Vintage Bordeaux Treasures at The Wine Watch

 A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover.

Fadiman, Clifton

 

Bordeaux is one of the most respected wine regions on the planet and its wines can age for a very long time. We have shown wines like the 1928 Latour at a tasting in 2011 and this wine was still quite lively for an eighty + year old. We don't have anything quite that old this evening but we are going back to a classic old vintage, the end of an era with WWII just ending a few years before, the 1949 vintage was excellent but this was before most of the modern innovations in winemaking technology.  It is always fun to taste wines from this era, this tasting will span the course of 4 decades of winemaking history from the world's most famous wine producing region with legendary vintages like: 1961, 1970, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1988 and 1989. This is a once in a lifetime tasting opportunity if you would like to experience older vintage wines from some of Bordeaux's top producers including one of the five first growths, Chateau Latour!

This is a sit down tasting and is limited to 15 tasters. Wine Watch Catering's Toni Lampasone will be serving a few small courses to accompany the tasting wines. The fee for this event is $195+ tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

 

Vintage Bordeaux Tasting at Wine Watch
Friday October 12th
7pm

 

Tasting Line-up:

1949 Chateau Pichon Lalande Comtesse Pauillac

(86 Pints) A pretty wine with lovely perfumes and fruit, but it's slightly disappointing on the palate. Medium in body, with firm tannins and a moderately milky, plummy aftertaste.--Pichon-Lalande vertical. –JS

1961 Chateau Gruaud Larose St. Julien

(96 Points)  Tasted 7 Times With Consistent Notes:  The 1961 is among the greatest mature wines of Gruaud-Larose I have drunk. This powerful, rich, densely concentrated wine remains young, fresh, and vigorous, with a full decade of life ahead. It continues to exhibit a dark garnet color with some amber, a wonderfully fragrant quality (plus, minerals, tar, cedar, soy sauce, and licorice), a viscous texture, sensation depth of fruit, and a fabulous, albeit alcoholic finish. This is claret at its most decadent. Anticipated maturity: now-2015.  Wine Advocate #95, Oct 1994

1970 Chateau Latour Pauillac
Price: $700.00    Sale $570
Quantity in Stock: 2

(91 Points)  Elegant and gorgeous to drink now. Peaked. Ruby red color with an amber edge. Lovely aromas of plum, berry and mint. Full-bodied, with currant, dried herb character. Medium finish.--Latour vertical. Drink now. –JS  Wine Spectator Issue: Aug 31, 2000

1975 Chateau Malescot St Exupery Margaux

This is one of the best vintages from the decade of the 1970's.  I have explained this decade as a time of experimentation.  The 1970's represented a lot of trial and error and eventually the quality minded producers went back to natural farming and got away from pesticides, fungicides introduced in the 1970's. 

1982 Chateau Branaire Ducru Saint Julien

(93 Points)  A strong effort for this estate, the 1982 exhibits sweet aromas of plums, licorice, earth, and flowers. The tannins are slightly rustic, but the sweetness of the fruit, the broad expansive mouthfeel, and the wine’s full maturity represent a classic Bordeaux at the top of its game. Enjoy it over the next 5-8 years. Wine Advocate #183, Jun 2009

1983 Chateau Canon St. Emilion

(90 Points)  Chocolate and blackberry character on the nose, with hints of tobacco. Medium- to full-bodied, with slightly chewy tannins and a medium finish. A little dry, but some very pretty fruit underneath.—'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. 7,500 cases made. –JS  Wine Spectator, Issue: Web Only - 2009

1988 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Price: $168.00

(90 Points)  Somewhat austere but very successful for the vintage, Pichon-Lalande’s 1988 has a dark garnet color and an intriguing nose of compost, earth, black currants, licorice, and weedy tobacco. The wine is medium-bodied with a sweet, relatively expansive mid-palate and slightly rugged tannins in the increasingly attenuated finish. This wine has reached full maturity and should be drunk over the next 5-10 years. Last tasted, 5/02.Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition Jan 2003 Reviewer: Robert Parker

1989 Chateau Branaire Ducru St. Julien
Price: $97.50       Sale $85.80

(90 Points)  Approaching full maturity, the sumptuous, fleshy, dark garnet-colored 1989 is a top success for Branaire. This flashy wine exhibits sweet raspberry and black currant fruit intermixed with some lead pencil, cedar, chocolate, and new oak. The wine is medium-bodied, supple-textured, and luscious. A very sexy effort, this wine should be drunk over the next 10-12 years. Last tasted, 3/02.  Robert Parker Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition, Jan 2003

Menu

Selection of Cheeses:  Beemster Gouda, Reggiano Parmesan, Spanish Manchego

Duck Confit Springs Rolls with Primavera Vegetable and Savory Plum dipping Sauce

Sliced Sirloin with a ragout of wild mushrooms and shoestring potatoes garnished with lemon gremolata

 

Older Vintage Bordeaux available in the store:
We have an excellent stash of older vintage Bordeaux in the store at the moment.  These are all in excellent condition and are ready to pick up tomorrow.

