On Mar 11, 2:57*pm, DaleW > wrote:
> On Mar 11, 1:25*am, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
>
>
>
> > Chateau Haut-Brion 1970 is holding well and likely will last at least
> > several more years. I read some reports several years ago that
> > suggested it needed drinking soon. I can only conclude that there is
> > more than usual bottle variation, or some of the wine was poorly
> > stored.
>
> I think the 70 HB is probably fine for quite a few more years, based
> on last taste several years ago.
> But there's a 3rd possibility besides bottle variation and storage
> issues - personal taste. I like really mature wines, so I have a
> tendency to like/love bottles that some others regard as in decline
> (or fully dead!). Forget 1970s, there are plenty of people who will
> declare that the vast majority of 1979s, 1983s, and 1985s are past it.
> Doesn't make them wrong, just "different"

Yes there is a 3rd possibility if you do not know something about the
critics who made the observation. I recall reading about the comments
concerning the wine many years ago, but do not recall the exact
details. It involved wines tasted in the UK and came from one of the
well-know lady critics, I believe, possibly in an old Decanter
article. The critic is quite conventional in her tastes, and, knowing
that, it is highly unlikely that she would not like a classic Bordeaux
that was old and at the peak in good condition. I doubt very much if
she would have liked this wine at only a few years old, especially if
it had started the dumb phase. She most likely would taste it when
young to try to evaluate how it might develop. And I very much doubt
if she would like Lafite mixed with cola as apparently is sometimes
done in a few countries in Asia. I only brought this subject up
because I did not want someone to buy the wine based on my comments
and then find that it is not as I described. Of course with a wine
this old some risk is involved, and there can be considerable bottle
variation even for bottles that have been properly stored. I post an
answer yesterday, but it has not appeared. Thus if another answer
appears, you know what happened.