Chateau Marbuzet, Saint-Estephe

Over the hill

PnP. A healthy garnet with slight browning towards the rim. Sous bois on the nose, then plenty of green notes and vegetable. Fairly high acidity. Not particularly pleasant but not sure this was ever much better.

1983 Cabernet Retrospective, Part 1 (Tom's house in Palo Alto, California) : Lighter color than the other wines in this line-up. Very good nose (B+). Soft, watery palate (B/B+) My #4, Group's #5 (52 pts). Tasted blind.

lovely mature Bordeaux color. Assertive nose of faint green bell pepper, bit of cabbage, strong tobacco, with some tree bark, pencil lead and a gentle sense of decay. The nose has great freshness and adds a strong notes of smoke and loam with time as well as a hint of confofiture. Some slight bottle sweetness up front, god vibrant acidity with still some tannin noticable. Moderate intensity of cassis, mineral, and cedar flavors have good depth on the palate and …

Nice brick red. Lovely older slightly cedary nose. In mouth slightly tannic, classic cool toned claret. Refreshing. Not particularly complex or remarkable but a nice old refreshing claret. Barely any sediment. More conventional than the 83 Haut Marbuzet we had a couple of weeks ago. More drinkable and open than the 79 Sociando of last week.

An easy afternoon with close friends; Bordeaux, St. Estephe (@ My place) : Carmine with a brown edge. Fresh deep tertiary bouquet. No fruit left. Soft and juicy, a bit thin, and high acidity. Slightly bitter and butter in the aftertaste. Still enjoyable, but has to be drunk now. (This was from magnum)

Still a nice wine, but age is taking its toll towards complexity. Has been better.

Not great. A bit thin. Some old age acidity. Still tasteful, but at the end of its life.

Still firm. The acidity and tannin are a bit dominating. This is not the summit of refinement. A bit earthy and rustic. Just a good wine.

Good wine with a lot of substance. Full bodied. Still a large amount of young tannin. Much cassis fruit. Good acidity and some complexity.

Very fruity bouquet with mainly black fruits and some oak in the background. Still locked. A lot of firm tannin and acidity. Needs at least another 5 years. Good wine.