otolith wrote:Me too! Or at least some with a deep cellar. 
That looks like an incredible night. Would appreciate any sort of description you could provide.
Hi Doc Ot. To you and Kyle, I really didn't take extensive notes, without getting too existential, I just kind of wanted to soak in the moment and absorb the greatness I had the privilege to experience without having to think too much and get all analytical if you know what I mean. I have to add, the setting for the evening was fantastic. There were 3 of us, and our other friend owns a restaurant in a 16th century mill with a water wheel. the wheel is still there but non functioning however the raceway is intact and the sound of the water rushing over the wheel added to the ambiance of the old building and the beamed ceilinged dining room. The restaurant was closed so we had it all to ourselves. Dinner consisted of beef soup with green beans, beef tenderloins with Bordeaux sauce and beef rouladen with pickles inside, mashed potatoes and red cabbage. Our friend is a great chef! The shelf running around the wall of the dining room is full of bottles of old Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barolos from previous wine tastings.
The first bottle, the '85 Haut Brion was opened and the nose was full of spice with a strong layer of cassis under that. This wine definitely let you know why Haut Brion is so famous. The color was a strong, rich red and no hint of brown. The first taste was spicy and again a lot of cassis and a bit of acid that mellowed as time went on. The wine tasted fresh with a beautiful balance, and has many more years of drinkability I am sure.
Next was the '47 Cheval Blanc. I think all three of us were shaking with anticipation. After cutting off the top of the capsule, the cork was a little moldy but looked good. The cork screw squeaked a bit going in, another good sign. After a mighty pull about 2/3rds of the cork came out. The last third came out on the second pull. The cork was fairly firm and looked good. I would rather see a cork pull apart like that then to pull out a soft, old saturated cork. Pouring the wine into the decanter revealed a very dark color, almost black in the soft light. Holding the wine up to the light showed a deep, deep red color, no brown, no bricking, just deep and dark. By this time there was much relief that so far the wine appeared sound. My friend poured my glass first and as I held the glass with a slightly trembling hand I took a sniffy snif. Amazing smells of spice, fruit and who knows what else, but all good. Swirling the glass revealed that the wine was very viscous, almost like glycerin with the wine clinging to the side of the glass and slowly sliding down in a heavy sheet just barely forming legs. I don't think I have ever seen that happen before. After the three of us had some wine in our glasses, we took a taste. The mouth feel as expected was heavy in a nice oily, silky way. It is difficult to describe the explosion of flavors on that happened. Incredible structure and power, spice, fruit, and god knows what else. The wine is over 14% alcohol but you couldn't taste the alcohol at all. The flavor just kept exploding on my tongue and I had the feeling this wine might just live forever. There was no sign of it fading or its age, it just kept on going. The wine just kept tasting better in the glass. The deep red color was beautiful. Needless to say I was sad when I drank the last drop. One note on my little sheet of paper said: "The perfect wine!" I know that doesn't quite explain but that is what I felt. Just wow!
Next was the '50 La Fluer. This was another very dark colored wine. It was the only bottle of the evening that had some bottle bouquet or "cellar smell" to it. It was surprisingly sweet and thick with a lot of chocolate undertones. Deep, dark chocolate. The wine was very soft with a deep red color and not unlike a port wine. I believe this one is at or a little past its peak.
The last bottle was the '61 Latour A Pomerol. This was our 4th bottle and after all the wine and food, forgive me if I was starting to fade a little. But somebody had to drink this one so I steeled my self to the task. I thought this wine was the second best after the Cheval Blanc. Like the others it was also very dark red, no sign of any brown. The taste was very rich and complex, also a lot of dark chocolate. A long, long finish.
So those were my notes as inadequate as they may be. Overall all of the wines had fantastic color and flavor. With the exception of the Lafleur, the wines belied their age, they were huge, glorious, and well structured and who knows how many more years they in them have but I would think many. We will just have to keep on tasting and see what happens.
My friend probably got tired of me thanking him for the night of my life. I still can't believe my good fortune to be able to taste wines like these. My friend keeps trying to drink down his cellar with our help but he likes to buy wine too so we aren't making a very large dent. He has between 3,500-4,000 bottles, mostly Bordeaux and Burgundy with a few Italian reds and a little bit of white wine, and about 50 bottles of the really good stuff. It is a tough job, but I am committed to helping him drink drink as much as we can before we die.
My dogs like me, that is important.
