I had one bottle of Chateau La Gaffeliere 1966 which I opened but
expected to be too old. It was a decent, but not top, wine in the mid
80s and likely at the peak then according to some old reviews. I was
thus not expecting much, and had another bottle of younger wine as a
backup. The fill was still in the low neck, and the cork was still
sound, although a bit soft.

The wine still is fairly deep in color with only moderate age showing
around the rim. There is fairly intense black fruit such as cassis and
blackberry. There is considerable mixed spice. The tannins are a bit
dry as often is the case for old 66s, but not too intense. The acid
balance is good. This is an old style common in Saint Emilion PP (pre-
Parker). Such wines often can take many years to fully develop and
can hold a long time after they mature. They can be very good matches
for some foods. However they often do not make friends when young. I
do not know if anyone makes this type of wine anymore.

In message
ups.com>
cwdjrxyz > wrote:

> I had one bottle of Chateau La Gaffeliere 1966 which I opened but
> expected to be too old. It was a decent, but not top, wine in the mid
> 80s and likely at the peak then according to some old reviews. I was
> thus not expecting much, and had another bottle of younger wine as a
> backup. The fill was still in the low neck, and the cork was still
> sound, although a bit soft.

> The wine still is fairly deep in color with only moderate age showing
> around the rim. There is fairly intense black fruit such as cassis and
> blackberry. There is considerable mixed spice. The tannins are a bit
> dry as often is the case for old 66s, but not too intense. The acid
> balance is good. This is an old style common in Saint Emilion PP (pre-
> Parker). Such wines often can take many years to fully develop and
> can hold a long time after they mature. They can be very good matches
> for some foods. However they often do not make friends when young. I
> do not know if anyone makes this type of wine anymore.

It is not altogether surprising that this wine had stayed the course.
As the poster says it is made in the traditional style which does keep
and improve. It is, of course, a Premier Grand Cru Classé with sone
of its vines situated just below Ausone and Belair and others adjacent
to Pavie and above Moulin St. Geroges. It is still made in a
traditional style - perhaps I should say once again now that that
Stephane Derenoncourt has taken over from Michel Rolland as consultant
oenologue.

There are many Saint-Emilions — indeed I would say the great majority
— who have not been influenced by what is often taken to be the Parker
style of wine and who certainly do not make in an over-extracted up
fornt fruity young drinking style very often, rightly or wrongly,
associated with him. Indeed quite a number of growers openly and
loudly eschew that style as well as avoiding a use of oak which may be
inappropriate for the terroir or year or both.
Needless to say one of the fascinations of the ”hill of a thousand
crus• is just that — the enormous variations and differences between
wines from the same grape varieties, albeit in different combinations
and proportions. (I firmly believe that these differences, even
between wines of the same year and same assemblage, give the complete
answer to those of a simplistic frame of mind who say that it would
help the consumer to have a label showing the grape varieties. Two
wiens of th same year with, say 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10%
Cabernet Sauvingon, can be entirely differnt from each other so that
any consumer liking one could be disappointed in buying a bottle of
the other in the expectation of having a very similar wine.)

Although it is true that some young Saint-Emilions may not make
firneds when young I would say that even for the traditionally made
ones, certainly those with a high percentage of Merlot, as La
Gaffeliere has, there is great enjoyment in drinking them relatively
young, even if it is tempered with a consciousness that one is
committing infanticide.



Tim Hartley

In article
>,
cwdjrxyz > wrote:

> I had one bottle of Chateau La Gaffeliere 1966 which I opened but
> expected to be too old. It was a decent, but not top, wine in the mid
> 80s and likely at the peak then according to some old reviews. I was
> thus not expecting much, and had another bottle of younger wine as a
> backup. The fill was still in the low neck, and the cork was still
> sound, although a bit soft.
>
> The wine still is fairly deep in color with only moderate age showing
> around the rim. There is fairly intense black fruit such as cassis and
> blackberry. There is considerable mixed spice. The tannins are a bit
> dry as often is the case for old 66s, but not too intense. The acid
> balance is good. This is an old style common in Saint Emilion PP (pre-
> Parker). Such wines often can take many years to fully develop and
> can hold a long time after they mature. They can be very good matches
> for some foods. However they often do not make friends when young. I
> do not know if anyone makes this type of wine anymore.