 

1945 Chateau Beychevelle St. Julien
List Price: $800.00                 Your Price: $704.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(82 Points) Looks and tastes old and fragile, still showing some lovely floral and strawberry notes. A little drying but st...

 

1945 Chateau Margaux Margaux
List Price: $4500.00              Sale Price: $3000.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(90 Points)  Still has firm tannins, but you can feel the delicacy and grace as it opens up and shows cedar, cigar box and chocolate-scented berry flavors. The tannins are scarcely more obtrusive here than with the other first growths.--1945 horizontal. –HS Wine Spectator Issue: Nov 30, 1995

 

1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
List Price: $17500.00            Your Price: $15400.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(100 Points) Tasted 11 Times With Consistent Notes Except For One Bad Double Magnum  Having a 1947 Cheval Blanc served out of an impeccably stored magnum twice in three months during the summer of 1994, and on another occasion, from an extraordinary jerobaum, made me once again realize what a great job I have. The only recent Bordeaux vintage that comes even remotely close to the richness, texture, and viscosity of so many of these right bank 1947s is 1982. What can I say about this mammoth wine that is more like port than dry red table wine? The 1947 Cheval Blanc exhibits such a thick texture it could double as motor oil. The huge nose of fruitcake, chocolate, leather, coffee, and Asian spices is mind-boggling. The unctuous texture and richness of sweet fruit are amazing. Consider the fact that this wine is, technically, appallingly deficient in acidity and excessively high in alcohol. Moreover, its volatile acidity levels would be considered intolerable by modern day oenologists. Yet how can they explain that after 47 years the wine is still remarkably fresh, phenomenally concentrated, and profoundly complex? It has to make you wonder about the direction of modern day winemaking. Except for one dismal, murky, troubled, volatile double-magnum, this wine has been either perfect or nearly perfect every time I have had it.  Wine Advocate #95, Oct 1994

 

1957 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac (mid shoulder)
List Price: $1990.00              Your Price: $1751.20
Quantity in Stock: 1

(87 Points)  Deeply colored, firm and tannic, very much alive and kicking, with meaty, minty cherry flavors and a sense of depth. Drink now through 1998.--Lafite Rothschild vertical. – Wine Spectator Issue: Nov 30, 1991

 

1959 Chateau Latour Pauillac (high shoulder)
List Price: $3240.00              Your Price: $2851.20
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) Dark garnet with an amber edge, the 1959 Latour reveals a touch of volatile acidity in the nose, along with aromas ...

 

1961 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $5000.00              Sale Price: $3600.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(94 Points)  Tasted from magnum. A really good, suave example of Lafite from a vintage in which it often tastes harsh and unyielding with tannins. This bottle blends spicy, nutmeglike aromas with abundant fruit flavors and meaty undertones. It is plenty firm and tannic, but not overly so. The finish is exceptionally long, too.--1961 Bordeaux horizontal. Drink now through 2010. –  Wine Spectator ssue: Apr 30, 1996

 

1961 Chateau Latour Pauillac
List Price: $6000.00              Sale Price: $4800.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(100 Poinits)  Port-like, with an unctuous texture, and a dark garnet color with considerable amber at the edge, the 1961 Latour possesses a viscosity and thickness. One of the three bottles served at the Chateau's tasting revealed a surprisingly aggressive, minty, herbaceous nose, but the other two bottles were liquid perfection, exhibiting fragrant, cedary, truffle, leather, mineral, and sweet, jammy aromatics, full-bodied, voluptuous textures, exquisite purity and concentration, and a layered, highly-nuanced finish that represents the essence of compellingly great wine.

The 1961 has been fully mature for over 15 years, but it seems to get richer, holding onto its succulence and fat, and developing more aromatic nuances without losing any sweetness or concentration. An extraordinary wine, it is unquestionably one of the Bordeaux legends of the century! Anticipated maturity: now-2025  Wine Advocate #129, Jun 2000

 

1970 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou St. Julien Magnum
List Price: $495.00                 Your Price: $435.60
Quantity in Stock: 1

(92 Points) This wine has been fully mature and delicious for many years, so I was not surprised by how stunning this bottle was....

 

1970 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $1050.00                          Sale Price: $875.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(89 Points)  Pale garnet; cedary nose, with vanilla nuances; very concentrated; shows elegant, stylish cassis and tea flavors, but lacks the density and vigor of Mouton and Latour; also not up to the Imperial bottle tasted earlier. –  Wine Spectator Issue: May 15, 1993

 

1970 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac Magnum
List Price: $1500.00              Your Price: $1320.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(89 Points) Pale garnet; cedary nose, with vanilla nuances; very concentrated; shows elegant, stylish cassis and tea flavors, but...

 

1970 Chateau Petrus Pomerol
List Price: $3000.00              Sale Price: $2160.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

(99 Points) This dark garnet-colored wine shows considerable amber at the edge. I have always had a tenency to taste this side ...

 

1971 Chateau Petrus Pomerol
List Price: $2500.00                          Your Price: $2200.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(94 Points) This wine is as comfortable as your favorite pair of slippers. Extremely caressing, with wonderfully enticing aromas...

