Hart, Shaun, Maegan, James and Zi For belated birthday and ROM at Bar Cicheti. Wine was the generous courtesy of Ben, who gifted me this birth year wine for my birthday.

I was anxious. On inspection, the fill level was lower than what should’ve been for a 35yo wine. I removed the top of the cap in the afternoon with bated breath, and was relieved to find that while it had a layer of mold, the cork remained in perfectly good condition.

In the restaurant: the cork came out in almost perfect condition. I immediately took a whiff off the bottle and I was relieved. This is good to go. We left the bottle to aerate without decanting.

This was wine no 3 and had a solid hour to breathe. On the nose: leather and cedar wood. Lively fruit. I was surprised. Interesting, the acidity was muted at the start and I thought we must be catching this at the end of the drinking window. I was very, very wrong.

1ish hour in. The cedar came to the front, and brought with it distinct chocolate. The fruits became even livelier. Tannins were distinct and grippy but smoooooth. Age has done its magic. But the surprising thing was the emergence of a bright acidity. Wow. The only flaw I detected was an odd bitterness in the aftertaste. Hm

1.5 hours in, the bitterness receded. The wine maintained its fruit, although the cedar really took control now.

I’m impressed and surprised by this wine: it’s 35yo, but has legs to go.