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1970 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (2/13/2012)
Stood the bottle up for 30-45 minutes before working on the cork. Chipped and carved away at the outer edges of the cork which was slightly crowned. Used a two-prong corkpuller to wedge my way beneath the corroded outer layer. Once chipped away, the corked came out rather easily although I was admittedly delicate with its removal. Cork came out completely intact although it was thoroughly soaked.
No decant and first pour shortly after popping. Initial nose was jammy with a hint of tart cherries. Thankfully this wouldn’t last long. First tastes were consistent with the nose so I decided to give the wine its due and wait for the future pours. About 45 minutes later the wine began to show some Bordeaux life with the wonderful classic dark, woodsy nose with a light dusting of soft leather and Paulliac cigar box on the palate. This bottle retains everything you are looking for in a top-flight Bordeaux. Striking an excellent balance between the expected granularity and surprisingly rich flavor, this 42 year-old bottle with a crowned cork displays exceptional vibrancy. Maybe it was expectations based on age and cork condition, but I remain surprised by the flavor potency throughout the bottle consumption. It’s probably unfair to give the bottle a specific # score but it still scores on the mid- to low- 90s (94). I really love this wine and this was a wonderful bottle. (94 pts.)
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