Another birthday year wine experiment! Plus a bonus – tasted along with a much younger 2015.
Opening: some junk on top of the cork which was raised a few mm, but no signs of seepage. Cork came out in one piece, saturated most of the way up. Decanted to remove sediment then straight into the glass.
Nose: Fairly muted initially but became more fragrant over the next 15-30 minutes, heavy must and barnyard which faded somewhat to more subtle earthy and leather notes.
Palate: Somewhat thin, initially slight musty flavor which lessened over time and evolved to leather and cedar, as well as some red fruit coming through, tannins very soft.
Overall: Still barely alive and a fun experience, but definitely past its prime and without the foundation of better vintages to make a more structured 35+ year old wine. 86/100
Compared to 2015: Definitely can appreciate some similarities in flavor profile and wine making style, but obviously very different places in their life cycles. The 2015 has some nice red fruits, fuller body and less developed tannins. The 2015 is drinking pretty nicely, though would likely benefit from longer in the bottle. 90-91/100
by sharkdoc29
4 Comments
Ya, that wine’s not built for the long haul. I drank my 1990’s around 2000 I think. It was pretty good. (For a $27 bottle). It’s always fun drinking old bottles like that though!!😃
It’s quite interesting wine and can last a long time.
I had a bottle of 1986 recently and it still wasn’t ready!
Cantemerle and Sociando always crack me up. They’re still tannic and youthful at 10 years, even 15 years at times. Amazing value still for wines that just stand the test of time.
I have a bottle of ‘95 I’m going to open this year, I’m excited for that! Thanks for the notes.