Showing posts with label #oldandrarewine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #oldandrarewine. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

LeDomduVin: Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1978





Someone said Lafite Rothschild 1978?



The other day, I served wine in one of @thelegacyhousehk's luxury private dining rooms.

The pantry had two doors: one leading to the room where I was serving wine and a second to another private room.

The second door opened while I was in the pantry, and I could see people arriving for dinner in the other room.

The host put a bag on the dining room island and took out these six bottles.

Even if I had nothing to do with this party and was not even going to serve the wine for them (I mean, I do not work there; I just came to serve wine for a private dinner), I was intrigued when I saw the labels and could not help myself uttering in an admirative voice, "You've brought some great wines!"

As he looked at me and glanced at the golden grape pin on my jacket, I asked the host if I could enter his room to examine the bottles more closely and even take a picture of them.

He agreed and even told me that I could taste the wine. I said I would love to and thanked him profusely.

I thought from afar that they were different. Yet, they were all 1978 vintage.

The house Sommelier opened the bottles and later brought me a glass, telling me he found some bottle variations.

Although the 1978 vintage was good overall, especially compared to the rest of the 1970s, bottle variations are unsurprising, in my opinion, as these bottles seem to have different provenance, and most 1978 Bordeaux (in general) started to fade and slowly lose their fruit two decades ago already.





Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1978

The wine displayed a dull, cloudy, light brownish color. On the nose, it boasted autumnal tertiary aromas of leather, tobacco, coffee, underbrush, and pencil shavings, mingling with earthy and light oaky nuances. The palate was still alive and kicking, relatively consistent, with good fruit and acidity and a reasonably long finish. Surprisingly, it was still pretty good. Old but not finished.


Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #wine #vin #vino #wein @chateaulafiterothschild #lafiterothschild #grandcruclasse #pauillac #bordeaux #oldandrare #oldandrarewine #oldandrarevintage #oldandrarebottle #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife




Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2024, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).


Friday, January 5, 2024

LeDomduVin: Marques de Riscal Elciego (Alava) Vino de Crianza 1922





Marques de Riscal Elciego (Alava) 

Vino de Crianza 1922



I'm always humbled when in the presence of such a piece of history. 

I mean, it's not every day that I come across such an old and rare bottle, especially one from Marques de Riscal. 

The cellars I am inventorying are usually primarily stocked with French wines. Some Italian and American wines are occasionally found, but Spanish wines are a rare discovery.

Marques de Riscal is one of my favorite Rioja wineries, and I had the chance to visit it a few times and drink and sell a fair amount of their wines over the past 20 years. 





Being able to hold this bottle of Marques de Riscal 1922 brought back a lot of great memories. 

Back in the early to mid-2000s, when I was working in New York, at @pjwine, I had the chance, every year, to organize and participate in the PJ Wine owner's wine-buying trip to France and Spain. 

A trip of 15 to 18 days, usually occurring at the end of March and beginning of April, focused mainly on tasting Bordeaux Futures and visiting wineries around Rioja, Priorat, and Ribera del Duero.






This is how, at the time, Peter Yi (wine lover and owner of PJWine.com), Justin Berlin (a Spanish wine aficionado extraordinaire), Sam Nelom (a wine amateur and blind-tasting legend), and I ended up eating in some of the best restaurants in the southwest of France and the northern part of Spain had to offer.





That's how, in 2006, we got to experience chef Ferran Adrià's "El Bulli" and eat at Marques de Riscal's restaurant after tasting some of their wines. 

We were also among the first guests to spend the night in some of the best suites of the newly finished Frank Gehry-designed Marques de Riscal hotel. It was a tremendous experience. 

And for those who may wonder, no, I did not open this bottle as it is part of a private cellar. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom 

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin @marquesderiscal #marquesderiscal #crianza #rioja #spain #wine #vin #vino #wein #lesphotosadom #oldandrare #oldandrarewine #sommelier #sommlife #sommelierlife #ilovemyjob #lovewine #wineyearly



Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2024, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Grand Vin de Château Latour 1949

Château Latour 1949 by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949
by ©LeDomduVin 2020



Grand Vin de Château Latour 1949


While visiting the cellar I stumbled across many empty bottles of old and rare wines, consumed within the last few years, that I kept for Wine Quality Control purposes. 



