1975 Château Climens

This particular bottle was very slightly stinky on the nose, certainly when first opened. It was admirably balanced on the palate in terms of sweetness (not that sweet in fact) and acidity and was pretty impressively lively for a 40-year-old wine but I suspect it was not the best bottle. See Julia's very enthusiastic note on what I suspect was a much better bottle. (JR)

The 1975 Climens has a glorious bouquet with beautifully defined citrus fruit, wild honey, orange blossom and just a touch of old antique furniture. It blossoms in the glass. The palate is fresh and vibrant with a killer line of acidity. This is still fresh and tense with marmalade, grapefruit, mandarin, bitter orange and brown spices. It feels long and tender in the mouth: quite a powerful Climens at its peak.

High-botrytis vintage, low yields (7.2 hl/ha). TA 4.5 g/l (sulphuric), RS 98 g/l. Deep gold with the first signs of amber. More oily on the nose than the 1976 but intense bitter orange freshness too, intensely aromatic. Fabulously fresh acidity with so much richness and concentration of flavour. (JH)