Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

I participated in very interesting tasting in Copenhagen this winter, of mainly wines from 1970 vintage, but there were also some flights “face to face” in vintages 1975 and 1983. Wines were tasted semi-blind, meaning that we had the list with names, but didn’t know two “ringers” which were included in the tasting.

We didn’t know either the order of wines served in each flight. Some great bottles showed up confirming indeed their splendid provenance. I simply don’t understand how several well-established wine-critics rate Pichon Comtesse, Mouton Rothschild and Montrose from 1970 that low in their articles? Lower 80s?? It seemed to me that our bottles on the day were just perfect!.

We absolutely didn’t complain about wines served that cold Friday evening in February 2020. It was just an awesome experience!

Flight 1.

1. Fine distinctive nose, truffles, refined, elegant on the nose, fine balance, smooth aftertaste. It turned out to be Giscours 1983. Margaux commune was very strong in this vintage, but communes further north weren’t. 91p.
2. Similar in style and elegance to the wine before with more acidity. Really well-made wine. It was older vintage from same chateau, 1975. 91p.

Flight 2.

1. Fine nose of red fruit, nice complexity and structure, smooth finish, peaked a decade or two ago. 88p. Leoville Las Cases 1970.
2. Big, complex and intense nose of dark cherries, big with truffles on the palate, long and sophisticated. Impressive stuff for a 50 years old wine which easily can thrill wine freaks for another 10-15 years! Best wine of the evening – Pichon Comtesse 1970! 96p.

Flight 3.

1. Intense on the nose, dark and dense, color of this wine indicated a wine not that old. Delicate and complete wine with delicious cherry fruit on the palate and with smooth and fruity finish. Guess what – it turned out to be Latour-á-Pomerol 1970! 93p.
2. Old and tired wine, little fruit left, not exciting, probably not a bottle kept under pristine condition. La Mission Haut Brion 1970. Not rated.

Flight 4.

1. Potent wine with some leek and green leaves flavors, indicating a big content of Cabernet Franc in it. Great complexity and great balance, typical Right Bank wine, sophisticated, rich and with great elegance. Impressive stuff. Cheval Blanc 1975 has arrived here! 52% Cabernet Franc here. Low yield in this vintage, only 21.5 hl/ha. 94p.
2. Similar in appearance as first served wine, very much Cabernet wine, indicating neighbor property to 1. We quickly found out that two wines in this flight were Cheval Blanc (1) and Figeac (2)! Figeac has 66% Cabernet with half Franc and half Sauvignon. Remaining 34% is Merlot. Impressive length, complexity and structure. Sophisticated stuff. Figeac 1975 in full bloom. 94p.

Flight 5.

1. Finely structured wine with splendid complexity, fine structure, well-balanced and with long finish. Very enjoyable. It turned out to be Cheval Blanc 1970. Not one of the very best wines from this property but it certainly has style. 91p.
2. Nice ripe nose, nicely put together, polished fruit, tasty, fine smooth finish. Well-preserved and drinkable wine. It was Ausone 1970 in the glass. 90p.

Flight 6.

1. Powerful and strong, complete, complex, refined and sophisticated, long fine finish. Sublime quality here. Many years to go! We all smiled, hearing that we had Mouton Rothschild 1970 in the glass. 94p.
2. Juicy and succulent wine, quite nice on the palate, tasted significantly simpler than first served with less complexity and weaker structure. Very enjoyable wine of nice quality. It was a “ringer” (dark horse), magnum of Pedesclaux 1970. 90p.

Flight 7.

1. Powerful, complex, fine structure and length, strong backbone, still going strong with no sign of fading away, super complexity and length. A great example of classic Bordeaux stuff. We had Montrose 1970 in our glasses. 94p.
2. This wine tasted well-aged, still alive though, tasty fruit, fine balance and length, some elegance. Nice. Again, it was a magnum from 1970 vintage, this time Marquis d’Alesme Becker. 90p.

Flight 8.

1. Strong and intense nose of raspberries, powerful on the palate, yet with great finesse and elegance, great complexity and depth. Really ringing the bell. Another vintage of Cheval Blanc to treat us, this time 1983. 95p.
2. Similar appearance to the wine before and a delightful wine to enjoy. Cheval Blanc’s neighbor came to say hello, Figeac 1983! 94p.

Flight 9.

