On Sunday, September 9, 2012 10:28:41 PM UTC-4, Mark Lipton wrote:
> Tonight's dinner was rack of lamb and a potato-green bean salad. Jean
>
> expressed an interest in having a glass of really good wine with dinner,
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> so I suggested a bottle that she'd received from me for her birthday
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> last year:
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>
>
> 1961 Ch. Beychevelle (St. Julien)
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> nose: cassis, graphite, cedar, a slight herbaceous note, some earth
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> palate: fully resolved tannins, medium body, rich mouthfeel, great acidity
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>
>
> This was the second bottle of a cache I gave to Jean last year and it
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> was even better than the previous one had been. Incredibly youthful
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> (even down to the cork which was in superb shape), it had a classic
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> Cabernet nose and an incredible feel of richness in the mouth. It was
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> acidic enough that it needed the food to show well, but at 11.5% ABV it
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> showed no heaviness or heat. This led to an interesting discussion
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> concerning the ABV: since '61 was noted as a warm year that produced
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> very ripe grapes in Bordeaux, how did they keep the alcohol so low?
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> Canopy management? Earlier harvest?
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>
>
> Mark Lipton

Glad to hear these are doing well!