Old bottle are always fun. Sometimes they work out, other times, not so much. This bottle had a very low fill. Below the shoulders and near the top of the label. The cork was removed using a Durand. It virtually exploded as it escaped the bottle. very little integrity. The bottle was decanted for sediment and pieces of cork, checked right away, but allowed to breathe for a while. It turned out the wine continued to improve in the decanter for at least 30 minutes as it blew off the bottle stink and gained some strength. Ruby/brown in color. The nose has some mushrooms, some fresh mulch but also some perfumed cherries. Overall, a nice nose is old. On the palate, this has some cherry fruit. The midpalate is a bit hollow, but then the finish has some tart cherries. An underlying earthiness is pronounced but the wine overall is alive. For a wine with questionable storage, at age 51, and not a great vintage, this one was ok. Certainly worth drinking a glass.
