Except for the 1966 and 1870 vintages of Lafite-Rothschild, these wines were poured on virgin territory on my palate. The other great classics from the last century were remarkable wines, all with original corks, and in extraordinary condition. Their age was authenticated by Michael Broadbent, who is the only person in the world to have the good fortune to have tasted these wines on several occasions. The 1874 Ausone made me think that the reason I have never fully appreciated and understood Ausone is that I have never had the opportunity to wait 121 years for an Ausone to reach full maturity! At this point in the tasting, my tasting notes typified this amazing weekend, as I wrote, "My, my, I prefer the 1874 Ausone to the 1865 Kirwan." The 1874 possessed a sweet, tomato, herb, mineral, and black fruit-scented nose, medium body, glycerin-dominated, chewy, fat flavors, and a gorgeously long, heady, mineral-dominated, sweet finish. This wine may drink well for another 30-40 years. This may indicate that purchasers of Ausone should be buying this estate's wines for their children's children's children! The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series V - Flight A 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.