1. Dark color, powerful, deep, excellently composed, strong backbone, fine complexity and length. Fine ripe fruit and tannin, no dryness. Do I find excess of alcohol here – no! It’s well-integrated. The wine? Giscours 2009! Great showing indeed. 94p.
2. Totally undeveloped yet great fragrance and acidity. Far, far too young to taste right now. This wine has an unlimited potential. We said hello and see you later to Chateau Margaux 2014. 95+p.

Flight 10.

1. This wine looked younger in color and appearance than following wine. Guava, melon, pear, apricot and expressive acidity. Rich, elegant and with thrilling sweetness. Simply a delicacy. It was Filhot 1970! 93p.
2. Showed age and tasted a bit tired. It was Yquem 1970. Question of provenance may arise here, because this wine should taste better. Or has it always tasted like that? 90p.

IMO Giscours was the third best Margaux in the 1960s and 1970s. 1982 was disappointing and it fell off badly after 1983 and I quit buying it. It was very good in 1975, but I have not drunk one for probably 20 years, when it was going strong.

stefan wrote:IMO Giscours was the third best Margaux in the 1960s and 1970s. 1982 was disappointing and it fell off badly after 1983 and I quit buying it. It was very good in 1975, but I have not drunk one for probably 20 years, when it was going strong.

I would say the Giscours was far better than Margaux for most of those of that time, the Margaux only really coming back with the 1978 vintage. The 1961 Margaux has been a delight, and is somewhat underrated, but after that the slide was very apparent. We had a fairly comprehensive vertical, and included ‘62, ‘66 70 and ‘75, all of them ranging from mediocre to very poor.

Not surprised by how well the 1970 vintage showed, always been a favorite. The Figeac 1970 would have been a good addition.

Funny and also disappointing that very few has commented yet on my Tns.

I've thought that more than few would be interested to read about how several wines did in 1970, a mini-vertical of Cheval Blanc and a"fight" between Cheval Blanc and Figeac.

I'll have to consider if I post Tns from similar tasting here next time.

Izak
Just a note to say I really DO appreciate your comments, and have also relied on your blog for ideas for my en primeur purchases ever since you started it. So I ask that you keep posting.
Not to mention the attractive hosts in your photos.....
From time to time I have posted notes from tastings of older wines and the low response rate isn't typically due to a lack of interest, I think it is more due to the fact that older wines are harder to find and many readers may not have an opinion or any relevant experience with them.
I have tried quite a few wines from 1970 and 1975, as they were often available when I first started drinking Bordeaux.
I was particularly interested in the 1970's as I have seen quite a few of these coming thru the auctions here (they are imported from Europe via Amsterdam) and have occasionally bid on them to open at local tastings here in Singapore.
Almost bought 1970 Montrose at the last auction - if I see it again I'll bid higher on the proviso the auctioneers vouch for its condition.

cheers
Mark

I just got a chance to look at them, and you got me very intrigued to try to seek out a Montrose and Pichon 1970. The hard part will obviously finding good provenance. I am still relatively new to Bordeaux pre 1990 but it is starting to appear that there are some serious values out there, ones that were low or just average ratings which has suppressed the price. If anyone has any ideas on where to source some of these I'd love to hear.

Hopefully there will be some great events to celebrate the "end" of this pandemic sometime later in the year or early next year!

Very.good post, but like Claudius wrote, not wines i have a lot of experience with. Always interesting to read and i like your mini-match Cheval Blanc and Figeac. But what i can add:

- Tim brought a magnum of 1975 Cheval Blanc to the first dinner in Bordeaux in 2015 at is was glorious.

- i brought a 1970 Latour à Pomerol to SF convention in 2017 and it was approximately like yours a great sound bottle of concentrated Pomerol.

- i tried the 1970 Latour that SdR brought to a DC convention. Very classic Pauillac with a slight seductive edge. I thought it was drinking well.

- i bought 2 bottles of the 1970 Montrose in my life. The fist opened in Montréal in 2003 with Jim and MichaelP was great. What a perfect balanced and complex claret. The second bottle in DC in 2009, ar winona Chief dinner was past it prime since a long time, mushroom soup.

And don't worry, i read everything posted here. But i understand your worried about people not responding/commenting your post, i feel the same about mines.

Nic

Thanks for comments.

Pichon Comtesse and Montrose in 1970 vintage - 85 points, Mouton Rothschild 1970 84p?? Give me a f...... break. I rated these wine app. 10 points higher.

