Serving two wines at once is the best way to notice the difference. Both the 1994 and 1994 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande had 12.5% alcohol. Both, at 22 and 23 years old, came from average vintages and were stored together in a dark cool cellar. Both cost over $75. The 1974 scored 17 and the 1993 scored 16+ points on the Dionysian scale of a possible 20.

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Chateau Pichon Lalande, as it is commonly called, is a Second Growth on the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, the older wines showed lots of youth with color and fruit for 10 more years. They are excellent food wines.

Both wines had tobacco, cassis and subtle red fruit notes. They were decanted 45 minutes before serving and were soft as silk. Each had a long aftertaste, and both proved that you do not want high alcohol in your big reds if you want mature food wines after a decade or more.

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Served with lamb chops, potato, and sautéed spring spinach; the Bordeaux was the perfect match.

These wines were shared with a number of Dionysian Society members to help gather more opinions about cellaring wines to mature and develop. In vino veritas.