Opened last night, poured an ounce, consumed tonight with local chicken sausage, Sally’s stuffing and a Caesar salad. Notes from tonight.
Dark garnet color. Aromas are still slightly closed but feature strong ripe red currants, some mineral, a hint of oak. The palate is sturdy and foursquare, young and muscular, with abundant ripe tannins, fine balance and tension. The flavors are ripe and powerful with red fruit, with just a touch of black cherry and/or currant to add subtlety, along with a tiny hint of white pepper. This is in a good spot, very youthful but somewhat polite, with the rough edges starting to show some refinement. A classic example of a classic cold-climate Bordeaux Cabernet, punching well above its weight. Is there any such thing as a mature Lanessan? I’ve got a 1966 lined up, I’m not betting one way or the other. If you like your Cabernets lush and opulent, please don’t ever buy any Lanessan. Rated 92 tonight, up to a point of improvement possible over the next 20 years.
FWIW, finished the bottle tonight. Very very slightly less fruit. Very very slightly softer, not polished but closer. No change in quality. Same rating. This is 48 hours after pulling the cork on an 18 year old wine.
Opened my first of four of these that I got off WineBid for the princely sum of $35 a bottle. Decanted off the sediment and then back into the bottle. Absolutely beautiful – blackcurrant, tobacco, mushroom, cedar. Just everything you’d want out of a mature bottle of Bordeaux for next to nothing. There were some CT reviews that said these were over the hill or totally gone, couldn’t agree less. Wish I bought all 22 bottles on WineBid!
Great to hear more, no surprise. I have a couple left, they are sound asleep.
Recycled bottles today. I’m a little hazy, but apparently consumed another '75 Lanessan sometime in the past two weeks. Don’t remember when, don’t remember the food, do remember that it was really good, as always. I sent one to the Santa Cruz Mountain tasting a few weeks back, Wes Barton did not bring it, which is fine. I have four bottles left. Will not open another until 2025, kinda cool to drink 50 year old Cru Bourgeois, with no concerns about it being too old. Is there another producer on the planet making semi-immortal wines at reasonable prices?
I couldn’t believe how deeply colored this supposedly minor, non-classified wine was at 23 years. I think I audibly gasped when I was pouring it into the decanter and got a whiff of it.
Thanks for the notes and ongoing check-ins. A special wine to me as the 2000s were just releasing as I was getting into wine 20 years ago. My first real purchase was a 6pack of 2000 Lanessan. Also my daughter’s birth year, so it started the collection. Still have a couple hanging around and need to pull one soon.
