A taste of an old wine

This is the oldest wine I have tasted so far, though I have in my possession several bottles which predates this one. This was a Pichon Baron 1939, which was tasted on 20 September 2004. That made the wine 65 years old at the time I tasted it. The next oldest bottles would have been from 1966, I had tasted the Sudhuiraut and Pape Clement, but the Margaux and Haut-Brion were still to come.

The picture was taken soon after drawing the cork, so the level of the ullage would be top shoulder. The wine was quite mahogany in colour and not pale nor brick/orange as one might expect. There were wine aromas on the nose as well as a hint of some savoury soy-sauce like notes. These elements carried through to the tongue and palate on tasting. The finish was not at all long. It seemed as if the wine is gently fading away. Sure enough, opening the bottle hastened its demise. Within an hour, one would not enjoy tasting it, though the nose remained pleasant enough for a couple more hours after that.