I served these two last night as mystery wines at the start of my WashState Cab tasting:
1. Cordier Ch.Meyney Prieure des Couleys AC: StEstephe (MeBaC) 1961: Med.color w/
slight bricking; attractive cedary/tobaccoy classic old Cab slight herbal
rather complex nose; tart rather metallic/dried out metallic/tinny slight
cedary/pencilly very delicate flavor; med.short metallic/tinny slight tannic/dried
out finish; lovely old Cab nose but just whispers across the palate; like
biting down on a strip of tin foil. $5.29 (HH)
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2. Ch.Mouton-Rothschild AC:Pauillac 1964: Dark color w/ slight bricking; lovely
cedary/tobaccoy/pencilly perfumed/fragrant/ classic old Bdx slight toasted coconut/
ZagNut complex nose; very smooth gentle light cedary/tobaccoy almost washed out
slight tannic/dried out rather complex flavor; med.long gentle bit washed out/
delicate slight cedary/pencilly classic old Bdx somewhat dried out/tannic finish;
a lovely complex nose but just the gentlest of breezes wafting across the palate.
$10.99 (B/KC)
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And the ol' BloodyPulpit:
1. These were two very good examples of tasting old wines. Lovely/lovely noses but not at all attractive on the palate. Definitely more of a intellectual experience than a sensual experience. Both had lovely/delicate/complex/classic old Bdx noses. The Meyney was definitely unpleasant on the palate because of the bitey/metallic character. The Mouton was clearly the better of the two, both on the nose for its greater intensity and not hurtey on the palate. But it spoke in only the faintest of whispers that could barely be heard as it pirouetted across the palate like a 98 lb ballerina.
At the end of the tasting two hrs later, the both held up very well in the nose, but almost nothing on the palate. But the color on both of them had already turned a murky brownish color.
Both had been stored in my cellar since 1974, where it gets as warm as 60F in the summer and drops to the mid-upper 30F in the winter.
The corks were soft & spongy but came out intact w/ a gentle removal. Fill was down to the bottom of the neck on both (equivalently on the Meyney because of those weird Cordier btls) and no signs of leakage.
I should have been tipped off immediately that these were not going to be great wines when I noticed the capsules did not spin on the btls.
Most people guessed older Calif Cabs (knowing my predilictions) from the '80's. They were all pretty amazed to find they were both from the '60's.
So...once again...old wines...usually an interesting intellectual experience but not all that much of a pleasure to drink.
Tom