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cwdjrxyz cwdjrxyz is offline
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Default TN: Ch. Latour 1970 and Schloss Eltz Rauenthaler Baiken TBA 1976

I bought 6 bottles of 1970 Ch. Petrus shortly after release, and it
has been stored properly. This is the first bottle I have opened,
because the fill is now in the very high shoulder in contrast to the
other bottles with fills in the low neck.
The wine is still very deep in color with little evidence of age
around the rim. It is quite full and perfectly balanced. The finish is
very long. It is a text book example of what top red Bordeaux is
about. It likely is the wine of the year for red Bordeaux. It might
improve for many more years if the corks hold. It perhaps does not
equal the best Latour of 1961 and 1945, but only in having a bit less
body and complexity than these two.

1976er Schloss Eltz, Trockenbeeren=Auslese; Rauenthaler Baiken
Riesling; Rheingau. This is as the label reads, which is a bit
different from some label text order. A.P. Nr. 33010-007-77. White
capsule with gold top with red bands near the top and near the bottom
of the capsule. This was part of a mixed case of 1976 TBA that a
friendly importer ordered for me from Germany shortly after release.
It was shipped in cool weather in the late fall and was delivered to
me without delay. It has had proper storage ever since. The wine is
exceedingly rich and is old gold in color.The bouquet and taste are
very intense. The balance is perfect. It is mouth coating. It is not
as tropical as some 1976 TBAs. Instead of mangos, custard apples, and
such, it reminds me more of very ripe apricots and yellow peaches with
candied oranges. There is a very intense honey taste and bouquet with
some wild flower character. There also are hints of spices. This is
the sweetest tasting German wine I can remember. A perfect balance of
smooth acidity and intense fruit keeps the wine from being too sweet.
You likely are going to have to taste a top, mature, Tokaji Eszencia
to find wine that is much sweeter and more intense than this one.