Excellent St Emilion Tasting

Numbers are the following ratio:
Merlot:Cab Fran:Cab Sauv:Malbec

1. 1988 Chateau Couspade
Grand Cru Classe
70:20:10
Brick rim. Rich and plummy and cherry nose with some tobacco notes. Secondary development showing but still plenty of time ahead of it. Full bodied with medium tannin, lots of fruit. Great length, with a tannic finish. Remains balanced to the end. Not a bad start at all.

2. 1986 Chateau Cadet Piola
Grand Cru Classe
51:18:28
Relatively opaque compared to first wine. Sweet cherry, smoke and oak on the nose. A little sharpness which carries through onto the palate. Probably a little oxidation but at a level which is not unpleasant. Fades faster than first wine - quite upfront. Good, but not as good as number 1.

3. 1985 Chateau Corbin d'Espagne
Grand Cru Classe
60:25:5:10
Deep red colour. Not very opaque. Soft nose with violet and cherry. A little sharpness but nothing like number 2. Round and balanced on the palate. Full bodied, high acid and tannin in balance with each other. Great length and a tannic finish. This still feels young. Best so far.

4. 1970 Chateau Cheval Blanc
Premier Grand Cru Classe
40:57:tiny:tiny
Lovely red colour. Quite translucent. Fairly restrained on the nose. Some red fruit but also strong earthy and dusty notes. Full bodied, round and balanced. Plummy on the palate. Tannins are still prevalent. Some black fruit also coming through. Plenty of acid. An amazing taste and still going strong. Very pleasant. Wonder how much knowing what I was drinking affected my opinion..?

5. 1962 Chateau Croque Michotte
Grand Cru Classe
80:20
Quite light colour. Old wine smell with plenty of volatile acid However, still some red fruit coming through. Med-light body. Still got some tannin and some acid. Smooth, drinkable. Probably past its best and not going to get any better. Still good though despite the tough competition.

6. 1961 Chateau l'Angelus
Premier Grand Cru Classe
40:48:12
Interesting anecdote from tonight's tasting illustrating yet again that the wine market is far from efficient. 1961 was a legendary year for left-bank Bordeaux. However, was pretty ropey for right-bank. However, prices of right-bank 1961s are massively overpriced because of the success of the left-bank. Ho hum.

Deep brown colour. Quite open and spicy nose. Not much in the way of fruit. Smooth mouthfeel but still very tannic. Must be the high Cabernet content. Fades pretty quickly and ends with an austere finish. In summary - open nose, disappointing palate.

7. 1955 Chateau Pavie Decesse
Grand Cru Classe
90:10
Deep colour - surprisingly so. Some old wine notes (not surprisingly) and sweet red fruit. Meaty character also (weirdly pleasant savoury notes). Smooth and balanced. Rich, with a little tannin on the palate. This is a seriously impressive wine and definitely the highlight of the night. It's in peak condition and holding up ridiculously well for its age.

8. 1945 Chateau Fonroque
Grand Cru Classe
88:12
Appears a little cloudy. Smells of turkish delight. How bizarre. On the palate this is clearly faulty. Never had this weird aroma from a wine before.
Not fair to judge.

So, pretty impressive wine list. Surprised by the poor showing of the Angelus. Massively impressed by the Pavie Decesse. Shame they're all so expensive!