Ruby in color. The nose is a bit old. Lighter with cherries, tobacco, dried fruits. bell pepper and slight celery. On the palate, this is tart and dried cherries. A bit of a bell pepper streak. Still drinking ok but getting a bit long in the tooth. Probably better ten years ago.
It is always a treat to drink a mature First Growth. This is fully mature and drinking beautifully. 12.5% abv according to the importer sticker on the bottle. Purple/ruby in color with some browning at the rim, mostly clear and a bit flat. The nose is dusty with cassis and tobacco. With air some dried fruits come out. Medium bodied. On the palate, this has a vibrant acidity. Nice cherry and black cherry fruit with some cassis. Layers of complexity. Fruit over spice and dried forest floor. Nice finish. This begs for food and went well with a roasted Brie but would work well with
Any time one gets a chance to drink a first growth, it's a true pleasure. They have become prohibitively priced, so its nice when a bottle actually gets open and consumed. Perhaps not the greatest vintage of Margaux, but a very good one. At age 22, this is pretty much at peak and drinking very well. Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose has a bit of that Margaux liquor/perfume with cherries, cassis, slight spice, and leather but clean. Full bodied. Medium tannins. The palate has black cherries, slight black tea, and slight soy. Long finish.
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 m
Very nice showing for this second label of a First Growth Chateau Lafite. It has about 40% Merlot in it (according to an early Robert Parker review). The nose is earthy, with tobacco, cigar box, dust but also vibrant dark cherries and some cassis. Full bodied. Light tannins. On the palate, black cherries, earthiness and some spice. Good finish. Well stored bottles should have a few more years out of this. Nice on its own, but better with food. Roasted duck or chicken would work well.
Taken from a less than ideal cellar, but the fill was mid-shoulder and it looked ok. Turned out, it was. Brick red in color but clear and more importantly, bright. The nose is slightly earthy but there are cherries and a slight perfume note. Medium bodied with good acidity. No tannins. On the palate, this is of course, old and past prime, but there is still some fruit left. Cherries, dried cherries and earth. Clipped finish. Worth drinking a glass. Probably not worth serving with food, more of an intellectual curiosity.
