This bottle was bought at auction a few months ago. 1973 is not an acclaimed vintage at all, but the wine level was excellent for a 47 years old bottle (at the exact point where the neck and the shoulder meet). I opened it at around 1:30 PM and let it slow ox in the opened bottle until dinner time, around five hours later (6:30). The cork did crumble in a thousand pieces, but amazingly we were able to remove the last third of what was remaining of it by very carefully pulling it out with a regular corkscrew (I need a Durand!) and not a single piece of cork fell into the wine. Slow ox really does wonders with old wines. Upon opening of the bottle, all I could smell was oak and cork and not much of the juice itself. Five hours later, the wine was singing and it kept evolving in my Zalto Bordeaux glass throughout the evening. The color was appropriate for its age (pale brick and quite transparent on the rim). On the first nose, what struck us were the spicy notes. Then the remnants of the fruit emerged as a layer of thick raspberry jam. As the night went by, the spices became more precise: vanilla and cinnamon (you know those little cinnamon hearts?). Overall, it smelled like a very "warm" wine. Not much freshness there, but that is totally normal. Pure velvet on the palate, with 10% left of tannins that kept the wine well alive (with very few sediments in the bottle). Medium-long finish. This could easily pass as an early 80's vintage (not 82 though) since the condition of my bottle was excellent. With a duck breast (raspberry sauce), buttered french shallots and garlic ratte potatoes, this wine met my expectations.

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