TN: A memorable wine

Ah - Professor Lipton

"Mark Lipton" wrote ............

Last night, to accompany a dinner of quarter pounders with cheese and fries, we opened our last bottle of the 1947 Ch. Cheval Blanc. The fill was good (mid neck) and the cork was in excellent condition given the age of the wine. And how was it? Well, it was astonishingly youthful, seemingly 25 years old rather than 67. A huge blast of very sweet blueberry essence burst out of the decanter as soon as I started to pour it. The port analogy was obvious. But once in the glass, it settled down a bit and was merely intensely fruity but without the sweetness. The harmony was incredible with the tannin, acidity, violet, rose and raspberry all swirling about the glass. Relatively light weight but excellent length, long and unwavering to the whisper of a finish. Yet the youthfulness was astonishing, although it began its gentle descent after about an hour, yet still wonderful after 3 hours. Unforgettable. My one question was the meaning of the importer's label on the back that said "Cuvée Rudy"

Mark Lipton

Sounds a bit like a "Sideways" experience

. Unforgettable.

It means you buy your wines from reputable though sometimes less than reliable sources. Mr. Kuriawan, by the way, says thank you for your support.

I read this on the wrong day! Good one

I have only one bottle of Cheval Blanc 1947 and bought it at a Chicago Wine Company a few decades ago. Although expensive then and difficult to find, it was not as great a status symbol then as it is now. It has been stored c orrectly since I bought it. The cork still appears in good condition, and t he fill is low neck.It requires a very intense flashlight in a darkened roo m to see a red color through the dark green bottle.The real color in a clea r glass might be brick rather than red. Anyway, whatever the color, th wine is still very deep in color. The wine was bottled at the chateau.The label text is what one would expect. A small secondary label reveals the wine wa s shipped by Compass Wine, Ltd., U.K.It was imported by Direct Import Wine Co., Niles, IL. Niles is in the Chicago area. There was no mention of "Cuv ée Rudy" anywhere on the labels :-).

You are indeed fortunate to have such a bottle, and to have no qualms as to its provenance. The note I posted is taken verbatim from a CellarTracker note on the wine, from someone who likewise purchased his bottle long ago, before the worries of the current age.

Mark Lipton