Sunday luncheon at home, and with the continuous rains and grey sky, I wanted to share a mature claret. Stood up for four hours, popped and poured. The label says 12% alcohol. Deep strawberry red body with a light red rim. The nose takes a few minutes to open up, revealing a subtle profile of cooked meats along with a hint of oak barrel. The savoury mouthfeel is fine and concentrated. The length and finish is not dry, but smooth and assured. At 50 years old, this old school claret is still proving pleasure.
1964 and 1966 have some standouts. My 1965 birth-year was an abject failure. I’ve had some wonderful wines from those other two vintages, including a recent Leoville Poyferre at Bern’s. Love reading Nicos’ posts on old Bordeaux!
With levels and colors like these, you should risk decanting some of these bottles. Could make the fruit really pop!
Some of the 1966s are showing really well right now. Haut Batailley is remarkably good, probably the best Haut Batailley I’ve ever encountered. And the '66 Ducru is magical!
Try California instead. I’m a 65er as well and at Thanksgiving had a '65 Charles Krug Reserve from Napa that was showing quite nicely. I still have a '65 Beychevelle waiting in the cellar but I don’t have terribly high hopes for it.