What a nice surprise. Last '66 I had a Ducru from that era in 2005 was
faded though the provenance was good and the condition was good.

On Jul 13, 9:25*am, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
>
>
>
>
> *cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> > I had one bottle of Chateau La Gaffeliere 1966 which I opened but
> > expected to be too old. It was a decent, but not top, wine in the mid
> > 80s and likely at the peak then according to some old reviews. I was
> > thus not expecting much, and had another bottle of younger wine as a
> > backup. The fill was still in the low neck, and the cork was still
> > sound, although a bit soft.
>
> > The wine still is fairly deep in color with only moderate age showing
> > around the rim. There is fairly intense black fruit such as cassis and
> > blackberry. There is considerable mixed spice. The tannins are a bit
> > dry as often is the case for old 66s, but not too intense. The acid
> > balance is good. This is an old style common in Saint Emilion PP (pre-
> > Parker). *Such wines often can take many years to fully develop and
> > can hold a long time after they mature. They can be very good matches
> > for some foods. However they often do not make friends when young. I
> > do not know if anyone makes this type of wine anymore.
>
> What a nice surprise. Last '66 I had a Ducru from that era in 2005 was
> faded though the provenance was good and the condition was good.

At 40+, lots of bottle variability. '66 Ducru can still be pretty
vigorous, had couple years ago.

On Jul 13, 9:25�am, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
>
>
>
>
> �cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> > I had one bottle of Chateau La Gaffeliere 1966 which I opened but
> > expected to be too old. It was a decent, but not top, wine in the mid
> > 80s and likely at the peak then according to some old reviews. I was
> > thus not expecting much, and had another bottle of younger wine as a
> > backup. The fill was still in the low neck, and the cork was still
> > sound, although a bit soft.
>
> > The wine still is fairly deep in color with only moderate age showing
> > around the rim. There is fairly intense black fruit such as cassis and
> > blackberry. There is considerable mixed spice. The tannins are a bit
> > dry as often is the case for old 66s, but not too intense. The acid
> > balance is good. This is an old style common in Saint Emilion PP (pre-
> > Parker). �Such wines often can take many years to fully develop and
> > can hold a long time after they mature. They can be very good matches
> > for some foods. However they often do not make friends when young. I
> > do not know if anyone makes this type of wine anymore.
>
> What a nice surprise. Last '66 I had a Ducru from that era in 2005 was
> faded though the provenance was good and the condition was good.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I've had a "66 Latour and a '66 Pichon Baron recently that were
incredible. Both were still dark and full of fruit.

On Jul 12, 2:01*am, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> I had one bottle of Chateau La Gaffeliere 1966 which I opened but
> expected to be too old. It was a decent, but not top, wine in the mid
> 80s and likely at the peak then according to some old reviews. I was
> thus not expecting much, and had another bottle of younger wine as a
> backup. The fill was still in the low neck, and the cork was still
> sound, although a bit soft.
>
> The wine still is fairly deep in color with only moderate age showing
> around the rim. There is fairly intense black fruit such as cassis and
> blackberry. There is considerable mixed spice. The tannins are a bit
> dry as often is the case for old 66s, but not too intense. The acid
> balance is good. This is an old style common in Saint Emilion PP (pre-
> Parker). *Such wines often can take many years to fully develop and
> can hold a long time after they mature. They can be very good matches
> for some foods. However they often do not make friends when young. I
> do not know if anyone makes this type of wine anymore.

Pretty good for a '66 RB, I have a vague sense of it being more of a
Medoc vintage. Thanks, as always, for interesting notes