TNs: 78 Torres Black Label + 75 Branaire-Ducru
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 9:28 am
<b>1978 Miguel Torres Gran Coronas Black Label Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon</b>
Light red. Nice plum and blackberry overtones. Little hint of oak. Quite undeveloped and perhaps a tad one-dimensional. Very clean but nice. Finishes a little short on the palate but has good body. Simple but elegant and quite easy to slurp – not really going anywhere and hasn’t gone very far. Good balance. Won’t get better but surprisingly pretty good as I didn’t expect much from this.
<b>Very Good 17.5 / 20</b>
<b>1975 Chateau Branaire-Ducru</b>
Brick red – good clarity despite abundant sediment in glass. Classic Bordeaux nose – smoky, dusty, dark forest fruits, mocha. Lovely, even after 4 hours. Bone dry in the mouth. Good length and balance. Strong tannic finish. So far tasting like a 75. Mature wine. Second day – much better with less alcohol and fruit blossoming. Now lovely, rich, somewhat elegant – and the antithesis of most hard 75s. Quite a surprise and a success for the vintage.
<b>Excellent 18.0 / 20</b>
Light red. Nice plum and blackberry overtones. Little hint of oak. Quite undeveloped and perhaps a tad one-dimensional. Very clean but nice. Finishes a little short on the palate but has good body. Simple but elegant and quite easy to slurp – not really going anywhere and hasn’t gone very far. Good balance. Won’t get better but surprisingly pretty good as I didn’t expect much from this.
<b>Very Good 17.5 / 20</b>
<b>1975 Chateau Branaire-Ducru</b>
Brick red – good clarity despite abundant sediment in glass. Classic Bordeaux nose – smoky, dusty, dark forest fruits, mocha. Lovely, even after 4 hours. Bone dry in the mouth. Good length and balance. Strong tannic finish. So far tasting like a 75. Mature wine. Second day – much better with less alcohol and fruit blossoming. Now lovely, rich, somewhat elegant – and the antithesis of most hard 75s. Quite a surprise and a success for the vintage.
<b>Excellent 18.0 / 20</b>