12/11/2020 – forceberry wrote:91 Points
Moderately translucent and rather thin yet still surprisingly youthful ruby red color with an evolved brick-orange hue. Aged, somewhat restrained and slightly dusty nose with quite mature aromas of old furniture, pencil shavings and cigar wrapper, some wizened dark forest fruits, light leafy notes typical of Cabernets, a hint of brined mushrooms and a perfumed touch of dried flowers. The wine is dry, medium-bodied and somewhat bitter on the palate, yet the mouthfeel is more silky than tough or lean. The taste feels savory and slightly thin with very evolved flavors of wizened blackcurrants and dark forest fruits, tart lingonberries, some dusty old wood and antique furniture, a little bit of earth, light metallic tones and ferrous notes of blood, a hint of sous-bois and a sweet, tertiary touch of marmaladey red fruit. Although the overall feel is very evolved and starting to thin out a bit, the wine doesn’t feel like it is on a downhill yet – especially with some air the fruit gains a bit of sweetness and sense of weight, while the metallic tones take a step into the background. Balanced high acidity and still somewhat grippy medium tannins. The finish is very developed and quite tertiary with mature flavors of wizened cranberries and redcurrants, some earthy tones, a little bit of pouch tobacco, light dusty notes of old wood, a hint of sous-bois and an umami touch of consommé or something meaty.
A harmonious, nuanced and enjoyably silky old Margaux with wonderfully perfumed nose and good sense of structure in relation to the somewhat light body. Although the wine feels like it isn’t as vibrant as it must’ve been in its youth, the wine doesn’t show any obvious signs of oxidation or other warning signs of going downhill. All in all, a very attractive – albeit a slightly lean and restrained – old-school claret. With some air the wine wonderfully picks up a bit of weight and sweetness to its savory fruit, bringing good sense of balance between the fruit, the body and the structure. An enjoyable wine, but it’s definitely time to drink up – most likely this won’t go anywhere from here but down.
