Surprised by a '75 Bordeaux (Monbousquet)

I was with my folks for Easter weekend and my dad decided to pull a dusty bottle from his cellar that had been hiding for a long time. We were both expecting little, but provenance was good, as he bought it retail when it was released and basically forgot about it. This wasn’t decanted. Going from memory, the wine was full of dried cherry, tobacco and earth, and it was still quite lively with a nice palate weight, but still very delicate. This didn’t fade at all over the 2 hours it was enjoyed (lots of glasses to be poured). For a guy who doesn’t have access to a lot of aged Bordeaux, this was quite a treat. Thanks, Dad!
1975 Chateau Monbousquet Saint Emilion

Sorry about the sideways photos - not sure how to correct that.

Hold the phone differently.
Otherwise, if the picture already exists, open in MS Paint, select Edit mode, Rotate accordingly, and Save.

I took the photos holding my phone vertically! AND when I view the photos on my laptop, they’re oriented properly! Grrr… When it comes to this type of stuff and me, Forrest Gump said it best, “Stupid is as stupid does…”

Lucky you!

To find a 1975 claret that is more than just drinkable is difficult indeed (not that I’d encourage anybody to start searching), but the photo of the wine in the glass shows that you did find a true surviver.

Its a relief to - for once - see a picture taken in daylight (or perhaps under old fashioned light bulbs?), cause if the artificial light source had been fluorescent, or LED light, the wine would have looked terrible: murky and dead as a skunk as if CocaCola was blended with carrot juice and mud.

Thanks!

Peter

I’ve had this problem here and someone said it’s a quirk of the WB server. The simple solution is to edit the image on your phone first, then save it. You can edit a single pixel and it somehow sets the correct orientation for WB purposes when you save and then upload.

Great note, great bottle and great pics.
(And great storage!)

Thanks for posting.

Søren.

I’ve been drinking up a case of 1975 Ch. Ducru Beaucaillou that I bought at auction 4-5 years ago. Plenty of elegance and complexity, fully mature,but still in fine condition. The vintage is under-priced, overlooked, with some great values out there. But caveat emptor, taste before you buy.
DoctorJay

Good to hear. I think of 1975 Bordeaux vintage as the all time worst…one that supposedly never got ripe or “mature”…It was the vintage to avoid in the '80s.

Ironically, the first Bordeaux I ever really drank was a 1974 Monbousquet at the Augberge de l’ill in Alsace, on our honeymoon in 1983. Ok with the venison dish, as recommended by Serge Dubs. But the 1979 riesling was memorable, and opened my eyes to the region’s wines. I had already fallen for Burgundy’s reds on that trip, so I wasn’t much interested in Bordeau and this dinner didn’t change that.

Monbousquet also sounds nice when said out loud.

Strange to think of 75 as an all time worst, it’s always been considered one of the better 70s vintages behind only 70 and 78

I’ve had quite a bit of luck with 75s lately. Then again I adore when an aged Bordeaux settles into a classic luncheon claret.