Well, yes true, but anyway, that's what I did. To be precise a 1978 Chateau de Madere (Bordeaux, Graves AC - pre-Euros) white bordeaux. As I opened the bottle I thought the chateau name might end up being a little ironic but amazingly, this thing that has been around since I was a child and has seen everything from proper cellars to cupboards under the stairs, moving vans to floods, with only a swathe of tissue paper to protect it (a clear glass bottle no less) is alive and kicking. Subdued nose but incredibly clean, slight toasted honey notes with a little lemon pith, palate is vibrant, multi-layered, slight minerality and citrus fruit with a roundness and length that is suprising. Heaven only knows what this thing was like to drink 30 years ago but it is still as taught as a bow.
Christmas was fantastic, the lunch saw a magnum of 2005 Les Genets Cotes du Rhone Villages Chusclan (Rhone Valley, Cotes du Rhone Village Chusclan AC - 18 Euros) that was delightful - full, rich and ripe fruit but elegant and balanced in a way many New World GSMs don't even understand - a genuine delight. After a couple of bottles of Savigny-les-Beaune were equally appreciated the attention focused quite rightly on presents and family and I didn't think about wine again for the rest of the day. So the tasting notes are weak but the day was perfect and all is right with the world.
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