Tasting Note: It was, and still is, the star of the vintage. Like the 1870 Lafite, so dense, powerful and bitterly tannic that it was a full half century before it was mellow enough to be enjoyed. I have been privileged to taste this wine on 16 occasions following its progress from 'enormous, too full of tannin' in 1953. Very austere, yet tannin cloaked and velvet and opening up in the 1970s. I considered it at its peak in the 1980s: intensely deep; spicy, cinnamon, cedary bouquet; surprisingly sweet and velvety despite its tannin, masculine with great concentration and length. But on it goes. Four impressive bottles, fabulous bouquets but still very tannic, even harsh (in Zurich 1994). An oxidised bottle then an impressive bottle, fragrant, drinking perfectly. Last tasted at Joshua Latner's dinner, Jan 2000. At best ***** M.B. Served alongside the 1945, this was even deeper purple, with amber rim; bright and freshly perfumed, with a touch of mushroom on the nose. Palate intense and lively, with raisiny length, then searing tannins on the finish - will these ever melt completely, I wonder? Amazingly fresh and lively. At Keith Williams' Vin de Garde dinner, Houston, Feb. 2003. A.H.