TN: The Holy Grail

[sdr]

• 1947 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (4/28/2012)
  I secured this bottle from "Wide World of Wine" in DC about 20 years ago and the condition was still extraordinary, with an ullage just below the neck. Is it too good to be true? The cork was moist and very tight and crumbled immediately on extraction no matter what device I used. But the wine - well it was astonishingly youthful, seemingly 25 years old rather than 65. A huge blast of very sweet blueberry essence burst out of the decanter as soon as I started to pour it. The port analogy was obvious. But once in the glass, it settled down a bit and was merely intensely fruity but without the sweetness. The harmony was incredible, with the tannin, acidity, violet, rose and raspberry all swirling endlessly about the glass. Relatively light weight but excellent length, long and unwavering to the whisper of a finish. This bottle was surely genuine, since Rudy and his ilk were still almost still in diapers when I bought it and the incidence of fraudulent bottles then was much lower. Yet the youthfulness was astonishing, and although it began its gentle descent after about an hour, it was still wonderful after 3 hours. Ravishing and unforgettable. (98 pts.)

Stuart

[DavidG]

Wow. What can I say? Thank you for sharing such detailed impressions. This is as close as I'll ever get to experiencing such a legend.

[Bacchus]

No no no; I'm not going to believe you had a bottle of the 47 CB until I've seen your long form birth certificate, buster! Wow, what do you do for an encore?

[AlexR]

Stuart,

I tasted this wine in the mid 1980s. It was left over from a rebottling. But I did not have the time to savor it (it was in a négociant tasting room).

You are a lucky man.

Wine doesn't get much better .

All the best,
Alex R.

[JimHow]

Wow! I'm not worthy! Sounds like the real deal! It is actually a good thing the cork was crumbly, in my opinion.

[SF Ed]

Thanks for sharing your note, Stuart. Just a normal mid-week bottle or celebrating something?

[Jay Winton]

thanks Stuart-a legendary bottling for sure. It's worth getting on WWW's email list as they have some deals occasionally. Nost sure if they ship.

[jmccready]

Great, absolutely great! I wish you had a few more 47's (my birth year) just so I could read the notes. Jmccready

[dstgolf]

"it was astonishingly youthful, seemingly 25 years old rather than 65"

Stuart are you referring to the wine or yourself? Is a Happy Birthday in order?

Thanks once again for allowing us to live the moment through your notes.

Danny

[Claudius2]

I drank this in 1991 with a tasting group.
Wine was $A900 (about $US550 at the time).
Wish I could have some more!

[sdr]

Yes, I was "celebrating" something - my "Welcome to Medicare" package arrived in the mail, so 1947 is my birth year.

Wide World of Wine had a case and a half of the '47 CB for about double per what Claudius mentioned, but well below the going rate at the time in the US, which was $2200 p/b. I've been kicking myself ever since I didn't take out a second mortgage on the house to buy at least a case.

My friend brought the fabulous '61/'59 Latour duo to the restaurant that night and we first wet our lips with an amazing bottle of '66 Dom Perignon, so I don't think there were too many people drinking better than us that night. I know I am a lucky man and that eases the pain of being an official Old Man.

Stuart

[stefan]

Congratulations, Stuart, on having a fabulous birthday celebration, and welcome to the Medicare crowd.

[Nicklasss]

Thank you for reporting Stuart. My question: was it better than the 1982 Chateau Lafleur you made me taste few weeks ago?

Even if I won't be able to taste that wine, as I know a bit your taste, I can almost feel like I'm tasting the wine from your description... Now, the real question : when are you opening a bottle of the 1961 Chateau Latour a Pomerol?

Always happy to read you.

Nic

[sdr]

Well. Nic, I can't say the '47 CB was better than the '82 Lafleur, just different - but not much different.

The '61 Latour a Pomerol is another one of those "once in a lifetime" wines, but probably not my lifetime. Even 20+ years ago, when the '47 CB was not too hard to find, the Latour a Pomerol was virtually impossible to locate, so I'm still waiting for my first sip.

Stuart

[Chateau Vin]

Yes, I was "celebrating" something - my "Welcome to Medicare" package arrived in the mail, so 1947 is my birth year.

Wide World of Wine had a case and a half of the '47 CB for about double per what Claudius mentioned, but well below the going rate at the time in the US, which was $2200 p/b. I've been kicking myself ever since I didn't take out a second mortgage on the house to buy at least a case.

My friend brought the fabulous '61/'59 Latour duo to the restaurant that night and we first wet our lips with an amazing bottle of '66 Dom Perignon, so I don't think there were too many people drinking better than us that night. I know I am a lucky man and that eases the pain of being an official Old Man.

Stuart

Hmmmm. Did you drink in a golden chalice fit for '47 CB?

[DavidG]

If I know Stuart, it was definitely not from a styrofoam cup at a booth in a fast food burger joint!