"I do ,on balance, often agree and take into account what my fellow Wine Society members say about various wines; but on this occasion I could not have disagreed more or been more disappointed. After wrestling with a fragile cork to open the bottle and leaving the wine to breath (no decanter available alas) this wine was as flat as a pancake and as about as interesting. No fruit whatsoever and some very strange smells from the glass, 40 minutes after opening, reminiscent of the farmyard when opening a "good" claret. Matched with roast lamb and my guest was polite but failed to drink any at all. This is the second failure of these so called "special finds" from the Society in my experience (a previous 1998 Claret) but the first time in 21 years of membership that I have written a poor review . I will take a philosophical view and count my blessings. S.M. Isle of Wight"

"Very fragile corks left me with a very mixed case and the corks are really fragile and dry so take care. Some bottles are showing oxidisation and if you but - get drinking. The good bottles are excellent but there was too much bottle variation for my liking...."

"Afraid I have to add to the litany of complaints about this wine. I have now opened 5 bottles - I gave the sixth away - all with corks somewhere between fragile and disintegrating, and all displaying varying degrees of vinegar, despite an attractive nose. Anyway, delighted some of us got some good bottles. For the rest, thank goodness for the Society’s Promise!"

"Mrs Claudine Provencher says she found in her notes that she 'had bought some 96 years ago'. I'm impressed that Mrs Provencher has been keeping wine notes since 1924, but I hope she didn't keep it 96 years before drinking it: even the great 1921 will surely have been past its best by then. Seriously, though, it happens that I, too, bought (and drank) a bottle of 1996 Coufran some years back (2006, I think), but my own experience of it was very different: rounded, juicy and enjoyable. As both '96 and '01 are my kind of claret vintages (classic, unhyped, not too flash), I was immediately attracted to this wine. I like a mature traditional claret (I loved the 2000 Fontesteau offered a year or two back), but I did find this a bit dry and unyielding. I guess there are three non-mutually exclusive possibilities: (1) I'd have preferred it in its tenth year like the '96; (2) being old and a bit frail, it requires presenting 'just so' (largely a matter of luck) to bring out its delicate appeal; (3) its age makes for magnified bottle variation and therefore another element of pot luck. At this price I'm tempted to give it another try; my lack of star rating or recommendation constitutes a reservation of judgment, not a condemnation."

"Interesting encounter with this wine. Uncorked (disintegrated of course!) and decanted for 4 hours on Easter Saturday; old, musty, some fruit but close to undrinkable. Left forgotten in decanter for 2 nights. Sampled again just before pouring it down the drain; transformed - velvety texture, lightly stewed plums with cinnamon (?), clove (?), leather, refreshing. Probably 3.75/5 instead of 4 but close enough. An Easter miracle! Probably a little to unpredictable to recommend..."

"Left to breathe for 3 hours.A full fruity flavour belying its age in the bottle. My cork also disintegrated but I got it all out in 2 goes. If I had read the reviews before opening I wouldnt have been so gung-ho and could have probably got it out in one, with a bit more care. V enjoyable with my roast lamb"

I would recommend this wine

"Bought it on the description above but it fails to deliver because it's past its prime due to poor corks. Two bottles, two wet corks, slightly oxidised and flat. Like a previous reviewer, I tasted a bottle that had been left open overnight and it was still poor but not worse: in other words it did not oxidise further. I found in my notes that I had bought some 96 years ago but nothing exceptional then again. So I'll stay clear in the future."

"Excellent wine given it's age. Showed great depth which develops further after oxidisation so would recommend decanting a few hours before drinking. "

I would recommend this wine

"It is tasting quite old now but I like old wine - even when it is starting to fade. I bought 12 recently and have just one left. Great with roasts. Get a dishonest butler corkscrew - they are hard to find but invaluable for opening fragile or tight corks."

I would recommend this wine

"Colour: Medium garnet red fading to a brick orange rim. Aroma: Med-intensity, mainly tertiary aromas, mushroom, damp forest floor, cedar, graphite, leather, smoke, bay leaf, a spiciness like star anise and still some fruit, raisins, plum and blackberry. Taste: Med-bodied, chalky drying tannin that evolves into a smooth soft mid-palate. Subtle flavours that reflect the nose leading into a mellow and developed finish. Overall: Beautiful wine, how Bordeaux should be. Not a big shouty wine but everything comes together wonderfully, harmonious and refined. Great value, drinking perfectly at 19 years, needs decanting, highly recommend. "

I would recommend this wine

"Hmm the corks are dodgy aren't they. Despite utmost care, the second disintegrated. Wine inside not bad, but frankly disappointing, I thought the society's exhibition haut medoc was better. This one a bit thin and acidic. Surprisingly the left-overs (there's a clue, leftovers from a Christmas day wine) were rounded and mellow, despite having not been sealed overnight. Perhaps it needed more decanting time. Would not buy again. "

"I've given this 3 stars, because it's very much at the point of losing the primary fruit and doesn't have a lot more to offer. There are mature cedarwood tones on the nose and some complexity, but it needs to be drunk now. Really enjoyed it with a nice piece of beef and tasted good with only 30 mins of decanting."

