I had a case of 1978 Duhart Milon which I finished about a year ago. It was past its best- all the fruit was gone- but still a very solid wine for the lover of elderly Bordeaux. Lots of nice menthol and coffee grounds on the nose. Nicely structured- no evidence the tannins were drying.
Tried the 1990 this year though- from a pristine bottle- and it was deeply disappointing. Almost no nose whatsoever. Decent enough taste, but despite me and my wife’s best efforts we really weren’t able to get much out of it.
The single bottle of the 1990 was bought for the same price as the entire case of the 1978, albeit 5 years later. Not my best purchase.
I have a cousin who for some reason had a bottle of '86 Duhart Milon laying about. She’s no longer a drinker and gave it to me recently because I’m well known as a wine geek in the family. She also sent a double mag of '93 Dry Creek Vineyards Reserve Cab that was laying about as well. She has an ex- from over 15 years ago whose family owned some liquor stores, so I’m guessing they were left over from that debacle.
The fill is good on the Duhart despite the likelihood that it wasn’t well-stored, but who knows. Family is coming into town this weekend, so we’ll pop the Dry Creek as a test. While not an exceptional producer, it seems like a good trial balloon to see if there’s heat damage or other indication of poor storage.