Yes, this wine is probably not readily available but I thought some would appreciate the tn’s. Setting was a small dinner party and the while all the wines were French (the host is a bit of a Parker-ista), this was the one that got my attention. It had been decanted for about an hour before being poured.

79' Certan de May. This is a beautiful wine. Dark brickish red color. The nose was earthy but elegant. I’m assuming that in its youth it was a medium to full bodied wine and 23 years down the line it has suffered little diminishment, aroma and flavors were still pretty vibrant. There was evident fruit with hints of spiciness, and from time to time herbaceousness on the finish. Traces of oak ran through it all. The host indicated the RP’s notes on this mentioned ‘caramel’, for the life of me I couldn’t find that. The wine had great balance, was very smooth and had a fairly long finish. I would have liked to have tasted this wine 5-8 years ago, again not that this wine was ‘over-the-hill’, but that the comparison would have been interesting.

Interesting to note, the original wine that was selected for that portion of the meal was a 81’ Lafite but the cork disintegrated upon opening and the wine was oxidized beyond recognition. I don’t know why the host chose a Pomerol for a backup.

High, I was surprised to see your post. Not because of the wine you tasted, but because it's the 1979 Bordeaux I've had most often and rarely see mentioned here. I bought 6 bottles of it upon release based on Parker's glowing review. He said it was fine to drink young so I opened the first bottle in 1982 or 1983. As a young wine it was forward with plenty of fruit without overpowering tannin. Over the years, I've had 5 of them with consistent notes. The '79 Pomerols have been ready for years. I expect the last of these to show a decline. Thanks for the notes.

Board-O
I tend to look at a decline as the positive attributes fading and the flaws growing to the point were the flaws outweigh the positive attributes. So, to me it didnt seemed the the wine was 'done' yet at all. Again I would have liked to have tasted this in the 80's and 90's to see the progression. Cheers. . .

I had a Gruaud-Larose 1979 quite recently, and this was still very good. Medium to full bodied and lots of vanila, fruit, chocolate, licorice and with a good, but not too stunning finish. Nowadays it's hard to find good '79ers, at least for a normal price. Good to see the notes on the '79 Pomerol.

DD, I'm a big fan of Gruaud-Larose. I'd expect it to last longer than a Certan de May. A lot of the '79's are very good, particularly the Margaux, Leoville-Las Cases (which we had from an Imperial on 6/15), and the Pichon-Lalanded which I've also had from an Imperial.

Board O,

79 is the very good year for Gruaud Larose. I agree that Gruaud, more powerful than the Certan, may be kept longer before drinking.
But you know, with Pomerol...Certan is a very good wine and quite little property (around 25000 bottles for Certan, more than 300000 for Gruaud)
Glad to see you appreciate Bordeaux's, Pomerol is my favorite wineyard.

fd, the Merlot-based wines are not my favorites. In most years, I prefer St. Juliens, followed by Pauillacs and then Graves. Only in the very best years do I go for the St. Estephes.