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1b. Tasting Notes
| Sorted by Session |
| Session Sort |
Year Sort |
Wine Sort |
Domain Sort |
Notes |
Rating Sort |
| I | 1970 | Montrachet | DRC | I simply can't believe this wine! It still has a relatively pale color after 34 years, amazingly youthful, and even more amazing is the balance and length this wine shows. This isn't the first time I have made these same comments about the wine. I have lost count of the number of times I have had it, and it has shown almost the same whenever the bottle has been stored well, as this was | ***** |
| I | 1971 | Montrachet, magnum | DRC | If I can call 1970 as classical, this would definitely be called exotic. More color, and body than 1970 with botrytis a bit more obvious. An ethereal wine. An impeccably stored magnum | ***** |
| I | 1979 | Montrachet | Ramonet | Those who know white burgundies well know that 1979 is a very underrated vintage, overshadowed by 1978. The Ramonet is perhaps the best among the whole lot. This was a beautifully kept bottle and an incredibly elegant wine (which is a characteristic of this vintage, also try Leflaive and DRC). I also wrote "seductive with lots of subtelty"! | ***** |
| I | 1982 | Chevalier Montrachet | Leflaive | When 1982 white burgundies were released, many people thought the wines were too thin and wouldn't age. Believe it or not, they thought 1981 had much better potential. Clearly they didn't know the meaning of the word balance, which is what this Leflaive showed in abundance. In a magnum this was the classic Chevalier which no one makes better than Leflaive. | **** |
| I | 1982 | Montrachet | Ramonet | Another great 1982. It did not, howevr, have as much power as it usually shows, though still exceptionally good. | **** |
| I | 1989 | Corton Charlemagne | Coche- Dury |
Smoky, big, round and fabulously rich with an equal amount of acidity to balance, a feat that Coche-Dury seems to accomplish with ease, vintage after vintage. This may be one of his best. | ***** |
| I | 1949 | Hermitage La Chapelle | Jaboulet | "Intense sweetness, silky, the finest Burgundy in the Rhone valley" is what I wrote in my notes. Gone is the typical power of the Rhones, instead one finds an almost ethereal quality in this wine. The last time I had it was five years ago, and it doesn't seem to have changed one bit. | ***** |
| I | 1961 | Hermitage La Chapelle | Jaboulet | One of the two bottles was oxidised, but the good one still was not showing the true greatness of the wine. Very masculine and big with great opulence of fruit but there was dryness in the finish that should not have been there. | **** |
| I | 1971 | Chateauneuf du Pape | Chateau Rayas |
Unusually youthful, intense flowery nose, and an amazing amount of sweetness, lovely acidity; in many ways very Burgundy like | **** |
| I | 1971 | Hermitage | Chave | I was probably in a minority to like it as much as I did (many were turned off by the acidity). However, in time the wine evolved in the glass beautifully, showing remarkable elegance that is the hallmark of this property | **** |
| I | 1976 | Cote Rotie La Mouline | Guigal | Somewhat overwhelmed by the blockbusters that surrounded it, this wine was quintissential 1976 from Guigal which has always been impressive (and quite different from his 1978) because of its elegance, silky texture, and length | **** |
| I | 1978 | Cote Rotie La Mouline | Guigal | Black, very deep, almost impenetrable even after all these years. We must still wait for the fuit to fully express itself | **** |
| I | 1989 | Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage Perrin | Perrin | This was hedonism at its purest ! And complete opposite of 1971 Chave. High alcohol and intense richness overwhelmed everything, certainly the food in front of it. One should devise special recipes and meats (specially prepared game, for example) to go wth wines like this or simply have it at the end of the meal. | **** |
| I | 1990 | Hermitage Cuvee Cathelin | Chave | Eventhough extremely young, it has an incredible potential. With the typical acidity that Chave's wines show, this has literally an overwhelming amount of fruit on top of it. One of the great wines from this property. | ***** |
| I | 1959 | Steinberger TBA | In one cubic centimeter this wine packs so much sugar and acidity that there is no wine in this category that comes close to it. It has a lot of brown sugar quality but it is not overly sweet, and it is certainly not very alcoholic. Many years ago when I had it for the first time I was alarmed at the black color of the wine but my more knowledgeable friends assured me that it was because of the sugar in the wine and the nature of the vintage. It was perfect then and it was perfect today. One of the greatest wines of the entire tasting | ***** | |
