Michael,
sounds like your '61 was a bit off. Mine (from questionable storage)
was pretty good if a tad tired 2 years ago, I remember at time it was
one of the stars at a vertical I missed ('55-'00). And John Gilman was
saying last night it's a fave (probably notes at bentleywine.com). But
I've never had a 70s PC that really impressed, and the '82 is a noted
underachiever.

> But I remember that everyone had standing, besides the small
> glasses for the wines, a water bowl that happened to be the large
> Riedel Sommelier Bordeaux Grand Cru stem (4400/00). With the last
> red, Pape Clément 1961, I had it poured into this glass, much to
> the distress of the server - and to an almost collapsing maitre d'
> in the background.
>
> We were four tables. From every table one non-French journalist
> was asked about his opinion about the '61. As fate would have it,
> from my table they asked me. Since the wine was rather tired and
> slightly oxidized - nowhere, where a decent 1961 claret should be
> - I tried to be polite and deliberated about how really great reds
> converge when getting older, so that the characters of an almost
> 30 year old claret and an equally old Barolo show similarities.
>
> I guess what I said was not what they wanted to hear ... ;-(
>
> M.