Mike Saviage

9.3

Night two at Bern’s. A backup bottle to replace the 1907 LLC that had a flaw. Went with this choice for its high shoulder fill and great color. Light tawny reddish color. Clear rims with a deep color center in the glass. Fruit forward nose with notes of black and red fruit, some earth and some wood. With air it opened like the others. Decent structure. Good balance. Nice, solid wine for its age but nothing dramatic or exciting. — 2 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Night one at Bern’s, from deep in their cellar. Nice bottle condition. Decanted and poured. Amber tawny, a little cloudy with clear rims. Opaque. Notes of sweet red fruit, cranberries, cedar desk, dusty earth. Like the 29 Lascombes, this started quietly but with air this firmed up nicely to have good structure and acidity that nicely matched the remaining fruit. Great finish. — 3 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Night one at Bern’s. Chosen in the cellar for its color and condition. Nice gold color in the glass. Killer nose from the start. Notes of lemons, cardamom, sautéed oranges, ginger, tan spice, honey, apricot and some vanilla. Nice fruit in the mouth. Quiet acidity at first but with air some nice structure grows. Evolved/improved all night and really delivered. — 3 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Night two at Bern’s. From a bottle with a typewritten label that replaced the original, and supposedly typed by Michael Broadbent according to the Somm. Although the color looks great, the bottle has 3 inches of ullage. Dark color, opaque, brownish tawny. Started off like the other older bottles we’ve had so far. Quiet at first with dusty fruit. With air it opens up with notes of dark plums, sweet currant, spice, cigar and wood desk. Nice structure and acidity. Great mouth feel. Hung on for several hours. Great showing, although the low fill only allowed us limited quantity to consume. — 2 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Night two at Bern’s. From a great looking bottle with a good fill and awesome color. Medium gold color in the glass. Vibrant and youthful looking for its age. Quiet nose at first, and slow to open as it gains air. Then all of a sudden it jumps up to offer notes of apricot, white acacia flowers, stones and some vanilla. Decent structure. Light acidity. Overall it’s good, not great and did not have the emotion and exotic notes that the 83 Rapet CC had the night before. — 2 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Night one at Bern’s, from deep in the cellar. Bottle is in great condition. Decanted and poured. Great color. Dark ruby center with clear rims. Translucent. Awesome nose. Notes of red fruit, cedar desk, dusty earth, Cuban cigar, cherries and some white pepper. Light on its feet at first but firms up nicely with air for a few hours, then plateaued before softening up later on. Really good showing. — 3 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Scarlet tawny color, with a high-pitched fruit forward nose. Notes of raspberries, rhubarb and strawberries. Some mint? Not really "mean greenies". Has a youthfulness to it but is round in the mouth. Packs a wallop. Pretty good for the vintage. — 19 days ago

Mike Saviage

Night two at Bern’s. In the cellar the color looked great despite a low fill. But on open, this showed strong VA that did not blow off, and we declined to accept it. Our streak of luck ends for now… time to get a backup bottle. — 2 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.2

Night two at Bern’s. We’re going for some incremental age tonight. Chosen for its good color, despite a low fill. Reddish tawny color, a bit cloudy, and has a high pitched nose at first. Notes of red fruit, cedar and cranberries initially. With more air, the nose settles down to show more Bordeaux character including dusty earth, wood desk and gravel stone. This blossomed after 30 or so minutes, then began to decline. At peak it had a 95 point nose. Overall it was a great experience. — 2 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Night one at Bern’s, from deep in their cellar. Decanted and poured. Deep ruby center, mostly translucent. Killer nose. Notes of currant, sweet plums, spice and earth. Rich and silky in the mouth. Its “youth” shows when compared to the glasses of 1929 and 1933 next to it. Maybe the best of the 3 tonight? Hard to say, but it’s nice to find old off vintages that show like this. — 3 days ago