1983 Château Margaux (Bordeaux, France)

Also enjoyed at Bennett and Linda's with a lovely rack of Australian Lamb.

Intense garnet in the glass - clarity has held up well with age. Cigar box, cedar, violets herby nose - this is Bordeaux. There was still enough fruit, predominately cassis, to pull all the other flavors together but this bottle was definitely in its prime. The vanilla from the oak highlighted the fruit and the silky smooth tannins were a delight with the lamb.

This was my first bottle of Château Margaux and I hope it will not be my last. An incredible food wine and a great match for the lamb.

Score: 93 Points
Price: $700 (Wine House)

1975 Château Palmer (Bordeaux, France)

Since we were sorting the last of the merlot from Jemrose Vineyards for the new Jemrose Estate label, Shane Finley (the Associate Winemaker at Kosta Browne) opened this treat for us.

Château Palmer is a third growth Bordeaux estate in Margaux, whose grand vin is a blend of 45-ish percent Merlot, 45-ish percent Cabernet Sauvignon and between 5 and 8 percent Petit Verdot.

1975 was heralded at the time as "a vintage of the century" (funny how the French always have around ten or more of those a century) but not all of the wines have been up to the hype. Our bottle deteriorated very quickly in the glass. The first few whiffs were classic aged Bordeaux. Plums, earth, mushroom and dried herbs filled the nose. Very smooth, soft palate with a touch of grip left from the tannins. I was amazed they were still here after 32 years!

An enjoyable wine, but I wish it held together more. It was all over in about an hour - completely fell apart on us. Oh well, back to the sorting table