| II | 1989 | Clos St. Hune Hors Choix | Trimbach | Typical "Petrol" nose of Riesling. Much too young at this stage to appreciate its basic greatness. But everything was there, and more. Great future.This was one of the three wines that I was having for the first time (the others were 1934 Chambertin (Rousseau) and 1993 Three Rivers) | **** |
| II | 1983 | Hermitage Blanc magnum | Chave | This was the second time I was having the wine, both times from John. Apart from the bouquet which was floral but different, one would have thought this to be a great Montrachet based on the elegance, structure and balance it showed. Still quite youthful. This is not a very known well-known wine and I'm glad I have had a chance to taste it. Remarkable. | **** |
| II | 1921 | Vouvray | Brediff | Again, not a well-known wine but it was a real surprise how well it showed even after these many years. Showing a fair amount of sweetness as expected, it had an absolutely beautiful finish. | **** |
| II | 1993 | Chambertin | Leroy | 1993 Leroys are among the greatest Burgundies made. Like all 1993s this wine has high acidity but the concentration of fruit is quite astonishing. A great wine in the making. I was at a blind tasting of 1993 Leroys three years ago arranged by Wolfgang Grunewald in Switzerland. What I guessed as Chambertin turned out to be Nuits St. Georges Boudots, it was that good ! And when we finally came to Chambertin it was mind-boggling (ditto for her Musigny and Romanee St. Vivant). | ***** |
| II | 1990 | La Tache | DRC | This wine had no flaws. It may well turn out to be one of the greatest La Tache made, the only wine that may be better, in my humble opinion, is 1990 Romanee Conti. I have heard some "revisionists" lately propagating the notion that 1990 is not all that great a vintage in Burgundy. They should be given this wine to taste so they understand what greatness means. | ***** |
| II | 1990 | Musigny | Roumier | Yes, this wine was very young but what a style! It shows remarkable depth of fruit and beautifully balanced acidity. It will keep developing in the bottle for a long time and it has all the ingredients to make a great wine. | **** |
| II | 1978 | Richebourg | H. Jayer | This is exactly how a great Musigny or Romanee St. Vivant would taste like: elegant, feminine, almost delicate with soft texture. But Richebourg, and Richebourg from Jayer at that? I've had Jayer's 78's since they first arrived in the US in the early 80's and then over the years have had them both in this country and in Europe, twice in fact with Jayer himself when he served the Richebourg. That wine is huge, big, tannic, almost overpowering, an epitome of masculinity as great Richebourgs are supposed to be. This wine was quite uncharacteristic. So, reluctantly, as good as the wine was at the tasting I couldn't give it full 5 stars which it would have normally deserved | **** |
| II | 1978 | Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux | H. Jayer | Very typical Cros Parantoux which is Jayer's mini-Richebourg, quite tannic, and big, very leathery, with amazing density of fruit | **** |
| II | 1978 | Clos de la Roche | Dujac | Dujac, like DRC and Roumier represent a style of Burgundy that I adore. Great elegance and finesse, long term, wines that don't hit you with a hammer (C. Dugat comes to mind), and seamless. That's exactly how this wine was. Ironically, many people in Burgundy feel 1978 as too old. This wine was at its pinnacle | **** |
| II | 1971 | La Tache | DRC | Flawless and complete, very rich, round and still amazingly youthful. In the early days, no one thought that 1971's would last this well, this long. A great tribute to the Domaine and to John for obtaining this bottle. | ***** |
| II | 1971 | Romanee Conti | DRC | Great elegance and finesse as expected, nice balance but there was some sharpness at the end. Normally better than 1971 La Tache but not today | **** |
| II | 1962 | La Tache | DRC | Very dark color, quite a youthful nose. Some oxidation in one of the bottles, the other one was lovely, round, more characteristic of 1962, but strangely monolithic | **** |
| II | 1962 | Romanee Conti | DRC | A bit smoky nose, quite sweet, but just a bit short in the length which took away a little from the wine | **** |
| II | 1959 | Romanee St. Vivant | Marey Monge |
Very spicy nose, has the elegance of a great Romanee St. Vivant, velevty, loads of fruit, exceptionally good | **** |
| II | 1949 | Musigny VV | Vogue | There was a definite bottle variation. The better bottle was very good with the characteristc bacon nose, and leathery texture, but it didn't have the intensity of fruit or the length that this wine typically has | **** |
| II | 1949 | La Tache | DRC | 1949 is considered one of the greatest vintages in Burgundy in the last century (along with 1923 and 1915) but this showed a certain dryness that is not typical of this wine. So, eventhough it was very good, it did not quite measure up to 5 stars it would normally get. | **** |
