1975 Comte de Lauze CDP - A Cautionary Tale

Welcome to my Wine Blog. Several of my friends have requested that I keep track of my drinking an a public forum so they can reap the benefits of my liver. So, with no further ado, I'll just proceed.

Last night my esteemed colleague Ben and his wife Kim brought over a 1975 CDP that one of Kim's relatives had given her. I was excited but my excitement quickly dissipated when I was informed of its "less than stellar provenance." Basically whatever relative Kim had gotten it from had left it standing upright in a cupboard in their kitchen for twenty years. Oh, the Humanity!

Looking through the glass, the wine was a brown, port-like consistency; this is not necessarily bad, but probably not a good sign. I still had hope the wine might be drinkable or at least sippable. I was very interested in how it would taste.

When I took the foil off, the top was covered in calcium deposits and rust. Not a good sign. I used my Dremel with a soft brush attachment to gently clean the sediment away from the top of the cork and the surrounding glass. Then I used a non-cork-damaging opener to remove the cork. The stench that came out was overpowering.

The stuff was undrinkable. We poured it down the drain, cursing those who buy french wines and then fail to store them properly.