Ch. Haut Marbuzet..... Vega Sicilia.....

19-May-97

Two very fine wines accompanied an excellent Friday night dinner at our friends Oded & Nitza Lerer.

Chateau Haut Marbuzet		1990	St. Estephe

5/97. Acquired (by Oded) at auction June-96 for $70.
My first taste of this "Cru Grand Bourgeois Exceptionnelle". Not even Cru Classe in pedigree but certainly a 'super second' in merit.
COLOR: Deep and dense, hardly any clearing towards the rim.
NOSE: Immense! Rich, concentrated fruity nose. Good oak backdrop, no 'pencil tip', cedar, cigar-box or any of the other 'Bordeaux Nose' elements. Pure pleasure.
TASTE: As good as the nose! Outstandingly elegant, full of flavors, extremely tasty. Perhaps not the most complex wine on the palate, but with such good wine who need complexity? < g >
LENGTH: Medium long aftertaste that continue to please the empty mouth...
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full-bodied, super stylish wine. Happy marriage between wood, fruit, alcohol and tannins. Discernible 'legs' attest to the fatness of the wine.
OVERALL: Superb++! A wonderful and relatively 'affordable' wine. Terrific now but will surely hold for many years to come.
MARK: 18++/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Vega Sicilia - Unico		1970	Duero (Spain)

5/97. Acquired (by Oded) at auction June-96 for $170.
My first taste of this 27-years-old unique wine, the 'Grange Hermitage' of Spain.
COLOR: Medium deep color. Clear and vibrant, no hint of aging!
NOSE: Burst of red fruit from the glass. Raspberries more than cherries. Very different from anything I've tasted. Not a trace of secondary aromas so common in old wines. By smell alone it is very difficult to believe this is a 27-years nectar. It is said this wine is aged for ten years in barrels. If so none of the hard and astringent elements one would expect from such treatment affect the nose. Fantastic bouquet, but on the delicate rather than blockbuster side.
TASTE: Terrific! Again, nothing to be associated with mature old Bordeaux, Burgundy or Rhone. Silky, charming yet full of vigor. A true celebration on the palate. No rough edges, neither stinging acidity - A perfetto from start to finish.
LENGTH: Very long and reverberating aftertaste attest to the many layers revealed on every sip.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied, supremely well balanced wine. The only thing to hint at the wine maturity is the inability to tell fruit from acidity from alcohol from tannins. As harmonious wine as one can think of.
OVERALL: Extraordinary! Unbelievably 'young' and a truly unique experience. At fifth of the price I'd make it our house wine...
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? No.

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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.