1965 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
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Tasting notes
This was an extremely hot vintage, yielding temperatures in excess of 110 degrees around Rutherford and sparking grass and forest fires. The 1965 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour came in at 12.5% alcohol. Pale brick-tawny in color, it offers fleeting wafts of cinnamon stick, toffee, sandalwood, dates and fig paste with touches of old leather, cigar box and dusty soil plus a hint of star anise. Light-bodied, crisp and elegant, it has a spicy profile with loads of perfumed dried berries and dried herbs flavors. Powdery tannins offer a semblance of texture to the licorice-laced finish. Delicately poised, it’s a bottle on the edge of the best-by precipice, but it still possesses plenty of character to garner interest. 7,715 cases were produced.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Dull medium red with a greenish-amber rim. Lower-toned aromas of plum, redcurrant, mocha, chocolate and brown spices are perked up by a suggestion of dried rose. The palate conveys a strong balsamic quality and good energy, but the wine's edgy acidity dominates its strong, salty Rutherford dust and tobacco elements. The tannins are totally resolved but the finish is ultimately a bit sour and dry, and thinning out. Drink up. Incidentally, the harvest in 1965 took place during a period of extreme heat. (12.5% alcohol)
The level on this bottle was quite low, apparently, and the wine seemed old and relatively volatile. There was a certain decayed richness here but it was definitely on the way out. Made during the André Tchelistcheff era at BV. (JR)
About the producer
Beaulieu Vineyard remains one of the most historically important wineries in Napa Valley. It is it one of the longest continuous running wineries in the region, as one of the few that kept operating throughout Prohibition.