Chateau Sisqueille 1947 Rivesaltes

Luminous syrupy brown color that turns to reddish mahogany to pale straw yellow towards the rim. Sweet, concentrated and remarkably lively nose with rich, beautifully evolved aromas of maple syrup, caramel, some wildhoney, a little bit of savory wood character, light floral tones, a hint of smoke and a touch of porcini mushrooms. The wine is very full-bodied, concentrated and remarkably intense on the palate with bold and sweet – yet not cloying – flavors of maple syrup, burnt sugar bitterness, some Christmas spices along with a mélange of nuts and raisins, a hint of saline tang and a touch of alcohol heat. Overall the wine feels enjoyably characterful and not excessively polished, yet still very silky and smooth. Although sticky, the finish feels less sweet than the midpalate with concentrated, powerful and remarkably complex flavors of roasted nuts, some smoke, a little bit of peppery spice, light saline tang, a hint of toasted almonds and a touch of caramel.

A spectacular older Rivesaltes that starts off sweet and finishes relatively dry. Wonderful sense of concentration and intensity here. As the wine feels quite mature, I doubt it will develop much from here, but nor do I expect the wine go down in quality either – drink now or whenever you want to in the future. This wine feels like it will outlive me. (Cellartracker)

Drink: now