| II | 1945 | Musigny VV, magnum | Vogue | Sensational ! This wine took the thunder out of the 1949 Musigny, which was expected to be the better wine but, unfortunately, didn't show as well at the tasting. This is the best 1945 Musigny I've ever had, and I have drunk it a few times in the past. Very floral, very youthful color, leathery as expected of the vielles vignes, pure fruit, perfect harmony between acid, tannins and fruit. It amazingly kept developing in the glass and became more and more intense. | ***** |
| II | 1945 | La Tache | DRC | Very tannic with leathery undertones which is typical of this vintage and typical of 1945 La Tache but it lacked the massive amount of fruit that the 1945 generally exhibits | **** |
| II | 1929 | Romanee Conti | DRC | Great delicacy and class, ethereal, exactly what was expected of this wine. Obviously this was a perfectly kept bottle that showed no signs of damage over the years. Perfectly drinking | ***** |
| II | 1929 | Les Gaudichots | I still remember having this wine, for the first time, some 20 years ago with Ed Lazarus and friends when we had it with Romanee Conti, La Tache and Richebourg, all from 1929. The wine was a sensation then but almost impossible to obtain since. Today it tasted not much different than it did then, a great tribute to the Doris Duke cellar from which this (and Romanee Conti 1929) were obtained (there were stories circulating around at the tasting that the 29's were decanted much too early which "damaged" the wines. Surprised, I checked with my friend Wolfgang Grunewald, whose opinion I value, and, like me, he has tasted these wines before. He didn't feel that way at all. In fact, he also thought the 1929 RC and Les Gaudichots were among the best wines at this event) | ***** | |
| III | 1978 | Diamond Creek Lake | Black color ! Tough but still a remarkable amount of fruit underneath. | **** | |
| III | 1974 | Heitz Martha's vineyard, magnum | A huge wine with that eucalyptus nose of Martha's vineyard. Lots of fruit and very overpowering | **** | |
| III | 1971 | Ridge Eisele | Another 5 star wine from Ridge! The Eisele vineyard is what elegance is all about. Incredible finesse, and complete. One of the great wines of the tasting | ***** | |
| III | 1970 | Ridge Montebello | A big and powerful wine, quite tannic, but perfectly balanced, a hall mark of Ridge wines, perfectly drinking, clean, youthful with a lovely finish. True to its reputaion this wine is, indeed, very Ch. Latour like. | ***** | |
| III | 1968 | Ridge Montebello, magnum | Quite rustic, with a bit of a barnyard nose, lovely fruit, great structure | **** | |
| III | 1951 | BV Private Reserve | There was definite bottle variation. The better bottle had a typical great BV character : nose of american oak, elegance, balance and length, and typically of California, an immense amount of fruit. | **** | |
| III | 1941 | Inglenook | Stunning ! Eventhough the color showed quite a bit of amber along the edges, indicating age, the density of fruit was amazing, very sinewy and, on the palate, still very youthful | ***** | |
| III | 1968 | Vega Sicilia Unico | Very dark with loads of fruit. Still youthful. Excellent balance and long term | **** | |
| III | 1925 | Marques de Riscal Reserva | One of the bottles was oxidised, but the second bottle was superb. I have been fortunate to have had a few of the older vintages from this property and they have been amazing, just like this wine. Very Bordeaux like with great balance and elegance | ***** | |
| III | 1982 | Barbaresco Sori Tildin | A. Gaja | Very round and luscious and totally ready. All of the characteristics of the 1982 vintage. Excellent | **** |
| III | 1978 | Barolo Monfortino Riserva | G. Conterno | Very backward which was quite unusual because the same wine about 4 years ago was much more developed. It has, however, all the ingredients of a great Barolo in the making | **** |
| III | 1978 | Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva | B. Giacosa | A very Margaux like character. Superb elegance and finesse. Long term | **** |
| III | 1971 | Barolo Monfortino Riserva | G. Conterno | For a masculine Barolo this was unusually elegant showing the influence of the 1971 vintage. Seamless and flawless. Absolutely lovely. A great surprise and a great wine. | ***** |
| III | 1961 | Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva | B. Giacosa | ***** | |
| III | 1955 | Barolo Monfortino Riserva, magnum | G. Conterno | Initially some volatile acidity detected but it went away quickly. Incredible purity of fruit, and loads of it. Astonishing how youthful this wine is. | **** |
| III | 1963 | Quinta do Noval Nacional | "Phenomenal"!, I wrote in my notes. It showed incredible amount of freshness and youth. The balance was absolutely remarkable. This is exactly how this wine has shown for a number of years. Perfect bottle. | ***** | |
| III | 1948 | Fonseca | Very dark in color with intense nose and an equally intense amount of fruit. Great Port. | **** | |
