1986 Chateaux Margaux

This was my birthday dinner wine from Tom, who also provides the following tasting notes:

Nose of cigar, cedar, black cherry, a little bit of mocha and a little bit of vanilla.

Taste: Full-bodied. Sweet tannins. Incredibly concentrated. Red cherry flavor with tobacco, leather and "some smoke." A long finish.

A "classic" Margaux similar in style to the great vintages of 1982 and 1990.

However, and notwithstanding its 100-point rating by Robert Parker, it's still "not mind-bending like the off-the-chart vintages of, say, 1953 Lafite, 1949 Cheval Blanc, or even the 1996 William Selyem pinot noir."

Tom adds, however, that this wine may reach that off-the-chart status with another 30-40 more years in the bottle.

Eileen: Note to Self -- try this wine on hubby's death bed.

Tom: Note to Self -- try this wine before I die.

And I'm another year older but aging like great fine wine!