking.” I thought the ’83 was less concentrated and intense than the other vintages on the table, yet was still fairly tannic on the finish. $350
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11/1/2004 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
WS CWE 2004 - Margaux Vertical (Marriott Marquis): ex Chateau at WS event - Opaque black red color. Medium aroma of round red fruit and clean acidity. Nice balance spicy blackcurrent red fruit. Lithe and effeminent. Others detected clear violet on the nose. A crowd favorite, but lacked the fruit and concentration of 82/89/90 in my opinion. 11/04
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10/15/2004 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
Dinner at Rubicon and a surreal pre-tasting (San Francisco, CA): This got off to a slow start and took an hour to really open up. Molasses and cinnamon could be found on the soaring nose. The palate is huge and broad, very tannic with so much structure yet to resolve. Nonetheless, with time this is absolutely delightful.
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8/22/2004 - Jason wrote: 96 Points
Tasted with Eric and Tracy. The nose was luxorious with loads of violets, cedar, and smoke. For the first time really saw why people compare Quilceda to Margaux. The palate was defined by the perfect balance. On top of that it was smooth, soft, and velvety with loads of fruit and structure. The fruit was so sweet, it was almost candied. A touch of chalk was evident on the finish.
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8/21/2004 - Eric wrote: 96 Points
Decadence (Issaquah, WA, USA): We elected to decant just before serving, and this one took some time to open up. Deeply tannic and showing massive structure at first, this opened up to show a spicy nose, cedary, smoky, violet, a hint of leathery barnyard, iron and lead. The palate was so earthy and loamy, silky smooth, screaming with minerals. Over the course of a few hours this showed such opulent and lush texture, remarkable mouthfeel, gaining weight and nice sweetness around the edge. I flirted with 97 points but ended up at 96. Absolute heaven with the steak.
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8/18/2004 - JeffJo wrote:
I had this wine 2 months ago and it was an amazing etheral 100 point wine, so I was really looking forward to this tasting. Fill level was good, there was a bit of seepage around the cork and the cork slid out a bit easier than I would have liked. Unfortunately, the bottle was corked. That said, I couldn't bring myself to not drink any and tried my best to drink around the TCA. Great mouthfeel and awesome finish, but I'm unable to rate the bottle. Bummer.
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7/10/2004 - Ispendtoomuchmoneyonwine wrote: flawed
From a 375 at a restaurant in Baltimore. Oxidized
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5/1/2004 - tbabes wrote: 97 Points
Drank this beauty with Nicole and her (entire!) family, May '04; dinner at our house. For dinner I prepared a Chateaubriand, and we also had the '83 Mouton Rothschild. Enough background, on to the tasting note. Still youthful in appearance, with no amber at the edges. Complex aromas of ripe black fruits, earth, and animal. Quite impressive on the palate, with a long finish; still some tannins to resolve though. Always amazing to me how great Bordeaux can be so full-bodied and flavorful, but not heavy in the mouth. This wine was special.
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3/24/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 94 Points
Dark red. Scents of leaves, and mint- menthol. Large bodied, powerful, deep and intense with stupendous power. There was a great interplay between power, elegance and flavour nuance. The taste was sweet, chocolate caramel like and there was plenty of complexity, layers of dimensions and a long, balanced aftertaste. I have had bad luck with this wine in the past, but this bottle was excellent.
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12/31/2003 - HamishR wrote: flawed
Good colour but unfortunately badly corked. What a shame!!!!
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12/31/2003 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 96 Points
Port-like nose; great concentrated port-like, lovely fruit, with elegant berry notes and a sweet finish
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12/12/2003 - Jason wrote: 100 Points
My first ever 3 digit score. The wine before it was the 82 LLC, which I gave 99. When I tasted this, it was better. What I had to score it was pretty obvious. Here are my notes verbatim from my book- soft cassis, wow, everything, simply amazing.
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12/12/2003 - Eric wrote: 100 Points
Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' (Sammamish, WA, USA): This was served alongside 1982 Leoville Las Cases and 1982 Pichon Lalande, the most glorious three wines I have ever had together and 299 points of pleasure. The nose showed sweetness with some licorice and floral elements, simply soaring out of the glass. The palate was exotic, massively layered, supercharged. If there is one knock on this perfect wine it is a slight hint of drying tannin on the finish, but who cares. This was so intense, complex and gorgeous! (Group average 97.56)
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11/21/2003 - tendring wrote:
A lovely nose, fruity and slightly vegetal
Rich, fruity, refined and quite long.