| III | 1945 | Taylor, magnum | Incredibly opulent with an amazing amount of fruit. A bit overwhelming but a perfect wine. The 1945 has always been considered one of the greatest vintages for Ports and for Taylor, in particular. This was a perfect magnum. | ***** | |
| III | 1931 | Quinta do Noval | Very exotic with an enormous amount of fruit. Seemed a little more developed this time around than in the past but still unbelievably good | ***** | |
| III | 1927 | Taylor | To say "ethereal", as I wrote down, would seem out of character for a Port, but that's exactly how it was. All that toughness had melted away giving way to a very elegant wine. The finish was somewhat dry which took away something from the wine. | **** | |
| IV |
1990 | Ch. Margaux | A beauty ! The elegance and the balance are quintessential Margaux. This wine, along with 1990 Cheval Blanc (which is almost pure candy !) will be written about in even more superlative terms in years to come. | ***** | |
| IV |
1989 | Ch. Haut Brion | The wine was completely closed up but one can sense the fruit underneath, and there was loads of it. We will be writing and tasting this wine, along with the other great 1989s--La Mission Haut Brion, Petrus and Lafleur-- for years to come | ***** | |
| IV |
1982 | Ch. Lafleur | A legend is born--finally-- that will eventually replace some of the old legends like '61 Latour A Pomerol, and the Pomerols of 1947, as they are now beginning to show age ! Tasting this wine over the last couple of years, I find that all that tannin that characterizes a great Lafleur has deceptively and beautifully dissolved making this wine seamless, flawless, luscious, seductive ---there aren't enough words to describe it--but at the same time those same tannins will support the wine and enable it to age for decades to come | ***** | |
| IV |
1975 | Ch. Petrus | "Delicious" is not how I normally describe a great Petrus. My words tend to indicate something more profound. But that is how this wine has always tasted, this bottle was no exception. In a blind tasting of Ch. Petrus, the 1975 is easiest to recognize. This was an excellent bottle, completely evolved but not in the league of the many great wines the Chateau has produced. | **** | |
| IV |
1961 | Ch. Latour | This wine did not show the intense tannic structure nor the intensity of fruit that it typically shows in the 1961 vintage. It seemed much further along than expected. Excellent but not great | **** | |
| IV |
1961 | Ch. La Mission Haut Brion | Typical leathery and earthy structure, very intense. Initially there was a bit of volatile acidity on the nose which went away. Excellent wine | **** | |
| IV |
1961 | Ch. Palmer | There was bottle variation, but the better bottle was extraordinary. Palmer '61 always had the great elegance that comes from the Margaux region but also, curiosly, a bit of the Pomerol-type rich fruit. This is the wine that got me into collecting wines--and that was in the mid-seventies. It was so fantastic, and seemed ready to drink then that I never imagined I would find 30 years later that it hadn't changed much at all, eventhough many friends along the way kept telling me that I should drink up my bottles because "it is not going anywhere". Why is it still so good? One word answer : BALANCE | ***** | |
| IV |
1961 | Ch. Lafleur | If you had the patience and ability to hold on to the glass, something I learned years ago that I should do when it comes to Lafleur, this wine developed magnificiently. Twenty years ago when I first had it, as part of a big 1961 Bordeaux tasting I had organized, it was impenetrable. But I have noticed as I have drunk it over the last 5 years or so that, while it is still very muscular, it has finally come around. One of the greatest Pomerols from 1961 | ***** | |
| IV |
1961 | Ch. Latour A Pomerol | 1961 Latour A Pomerol can be described by three words: sugar, sugar, sugar---of course, balanced perfectly by the acidity and tannins that define 1961. This particular bottle can be described by may be two or two and a half of those words. Still it was exceptionally good. The first time I had the wine was, again, at that tasting of 1961 I mentioned earlier. Most of us had never had it before. It was absolutely stunning. I immediately bought a case of it at a price that was considered expensive at that time, $40 a bottle (the quantity I have now is much reduced, however!) | ***** | |
| IV |
1961 | Ch. Trotanoy | I had told John that while everyone would know how great 1961 Petrus is (which, unfortunately, didn't show as well at the tasting), not very many people would know how extraordinary '61 Trotanoy is. And it was fantastic--John, Wolfgang, and most everyone I spoke to agreed. Just the concentration and balance were mind-boggling. | ***** | |
| IV |
1959 | Ch. Lafite, magnum | For a Chateau that produces classically elegant wines, like 1953 for example, the 1959 has been unusual because it is so round and almost voluptuous. This magnum had many of those characteristics but lacked the concentration it normally has | **** | |
