Chateau Haut-Brion 1997 Wine Review (NW)

Tasting notes:

Color fades slightly to brick red at the rim
Nose opens with air to show a wonderful dusty, earthy aroma of stones, with dried herbs, light red berries, and some tobacco
Palate is extremely smooth with spices and smokyness
Finishes with noticeable tannins pushing along more berries, herbs, and some chocolate and tobacco

Well, I finally opened this ten-year-old first growth Bordeaux I had resting in the cellar. The special ocassion was a new baby- the birth of our daughter Elsa!

While young by first growth standards, I have to say this bottle was fully mature. With some bottle variation expected from such a wine, I can't say all 1997 Haut-Brions should be comsumed now. However, this experience leads me to think you shouldn't wait much longer.

With a mature flavor profile, the wine is elegant and harmonious. The problem is it's actually a little boring. Flat might be a better word here- the wine tastes a little flat. I wasn't disappointed, I just expected it to evolve more in the glass as we sipped on it for several hours.

I will say, I enjoyed it more that my esteemed colleague- PB of this blog. His review is posted below. If you can't find it, enter the wine name in our search box and you'll be linked right to his review. I think he's going "new world" on me.

All in, it was a nice experience. Maybe the wine tasted better to me because I was drinking in the excitement of having a new baby girl. And after all, I got the wine half-price. Literally, I paid half price for this wine four years ago- $90. Raise a glass to that!