29 Oct 2011: End of (yet again) another punishing week, we decided to reward ourselves with a quiet supper at home over a bottle of 1961 Lafite Rothschild. Deep ruby-garnet hue. Tasting it about half an hour after opening, there was an unmistakable Pauillac nose but there was also a whiff of something not entirely pleasant. On the palate, there was little fruit, with plenty of acidity and a drying finish. A little disappointing, even for this often misunderstood wine (quite a few bottle variations). So we waited......3 hours later (while we were enjoying a classic interpretation of 'War & Peace' with Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Mel Ferrer), it finally came alive in the glass! In the background, there was a strong display of blackberry, blueberry and fragrant dried rose petals, but dominated by cedar, lead pencil and nuances of liquorice and cloves. Aromatically enchanting, within an elegantly structured framework of high-ish acidity and firm but not intrusive tannin. Extremely long finish. Notwithstanding the bottle variations with this wine, given this fine example, I would predict it still drinking well in 10+ years to come. 17.5/20 (Richard scored it 18.5/20)
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