Hosting a party for Betsy next week, but on her actual birthday we just had dinner at Harper?s on Main. We shared mushroom toast with egg, chicory/little gem salad, duck breast with turnips and sweet potatoes, bavette with bearnaise sauce. I had dropped off bottle of 1959 Ch.Tristan (Pomerol) earlier. I had low expectations for this 3rd tier- who am I fooling, nth tier- Pomerol. Decanted and served,it actually was a decent aged claret. Redder fruit (raspberry and cherry), a little cocoa, herbs. Alive but with a little ashtray beginning to show. Moderate acids, no tannin noticeable, modest length. A B- overall, but I was happy with it as a celebratory wine.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.