Tasting some older Bordeaux

• 1975 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (11/30/2004)
  A dull, dark, brownish-red wine gives off earthy aromas of cigar box and forest floor. Dusty tannins are still, as Mr Parker put it in 1996, “angular” but there are notes of rum-soaked black cherries, strong coffee, wood smoke, truffles, menthol, and cedar closet. Will this wine ever resolve in to something better? Perhaps. It seems to be holding it’s own and undergoing little change in the past decade. No rush to open. Could be that better things will come to him who waits. (87 pts.)
• 1989 Château Le Gay – France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (11/29/2004)
  Inky dark, almost black wine — a fascinating color — with just a slight orangish browning at the edges. Aromas of leather, pencil shavings, and old wooden furniture but there’s fruit here too: fig, stewed plums, spiced fruit cake. Chunky, chewy tannins beg for even more time. A classy wine that I liked a lot. Only a mid-palate thinness held this one back from a higher score. Hold for another 3 years and then enjoy for years to come. (88 pts.)
• 1966 Château La Mission Haut-Brion – France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (10/23/2004)
  Not fading, but mature and beautiful. Cedar, leather, spicy fruity. Retains a beautiful red color with little browning. Elegant.
• 1989 Château Chasse-Spleen – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc (3/24/2004)
  Beautiful deep color, no bricking, very clean with medium body. Pretty aromas of raspberry, cherry liqueur, pipe tobacco and pine forest. The flavors of the forest continue with cedar and pine, plus pencil lead, leather, mint, and a racy streak of wild berries. Pleasant acidity with firm, but sweet tannins, and wood smoke. Long finish. This wine is just starting to appear “mature” and while lovely after an hour in the decanter, it hasn’t quite completed the transformation from youthful exuberance to distinguished maturity. Give this one another couple of years and then enjoy for many years to come. (93 pts.)
• 1975 Château Pape Clément – France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (3/3/2004)
  Maintaining good color, medium to light red with very little bricking. Musty smell gives way to wet earth and tobacco. After about 15 minutes, the wine reveals currant with pencil lead and river rock flavors. A bit past its prime, but still drinking fine. If anyone has a properly stored magnum, that should be really good. (85 pts.)
• 1970 Château Fourcas Hosten – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc (1/12/2004)
  Still good color. Muted nose of herbs and spice. Pencil lead, cedar box, cherry tobacco.
• 1970 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (9/29/2003)
  Had this again last night. This bottle, purchased and stored with the one I enjoyed back in June, was not showing nearly as well. Less body, less fruit, less… well everything. On the downhill slope. NR.
• 1970 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (6/11/2003)
  Superb mature Bordeaux. Elegant, but still vibrant after all these years. Dark brownish red with some amber bricking. Opens with sweet pipe tobacco smoke and cedar. Fantastic things happen in the mouth: black currant, prune, and dried fruit with notes of eucalyptus and tar. But even with these “aged” elements, there is still a youthfulness of sweeter, fresher fruit that emerged about 15 minutes after of decanting and remained for the next 1 1/2 hours. There’s an element of not unpleasant tannins on the finish, but I doubt this wine is going to improve much more. Drink it now while the fruit still leads this parade. (91 pts.)
• 1975 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (6/4/2003)
  Slightly dull, medium ruby color with only slight bricking. Thick full body with long legs. Earthy aromas of tobacco leaf and forest floor. Dusty, tight, stingy tannins but the wine still ekes out a some nice dark plums, menthol, and cedar. Drink now. (88 pts.)
• 1970 Château Beychevelle – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (5/30/2003)
  Mid – Bottom shoulder fill. Dark amber, port like color. This bottle was in even worse shape than the one I had a couple of months before. Tar, oaky wood, little else with a quite EtOH nose. NR.
• 1995 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (5/19/2003)
  Way too soon on this one, very backward and tight tannins but I wanted to see how it was developing. Opened up after 2 hours to reveal nice saddle leather, cedar, raspberry, and blueberry fruit. Such a different style of winemaking from the evening’s other wines. I’ll wait at least another 3 years to open another one of these.
• 1970 Château Fourcas Hosten – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc (3/21/2003)
  Slightly cloudy red but otherwise I didn’t detect any obvious flaws. Surprisingly youthful nose for a 30+ year old wine with aromas of dark fruit and tobacco. Tasted plum, black cherries, cherry-flavored pipe tobacco, tar, smoke, and pine wood. This wine must have been big when young — it’s still holding its own. Drink now. (88 pts.)
• 1970 Château Beychevelle – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (3/15/2003)
  Soft and light with a bit of spice, there was very little fruit left, perhaps some plum if one hoped hard enough. The wine still maintains a nice color, but it has certainly seen its better days. Drink now or ten years ago. This bottle’s cork was dry at the core and crumbled on extraction. There was a high shoulder fill. NR.
• 1989 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou – France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (2/23/2003)
  Medium body with a dark ruby color. Aromas of cigar box and asian spices. On the tongue it revealed pleasant, but quite subtle cassis and cherry fruit with a touch of earthy minerals. Medium, balanced finish with some tannins hinting of better things to come. This wine has a bit left in its bag of tricks that should emerge (in a good way) over the next few years. I plan to look for some more. (91 pts.)

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