1996 Château Lestage-Simon

Community Tasting Notes (46) Avg Score: 88.2 points

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  7/30/2023 - skip2mylu Likes this wine: 86 Points

  The last of the lot from my 2016 purchase. It did not disappoint for a 27yr old Bordeaux.
  The cork fell apart but I was able to limit the breakup to only three pieces. There was a slight musty and sour aroma coming from the bottle so I thought it was possibly flawed or past its prime. I was mistaken!
  - Appearance: Very orange on the rim with elegant drippy legs.
  - Nose: Big minerality with flour and cherry juice notes. Slightly poopy diaper which may have been the cab franc penetrating the surface.
  - Palate: Nice smoothness, almost Burgundian quality. Graphite, Berry and Forest floor followed by chocolate and subdued tannins.
  - Finish: 19 beautiful seconds of a trip to Bordeaux and back. I am very impressed about the staying quality of this wine but I think you should drink now before it’s too late.

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  3/4/2023 - rogerr Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Other recent notes are all over the map. Must be bottle variation and storage factors. I bought this from garagiste in 2016 and properly cellared it up to today. After a few minutes the funk mostly gases off and a very pleasant balance presents. Texture, flavor, finish - classic mature wine with almost no negatives. Surprisingly little sediment. Cork was fully saturated and a bitch to remove. A real find for an inexpensive bx.

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  1/2/2021 - skip2mylu Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Day-1 = 85pts
  Day-2 = 88pts
  Comparison Ch. Lamothe 2017 vs. Ch. Lestage Simon 1996:
  I did a comparison of a 1996 and 2017 Haut-Medoc, similarly-styled wines. The 1996 was somewhat undrinkable on day-1 so I waited until day-2 to make the comparison. Wow! What a difference a day makes!
  I was amazed at the similarities in the base nose and palate of the two wines, even though they are years apart in age. The terrior was unmistakeable and the 1996 finally opened up well on day-2. I would venture to say that I would prefer drinking the 1996 over the 2017 for the time being. Add a little food to the mix and Iwiuld definitely choose the older version.
  - Chateau Lestage Simon
  Very slight opaqueness but mostly crystal clear. 99% clear - surprising for a 25yr-old. Medium tawny, colorless thick clear, drippy legs.
  On the palate it is dry, high acid, low tannins, full body, flat coca-cola, slight cocoa, tart cherry juice, smooth on the throat, slight minerality like chalk, slight mint.
  Finish = 26 seconds - tart cherry to cola to bottle cap candy to mini-wheat cereal and quickly to nothing.
  The Ch. Lestage 1996 is past its primebut can still stand up after some decanting. I am astounded by the similarities in terrior on the nose and palate vs. the 2017 Haut-Medoc.

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  12/11/2020 - OldwineinVT wrote: 84 Points

  Garagiste selection
  
  Unlike previous bottle, this one seemed tired and dried out.
  
  Color: brown
  Nose: light; not complex
  Body/flavor: light body. Not much depth, although tannins still present. Some dried dark fruit, especially prunes. A touch of cedar.
  Aftertaste: fleeting.
  
  Drink now

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  11/21/2020 - SpoochMan Does not like this wine: 70 Points

  Way past prime. Fruit has checked out. Not even worth keeping as cooking wine. Down the drain.

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