 

1971 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $650.00                 Sale Price: $500.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(88 Points)  This wine, which was a medium-weight, charming example in its youth, continues to develop well. Recent bottles have been the finest I have tasted of the 1971 Mouton-Rothschild. The color remains a deep dark garnet with some amber at the edge. The wine offers up a classic Pauillac nose of cedar, black currants, and lead pencil aromas. On the palate, it reveals a savory, sweet, cedary, currant flavor profile with good freshness, adequate acidity, and ripe tannin. The wine is fully mature, but is capable of lasting for another 5-10 years. Anticipated maturity: Now-2006. Last tasted 10/97  Robert Parker Jr. Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition
Jan 1998 

 

1971 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $1150.00                          Sale Price: $950.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(87 Points)  Has an aroma like an aged Burgundy, with cherry and spice; flavor is mature, soft, very elegant. Drinkable now.--Lafite Rothschild vertical. – Wine Spectator  Issue: Nov 30, 1991

 

1975 Chateau Petrus Pomerol
List Price: $2250.00              Sale Price: $1800.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(98 Points) One of the most rustic and powerful Petrus of the last 25 years, this wine still has a murky garnet/plum/purp...

 

1976 Chateau Calon Segur Saint Estephe
List Price: $75.00               Your Price: $66.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

 

1976 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $1250.00                          Sale Price: $1000.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(93 Points) The 1976 Lafite clearly stands far above the crowd in this vintage. A beautiful bouquet of seductive cedarwood, spices, and ripe fruit precedes a very concentrated, darkly colored wine, with great length and texture. Some amber is just beginning to appear at the edge. The 1976 has turned out to be the best Lafite of the '70s. It is gorgeous to drink at present. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005. Last tasted, 9/96.  Robert Parker Jr. Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition, Jan 1998

 

1979 Chateau Petrus Pomerol
 List Price: $2000.00             Sale Price: $1560.00
Quantity in Stock: 5

(90 Points)  A rather hard wine, with a firm backbone of silky tannins and sweet black olive, vanilla and berry aromas and flavors.--Pétrus vertical. Best from 1992 through 1995. –JS  Wine Spectator Issue: Feb 15, 1991

 

1982 Chateau La Lagune Haut Medoc
List Price: $175.00                             Your Price: $154.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

 

1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
List Price: $1250.00                          Your Price: $1100.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) All in harmony. Deserves its reputation. Dark ruby. Smoke, black truffle, berry and cherry. Full-bodied, velvety a...

 

1983 Chateau Pavie Decesse Saint Emilion
List Price: $85.00                               Your Price: $74.80
Quantity in Stock: 2

 

1983 Leoville Las Cases St. Julien
List Price: $225.00                             Your Price: $198.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(91 Points) This tasting consisted of each of the varietal components of Las Cases, followed by the final blend for Leov...

 

1985 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $780.00                             Sale Price: $650.00
Quantity in Stock: 5

(90 Points) The 1985 Lafite is revealing more class and complexity than I predicted. A moderately intense, cedary, woody, ...

 

1986 Chateau Petrus Pomerol
List Price: $2050.00              Sale Price: $1750.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(92 Points) Dark red, with an amber edge. Aromas of chocolate, stewed berries, Merlot and raisins. Full-bodied, velvety and ri...

 

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $1215.00              Your Price: $1069.20
Quantity in Stock: 1

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 375ml
List Price: $575.00                 Your Price: $506.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(100 Points) After stumbling over some wines I thought were high class Bordeaux, I nailed this wine in one of the blind tasting...

 

1986 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Paulllac
List Price: $3500.00                          Sale Price: $2750.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(99 Points) The 1986 possesses outstanding richness, a deep color, medium body, a graceful, harmonious texture, and superb len...

 

1987 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $495.00                             Sale Price: $420.75
Quantity in Stock: 1

(89 Points) The 1987 would appear to be a sure bet for the wine of the vintage. It remains the most complete and backward 1987 Me...

 

1988 Chateau Simard St Emilion
List Price: $75.00                   Your Price: $66.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

 

1988 Chateau Margaux Margaux
 List Price: $505.00                            Your Price: $444.40
Quantity in Stock: 2

The 1988 has a classic bouquet of violets and black currants intertwined with the vanillin scents of new oak. It is medium bod...

 

1988 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $595.00                             Your Price: $523.60
Quantity in Stock: 5

(92 Points) Very pretty aromas of vanilla, tobacco, berry and chocolate. Medium- to full-bodied, with soft tannins and a ber...

 

1989 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 3 Liter
List Price: $6750.00              Your Price: $5940.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

 

1989 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
List Price: $575.00             Sale Price: $395.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(93 Points)  Subtle, yet rich and decadent, offering meat, sweet berry and fresh leather on the nose. Full and very soft, with velvety tannins and a long, fruity finish. This has so much ripe fruit. Reserved and firm, this is turning to a very fine and shy Lafite. This is fresh and structured, but still holding back. I wouldn't wait, though.—'89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. –JS  Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2010