I think the lower ratings that you reference probably have to do with individual(s) that tend to not enjoy older wines but also bottle variation in wines that are 50 years old.

GBF,

Give us "a f...... break"!!! You post self-proclaimed "Very interesting" notes on Easter Sunday then give us until 6am the next day to respond, acting like you'll take your ball and go home if we don't stand up and salute?

I'm happy to have you participate here and appreciate your notes.

Tom

Surprisingly Neal Martin gave it an 87 a few years back.. He loves his wines old, he thought it was on a clear downward path with only a few years left of drinkability. I have found him to be very hit or miss with my Bordeaux tastes though. However when he rates a Bdx well, 93+ i do tend to like them. The 1990 Pichon Baron was just fantastic.

I see I have sixteen notes in CT for 1970 Mouton, with scores ranging from 78 to 92 (plus one 96) from tastings 1994 to late 2019 (average = 88.6), so if great bottles are out there I managed to miss most of them. The 78 score was from the most recent tasting and the one great bottle was from 2013. Most of the bottles had been much too hard and charmless. The beautiful Chagall label is the best part.

Montrose 1970 I have also found very disappointing yet a bottle last year was sensational, 96 sdr points. La Mission Haut-Brion 1970 can be excellent if you can find one not spoiled by volatile acidity. I have not had a transcendent experience with ‘70 Pichon Lalande or Cheval Blanc.

Overall for vintage 1970, on average, I find Pétrus the best followed by Latour then Ducru, but none are reliable impressive at the half century mark, no surprise. I think 1966 is slightly more consistent.

The only enjoyable 1975 for me at this point is La Mission Haut-Brion (plus Yquem, Climens and de Fargues).

Stu

Thanks for the great notes Izak, you really did well there given how well these wines showed given the potential for variability because of their age.

I was going to show some 1970s here in London the Friday before our Bordeaux trip, at the end of March, but alas it was not to be.

Stu - at our Mouton vertical in November the 1970 was my wotn in a line up which included the 1961, 1982 and 1986. It was a great bottle. But I have had some less impressive ones.

Comte Flaneur wrote:Thanks for the great notes Izak, you really did well there given how well these wines showed given the potential for variability because of their age.

I was going to show some 1970s here in London the Friday before our Bordeaux trip, at the end of March, but alas it was not to be.

Stu - at our Mouton vertical in November the 1970 was my wotn in a line up which included the 1961, 1982 and 1986. It was a great bottle. But I have had some less impressive ones.

I believe Mouton used to bottle barrel by barrel rather than doing a complete assemblage. I believe that changed in the mid seventies.

It explains why older wines have even more variability than more modern ones.

That is interesting Mark I didn’t know that. I knew that they topped up the Baron’s send off wine, the 1987, with some 1986.

http://www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com/ ... ton#p76942

Stu and Ian,

I have heard too about bottles of Mouton R. 1970 ranking from awesome to bad ones. Barrel by barrel bottling can explain the difference. I wonder how widespread this kind of bottling was in Bordeaux at that time.

Pichon Comtesse 1970 looks like to have different ratings, but the bottle provided by the guy who arranged this memorable tasting, was probably bought in Germany. It was stunning.

Montrose 1970 - my third bottle, previously tasted in mid 90s and in 2016. All three times an excellent wine.

Latour-a-Pomerol 1970 - look like this wine has great ratings from others than me. Big surprise at the tasting.

I was quite surprised how well Right Bank did in 1983, Cheval Blanc, Figeac and even Trotanoy in other tasting. I've never considered this vintage to be that great. Margaux commune did splendidly but other Medocs not.

As I said, I have been very happy with the 1970s I have tasted.

Pichon Lalande
I have tasted three times, all of 95-97 points. The 97 points came from magnum. Everybody was encouraged to bring magnums as it was a large group.
Even better was the magnum of Figeac 1970. Echoed by bottles, but again, the magnum was slightly better.
LMHB has never been great for me. Tasted many times: one was decent, but most tired and as someone mentioned volatile.
Haut Brion is better, low nineties.
On a par with Haut Brion surprisingly is the Domaine de Chevalier.
Finally a perennial favorite is Giscours.
I have yet to have a great Mouton, in fact the best to date has been from a half bottle.

I never really followed up the story of how wines were bottled in the 1970s. I should have.
I do know Lafite did an Assemblage in 1975/6. It was one of the innovations of Eric de Rothschild.