| IV |
1955 | Ch. La Mission Haut Brion, magnum | Lots of smokiness and cedar in the nose, this in many ways was opposite of elegant. I wrote "rustic", but with an extraordinary intensity of fruit and true to form. One of the great bottles of this great wine | ***** | |
| IV |
1953 | Ch. Lafite, magnum | A bouquet of gardenia--exactly how a great Lafite shows, from a vintage that produced some of the most elegant wines all across Bordeaux (I just recently had an amazing example of that in Ch. Figeac 1953 in a magnum). A great wine | ***** | |
| IV |
1953 | Ch. Margaux, magnum | Floral, elegant, velvety, almost an ethereal wine with a flawless structure. A quintessential Ch. Margaux. | ***** | |
| IV |
1947 | Ch. Cheval Blanc | Sorry, but as good, and as big as it was, the wine lacked what a great '47 Cheval Blanc always shows--Port like character. The 1947 was basically a freak vintage for this Chateau and no Cheval Blanc before or since has had this character. This wine didn't have it. Otherwise it was very good. | **** | |
| IV |
1947 | Ch. Petrus | This bottle was unbelievable ! It is extremely difficult today to find a bottle like this that was probably stored for several decades in perfect condition. Everything you've ever heard about this wine was all there :Opulent, velvety, concentrated with excellent acidity and a very long finish | ***** | |
| IV |
1947 | Vieux Chateau Certan | Another extraordinary bottle. "iron fist in a velvet glove", I wrote. A complete wine with no harsh edges. Perfect balance. | ***** | |
| IV |
1945 | Ch. Haut Brion | This was absolutely a sensational wine, and whoever brought this perfect bottle needs a huge vote of thanks. It had that gravelly character, it was muscular but not big and, of course, had great elegance which Haut Brion always has (like Lafite and Margaux). In the blind tastings of 1945 first growths that I have attended in the past, Haut Brion, more often than not, came out on top. | ***** | |
| IV |
1945 | Ch. Mouton Rothschild | A re-corked bottle which showed more of the young wine used to top-off the bottle than the real thing. Excellent wine which, if you have not had the original bottle, would sway you to exclaim great things about it (specially if you read the label before-hand !). A great '45 Mouton, however, simply fills up the room with the fragrance of cassis, and shows so much concentration of fruit and tanins that it puts to shame almost any cabernet sauvignon you may have ever come across in your tastings | **** | |
| IV |
1929 | Ch. Latour | Totally developed and perfectly drinking! Quite elegant for Latour but a perfect bottle.The 1929 in Bordeaux was a faster maturing vintage than 1928 but at their peak the wines were better than the 1928s. Most 1929s have aged now but this Latour, slow developer as it always is, was marvellous | ***** | |
| IV |
1929 | Ch. Ausone, magnum | Gentility, silky texture, balance and elegance are hallmarks of old Ausone. This wine had all of it. I was probably in a minority (along with Wolfgang) to like it so much. It's a shame that, for this tasting, we couldn't find a single bottle (in good condition) of some of the great old vintages of Ausone which I was fortunate to have had (at the Chateau) : 1926, 1921, 1920, 1906 and 1900. If we had atleast one of these, it would have, along with the 1929, dispelled the myth that the old-style Ausones do not age well. | ***** | |
| IV |
1928 | Ch. Latour, magnum | In a magnum this wine was just too backward. It slowly developed that beautiful cedar and casis nose, and on the palate, it was a bit mean and lean initially but slowly came around to showing sweetness and fruit. It needed time but, unfortunately, I couldn't hold on to the glass since the available space, which was very narrow, had to be cleared for the following flight of wines. I gave it 5 starts because the wine showed no flaws and had every single ingredient to be a great wine | ***** | |
| IV |
1900 | Ch. Margaux | This re-corked bottle was clearly topped off with a very young wine. It was an excellent wine but did not have the magic of the real thing. But then you can't expect a wine to last forever no matter how great it had been at one time. | **** | |
| IV |
1937 | Ch. Yquem | Among all the great Yquems, '37 has always been the most elegant and with the most finesse. And that's exactly how this bottle showed. Another flawless bottle at this tasting | ***** | |
| IV |
1928 | Ch. Yquem | Packed with everything fabulous that goes into a great Yquem. The density of fruit and the intensity of acidity were remarkable and in perfect harmony. I have had '28 many, many times but this bottle has to be one of the greatest. Superb | ***** | |
| IV |
1921 | Ch. Yquem | Molasses on the nose, intensely sweet as it always has been, and unusually elegant for a '21 (it is normally thick, black and monstrous). A great wine but not typical '21 | **** |