Château Latour 1949 (2) by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949 (2)
by ©LeDomduVin 2020


I like to keep the labels or even the bottles with the labels of these old ladies that I eventually use or refer to when in doubt during a wine inspection. 


Château Latour 1949 (3) by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949 (3)
by ©LeDomduVin 2020


They are like pieces of history, (even if empty), and I treat them as such. With sometimes, the taste of these old ladies still in mind, as I have been lucky enough to (at least) taste these great wines... more than once for some of them. 


Château Latour 1949 (4) by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949 (4)
by ©LeDomduVin 2020


Château Latour 1949 is a stunning wine from a  rare and historic vintage. It has been rated very highly by the critics (e.g. 100 points by Robert Parker Jr., 98 points by Neal Martin) and as per www.cellartracker.com reaches the average of 94.4 points in 41 community wine reviews. 


Château Latour 1949 (5) by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949 (5)
by ©LeDomduVin 2020



It is so good, that Neal Martin rated it 98 points twice. 

First in his journal:

"Tasted blind at the chateau, my God, this is just one ethereal Latour that has the audacity to steal the limelight from the ’61. Given its age, it still looks youthful with a thin tawny rim. The bouquet is gradually mutating into a Burgundy with just heavenly precision, a veneer of red fruit over minerals and a hint of seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with the balance of tightrope walker halfway across the Niagara Falls. It is just so sublime, not powerful and extraordinarily intense with amazing poise on the finish. Warning: this wine can bring tears to the eyes. Tasted June 2011." (05/2012) 98 points 

And the second time, more recently, for www.vinous.com 

The 1949 Latour has the best aromatics compared to the 1945 and 1947: stylish, classy, beautifully defined, regal and just very Pauillac: vestiges of black fruit intermingling with graphite, cedar and subtle tertiary scents. It is the epitome of postwar Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, wonderful acidity, shimmering black fruit laced with graphite and smoke that fan out in statesmanlike fashion towards the irresistible finish. This is one of the best bottles of the 1949 that I have tasted: cool and sophisticated as Noel Coward in a smoking jacket. Tasted at the Latour dinner in Hong Kong (NM) » (7/2018)



Château Latour 1949 (6) by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949 (6)
by ©LeDomduVin 2020



I had the chance to taste it a few times in the last 8 years, more especially this particular bottle on the pictures in this post, and couldn't agree more with Neal Martin. More especially, as it was a magnum, not a regular bottles, which is even better as the bigger the volume the less fast the wine aged in the bottle. 

Tasted a few years ago, prior and after decanting it and prior to serving it for dinner, back in 2017 (if i remember well). From memory, my personal tasting notes were:


Chateau Latour, 1er Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France (Magnum - 1.5L)
Recommended retail price 75,000 to 90,000 HKD (or 8,260 to 9,920 Euros)

"Fairly youthful, light to medium intensity, garnet-brownish colour, with dark orange brick hue (little sediments), for 1949. Elegant, refined, subtle at first, yet quite complex and aromatic nose after a minute in the glass. Lovely bouquet where mingle secondary and hints of tertiary scents, yet, here again, rather youthful for 1949, (slower ageing in magnum format surely helped), an enticing mix of red and blackberries, figs, graphite, pencil shave, cedar and leather with a note of minerality. The palate is medium-bodied, harmonious and perfectly balanced, expanding nicely and gently from attack to finish with flavors reminiscent of those on the nose all along until the fairly long and juicy finish. What a blast, and still so youthful, it could easily go on for another 10+ years and remain as good. Such a great and memorable wine" - Dominique Noël (2017)



Château Latour 1949 (7) by ©LeDomduVin 2020
Château Latour 1949 (7)
by ©LeDomduVin 2020



#latour #chateaulatour @chateau__latour #pauillac #bordeaux #bordeauxclassic #grandcruclasse #france #oldandrareladies #oldandrarewines #oldandrarevintages #wine #vin #vino #wein #ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesphotosadom @ Hong Kong


All the above including pictures, tasting notes and texts ©LeDomduVin 2020