WINES RANGING FROM 1945-1990 - Strasbourg (10/11/2025)
Evening dinner with wine geeks in Strasbourg
The reds
- 1975 Château Hanteillan - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
While rather full-bodied with pleasing peony notes, a rather short and bitter wine. Sure, it has “held up” 50 years later, but not terribly inspiring either. (85 points) - 1975 Château Haut-Marbuzet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
I love the high-toned freshness of this wine. An initial whiff of brett but not obtrusive. The expected high tannins of the vintage have melted, and this wine conveys energy and pleasing tertiary aromas and flavors. Enjoy with steak! Robert Parker had given it 90 points (ways back when). It’s held up well - and then some. Sheer pleasure to drink. (93 points) - 1990 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
This has sunny power, with remarkable softness: more rose and refinement but lacking the power one would expect from this estate. While I like it, quite a lot, it’s just a bit too light, at least this bottle. (94 points) - 1986 Château Bel Air-Marquis d'Aligre - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
A bit of hazelnut oxidation, a touch of bitterness. While the Gruaud Larose 1990 conveyed veritable rose, this is fading rose. OK, there is tannic edge and power, but not much charm. More like a rustic, Saint Estèphe than a Margaux. (85 points) - 1986 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Let’s keep things simple here. No TCA issues from this bottle. Instead, floral aromas and magnificent palate depth - and power. Full bodied refinement. Gorgeous wine! (97 points) - 1970 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A delicate Pauillac, refined, with melted tannins, very smooth. Maybe too loose knit, but - hey - after 55 years still adequate grip, with distinct, pleasing notes of chopped tobacco. Medium finish. (92 points) - 1945 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Don’t carafe! Pleasing floral nose, with high-toned raspberry and gooseberry. Still has fruit, 80 years later, but an astringent aspect gets worse over time in glass. Now, this was labeled as Saint Julien, and director Nicolas Glumineau told me that it isn’t uncommon for that vintage to have had negociant bottlings - and label errors. So not a counterfeit. (91 points) - 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A little more open than the Leoville Las Cases 1986. Essentially, the initial aromas can be described as intense graphite, pencil lead. Not cigar box. It had been opened four hours before but - like Las Cases - quite reserved on the palate. Alcohol at 12.5. But with time in glass, I noticed a subtle intensity with fresh fruit underneath, burgeoning freshness and brightness. And the finesse of the tannin, and not as tightly wound over one hour of sipping in glass. Then you get fresh meadow, cut herb. Palate enveloping, it truly permeates and then leaves a long, impressive finish. A wine of power and finesse. Cool blue rather than ripe black fruit. At nearly 40 years of age, can be enjoyed but I would advise another 5 to 10 years cellaring to loosen up more. Still, what a treat! (99 points)
The whites
- 1962 Château Climens - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
A mixed response. Some loved it. While the botrytis spice was there the palate seemed heavy, monolithic. More depth than the Rieussec, but almost no charm, by comparison. - 1980 Château Rieussec - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
What a lovely surprise! Not a noteworthy vintage and yet this wine proved utterly charming, with mandarine orange, hints of toffee and candied apricot and bergamot. Light but bright. The bottle was empty: proof of its popularity. 🙂 (94 points) - 1967 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Not just the complexity of cinnamon, crème brûlée, toffee, orange marmalade and dry apricot, but also from the aromatic texture: I could sense a power in the aromatic profile that came through on the palate. So much structure, it felt like red wine tannin. But then the delectable combination of botrytis-derived spice, tertiary and primary fruit flavors, including spicy pineapple, dry herb and beeswax, led to a palate-enveloping sensation and long finish. Complex yet youthfully powerful. One could almost say that the wine is still a baby, if not a mid-30s adult: not bad for a wine nearly 60. (100 points)
Yquem proved to be the star, Mouton still needs more time even if it is brilliant, and Haut Marbuzet and Rieussec proved the best in terms of price/quality.
Posted from CellarTracker
