Château Gruaud-Larose Saint-Julien 2ème grand cru classé 2001 - Alc.13% - (from €45 per Wine Searcher)
I was hoping that this wine would replicate the magic which I recall from 1953 left-bankers in the early/mid 60s, i.e. at a similar age (the wine's not mine

), but perhaps inevitably I was disappointed.
Nevertheless this was a very good wine, which will probably still improve, but it did not stand out amongst the other clarets which I have been drinking in recent months. It was quite sturdily built and already open aromatically with still primary red veering to dark fruit (notably black currant) showing mint and mineral touches and nicely lively acidity and decent length with firm well covered tannins supporting the finish. I think that a few more years should develop interesting secondary characteristics without excessive fading of the fruit; 16/20+ now..
Frankly I think that good bottles of G-L 1999 (a theoretically lesser vintage) were closer to showing the magic of the 53s (other bottles breached my quite generous brett tolerance ceiling).
Am I remembering the magic of the 53s through the rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia? I doubt it, because experienced older generation claret connoisseurs like Michael Broadbent agree. In the 1980 edition of his vintage book, he wrote
"Perhaps the most attractive of all the postwar vintages and, for me, the personification of claret at its most charming and elegant best."