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11/21/2003 - TGHaddon wrote:
Beautiful bright plum red colour, still appears very youthful with a very small rim. Excellent nose, cassis and cigar box / pencil shavings together with some spicy notes. Very complex and with an attractive lofted & perfumed character. Mass of slightly peppery blackberry fruit, hefty quantity of ripe tannin, balanced by fruit and acidity. Tremendous length, shows a very ripe character, quite simply delicious. A (CECWINE)
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10/1/2003 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Distinctly different from the ‘82. Cooler, more backward, less lush, more classical and reserved. Resembles the ‘83 Palmer more than the ‘82 Margaux. Will benefit from yet more time.
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7/25/2003 - dbg wrote:
outstanding! WOTN for me and for group
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3/23/2003 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Wine tasting. Ripe black fruit on nose, lively and vibrant. Good spice. Still mostly primary and powerful, this was evolving interestingly between the two times I tasted it today, 60 minutes apart.I expect some really nuanced elegance to develop with more time, this is a wine I'd rather appreciate with a full glass and some time vs. at a tasting today.
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2/1/2003 - Eric wrote:
Tasted at Quilceda/Margaux standoff at the Herbfarm. Dusty, earthy/ silky, structured/ dry finish, gaining power.
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2/1/2003 - Jason wrote: 89 Points
Nose of leather and currants. Hints of asparagus.
Taste of leather with limited fruit
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1/18/2003 - Eric wrote:
Tasted at Patrick & Naoko's. Brick at the time. Spicy nose, dusty, a little hot. On the palate somewhat thin and acidic, feels old but not in a good way. Tasted a bit better the second time through the lineup, but still the same wine. Guessed '83 Quilceda. Wrong! It's the '83 Margaux.
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3/13/2002 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 93 Points
A weird beet-root scent meets the nose. Not really my cup of tea. Mmhhh. Hmmm. It sure is a nice, big structure, but for me this isn't really singing big-time like some of the above-mentioned contenders. Lovely long aftertaste. Ahh, just that thing missing.
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11/1/2001 - mnh wrote:
Medium ruby with some brick. Nice fruit with floral nose. Silky tannins. Overall reticent now; wait
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6/1/2001 - sdr Likes this wine: 98 Points
Absolutely magnificent. Now mature. Gorgeous aroma and flavors off all sorts of red and black berries. Concentrated but not heavy. Sweet. What Château Margaux is all about.
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12/1/1998 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Huge for Margaux. Very faint aroma. Not harsh at all. Still needs 5-8 years.
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3/1/1995 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just beginning to turn color at the edge. Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. The Margaux charm shines through. Very inviting. Beginning to mature but still some bitterness in the finish. Delicious with duck and lamb at the Great Wine Seminar.
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7/1/1993 - mnh wrote:
fairly tight, will get better
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4/14/1992 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
1983 Bordeaux Vintage Tasting (Lafayette, Ca.): Brilliant red color in the glass, started with lots of chocolate and coffee on the nose than faded, same in the mouth, smooth, easy tasting, well balanced, at peak, will last 4+ years, very beautiful finish, got better and bettrer as the tasting went on, viscous, not quite elegant.
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6/5/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
1988 Bordeaux Tasting (Lafayette, Ca.): Little hint of acid, closed nose, opened slowly, nice fruit, fruit forward, soft cherry nose and taste, medium body, and medium finish, needs time to peak. My #1 and Group #2.
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4/26/1991 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 92 Points
At Singer & Foy survey of '83 Bordeaux. Just a blockbuster color. Deep, incredibly dark ruby color. Definitely the best, healthiest color of the bunch so far. Great legs, too. The nose is pretty closed--but underneath, I'll bet there beats a heart of tremendous fruit. On the palate, it is just beginning to open up to reveal layers of fruit. Complex. This baby just needs a little more time before it explodes into a long-lived and really lovely maturity. 5-11-17-9: 92/100.
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3/1/1991 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Huge color, as dark as the ‘82. Restrained power and oak. Great harmony of super ripe fruit and equally big tannins. Needs 12-15 years.
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11/21/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 88 Points
With MPL and BLR at a late lunch the day before Thanksgiving at Prego in SF. Excellent medium-dark ruby color. Pretty. Good perfume, but shy. Complex, but still closed. Good rather than great. May be great someday, but not now. Maybe Parker's nuts. 5-10-15-8: 88/100.
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