1961 Carruades de Lafite - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (1/31/2007)WIMLNR,PURPLENR,NOWA,WS90
Tasted January 31, 2007 at home as part of my birthday dinner. Yes, this was a birth year wine. Opened at the table just as dinner was served and decanted immediately for sediment only before serving in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Fairly significant sediment left in the bottle, leaving behind at least 4 to 6 ounces of wine due to sediment. The rest of the wine was slightly brownish colored in the glass with a fairly thick and clear meniscus but not a great deal of bricking that I could detect (interesting). Nose was heavily dominated towards leathery components with some cigar box and dried herbs and at one point some dried black currants in a quite pleasing moment. At the 25-30 minute mark it started to take on heavier notes of green bell peppers as expected. Glad we were finishing up by this point. Flavors of simple red cherries on the palate, later turning a bit tart such as red cherry tarts. Not bad or unpleasant, just not as one would hope. No tannins or acidity to speak of left at this point. This wine is obviously past its’ prime but I was surprised that it was actually still drinkable and showing some semblance of its’ former self. One thing I found interesting was the cork was saturated 2/3 of the way to the top, then looked “black” with dried on wine that was almost petrified looking with a small, almost trimmed edge at the top. Quite unusual. No evidence of tampering but just looked odd. Drink yesterday goes without saying. Rating withheld. It was a pleasure.