The 1858 and 1868 Rausan-Seglas were amazing wines. The huge nose of cedar, chocolate, roasted coffee, and smoked herbs found in the 1868 Rausan-Segla was followed by an astonishingly concentrated, sweet, full-bodied wine with high alcohol, layers of richness, and some well-integrated tannin in the finish. This could have easily been mistaken for a 50-year old wine. The amount of fruit remaining had to be tasted to be believed.
When you consider that every one of the wines in this series except for the 1868 Rausan-Segla was produced before General George A. Custer lost his scalp to some determined native American at Montana's Little Big Horn River, it is humbling to realize the history and longevity of Bordeaux's wines.
The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series V - Flight C of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.