1976 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve
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Tasting notes
A hot, very dry vintage that resulted in some vine stress and yielded around half of what a normal crop would have been back in those days, this was a vintage that put the “dust” in Rutherford dust. The wine was aged for two years in 50-gallon American oak barrels. Pale to medium brick colored, the 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour features notes of dusty soil, old leather and incense with touches of dried mint, woodsmoke and dried mushrooms. Medium-bodied with a chewy texture and racy backbone preserving remnants of dried berries on the palate, it finishes on a lingering spearmint and sage note. The alcohol was 13.5% this year, and 11,290 cases were produced. Drink up!
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Ineffable high-pitched aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, tobacco, cardamom, curry powder, celery seed, dried rose and loam. Then intense and penetrating, boasting terrific inner-mouth energy and strong notes of cocoa powder, earth and resiny oak throughout. Finishes firmly tannic and long, with noteworthy lift for a drought year. The yield in 1976 was an extremely low one-and-a-half tons per acre, or roughly the same as in 2015, compared to a normal three to four for Beaulieu's Rutherford Cabernet. Another seemingly ageless wine. (ST)