On Mar 12, 1:38*pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> 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.

I believe you accidentally did "reply to author" (I sent a short reply
to your spamtrap)
I'd have to believe the lady critic had a bad bottle, because the CT
reviews from people I know (pros and amateurs) are pretty solid across
the board for 70 HB.
As you note, even not counting storage, in same case with same
provenance bottles can show differently at that age, for one thing
even small differences in oxygen transfer between different corks is
amplified over so many years.