Okay so I got a little bit impatient knowing that the first bottle I opened was a bit of a disappointment but I wanted to make sure if it really was past it's peak or just a bottle issue. I can now assure you that it was a bottle issue, this second bottle was a complete 180. It was wonderful, the foil didn't stink like the first one and the cork was in perfect condition. Upon opening you can easily noticed the dark fruits coming out and on the first pour it showed an awesome color variation on the edge due to age.
Once I let it breathe the nose showed some dark fruits, earthy tobacco smell and a little bit of cedar. Upon tasting it was totally different from the first one not watery at all. Tannins were extremely integrated, I could make out flavors of figs, black currant, blackberries, cedar, mushrooms and on the aftertaste it was full olives and a tiny bit of soy sauce at the end. It had great concentration and the tertiary notes were amazing.
This wine was a great experience, I won't score it since it's the second aged bordeaux that I've tasted, well the first since the first one was bad. I would love to have a first or second growth later on to see the differences but in the meantime, this wine reminded me of the 2000 Pride reserve cabernet sauvignon, it was my first aged wine and the libéral is mostly cabernet sauvignon so that probably adds to the comparison. This wine was perfect for sipping late at night while watching a movie and don't judge me but I did exactly that and paired it with some buttery popcorn and honestly I enjoyed the pairing. The salty, savory popcorn matched well with the tertiary umami flavors from the wine. It was an eye opener letting me know that I really enjoy tertiary notes like olives as in this one and with my experience with the 2002 Pride syrah. Let me know if there's any other wines I should look into that are similar in flavor.
by HadesxPR
3 Comments
Interestingly I just tasted the 1989 of this. Very good and still had some life too. I’m sure this was a bit more of a complete experience.
Love HBL. others to try from that portfolio or the Château Ferreira, La Gurgue, and Durfort Vivens.
For me, though, HBL is a drink anytime all the time, although the older stuff has a bit of a hit or miss record with me
I opened two different bottles of 2000 Bordeaux this week and neither was showing tertiary aromas or flavors, or really any sign of age to speak of. One was *slightly* tending towards brick, but the other was not. I’m wondering if your bottles were not stored properly for some length of time.