"Very disappointed. Had high expectations after reading the blurb and having finished the last of my 1994 Ch Destieux which was excellent. I usually order one bottle to try if I haven't tried a particular producer before and often it is then sold out when I go to reorder, so on this occasion I order four bottles straight off. Was sold a pup. It was dull, tired and starting to fall apart. Thought the first one might be just that bottle but after three all poor and I've one left! No sure what to do with it as I wouldn't give it to anyone. "

"As soon as I cut the foil I could see the cork needed special attention. I ran a sharp blade round the top end, cleaned it and took great care extracting the cork. Anything twenty years or more is going to need this treatment. Decanting is a must and it tasted really beautiful. I bought two and am looking forward to the other one."

I would recommend this wine

"To add to my first review. I have one bottle left now :) and yes the corks are tough to open without a crumble or two. I suggest pushing them through early on if that happens and then decanting though a sieve. It doesn't affect the flavour. Allow 20 mins for the wine to open up and enjoy. I didn't decant many as i didn't think they needed to breath just watch out at the bottom as there is usually some sediment left. If you stand the bottle up for 24 hours before opening you shouldn't need to decant it. I will buy some more when the coffers have recovered, if it hasn't all gone by then. "

I would recommend this wine

"This is definitely one to drink now. I’m not sure it will get any better. Both corks crumbled on exit, but with careful decanting through a filter and an aerator a couple of hours before this made for a sophisticated and nicely aged bouquet. The fruity depth and ruby like like colour made it a delight to drink. I’ll be stocking up with more and sure to drink them quickly. Good value imo."

I would recommend this wine

"A decent drop with the Christmas lunch. Perfect condition and a good-value buy."

I would recommend this wine

"Dreary, decomposing disappointment. "

"We have drunk Coufran off and on for decades and always pleased with it. We didn’t decant & glad we didn’t. The first glass was very closed, with a bit of air it then blossomed into a very good drop of claret, but then after an hour or so it then faded. Showing its age I suppose. I can therefore understand the very mixed reviews, drunk with the right amount of air it’s very good, but too little or too much & it’s a bit tasteless. 4stars for the bit in the middle."

I would recommend this wine

"We've had two bottles so far over the Christmas / New Year period and on both occasions the wine was excellent, lovely and smooth with a nice finish, a good aged colour and an attractive nose. I reluctantly take off one star because of the fragile cork situation noted in other reviews, but if you're careful and patient when opening the bottle you shouldn't have a problem and at worst you can put the wine through a tea strainer or suchlike. For £19 you will be hard pressed to find a old claret from any excellent vintage."

"Having left my first review on 3rd December, I am feeling a little guilty I might be at least partly responsible for a few disappointing experiences over the Christmas festivities. I'm sorry! It seems clear from our collective responses that when this wine is still good, it is very, very good, and when it is bad it's horrid ... and there seems an element of pot luck in who had which. After having so enjoyed (almost all) our first case, I ordered a further six bottles, with much less success and have now returned most of the case. But for all this, and after nearly 40 years of perhaps too active membership, I am still full of praise for our unique Society. Within a few days of posting my initial review (something which I hadn't done before) , I had a personal e mail from TWS promising to look into the cork issue (even though not other member had raised it at the time), and I was given a credit note for the one bottle which I had noted to be slightly tainted (even though I hadn't asked for one). When, today, on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, when I am sure our staff would have preferred to be at home, I received the usual courteous service, and instant acceptance of the problem, when I discussed returning the remaining bottles. Membership remains a privilege. A happy New Year to you all!"

"Opened this 6 hours before the Xmas turkey lunch . Didnt decant. pefect claret for Xmas - classic good-with-food claret . At a quality/price point that made me relcuctant to pass it down the table , but didnt make me irritable when I finally did"

"'Over the hill' , tasting like cheap plonk . The only attractive thing about this wine was the date on the label '2001' Ordered 2 bottles for Christmas dinner. Big mistake. Decanted the 1st bottle 2 hours ahead and thought "hope that gets a lot better" , the 2nd bottle cork crumbled and left me trying to extricate the bottom half which then disintegrated and required me to try and fish out the broken cork. Drank it with lunch BUT gave up on 2nd bottle and switched to some WS Broilly as a reliable accompaniment. Very disappointing taste, thin, no 'grip' . tasted like cheap plonk. Oversold Marketing BS from the WS I'm afraid. Will be asking for a refund "

"Have been a member for 20 years and this is the first time I have had to return wine. Bought three bottles and as with other comments the cork disintegrated in opening the first. The family agreed the wine was undrinkable and it was poured away. I will return the remaining two bottles."

"I'm a novice Claret drinker and this was a superb introduction and loved over Christmas dinner, so much so that it made our normal day to day wine we drink taste too erm, immature! I will definitely buy this again for special occasions."

I would recommend this wine

"Was on the table for Christmas lunch, extremely disappointing. "

"I would advise against taking a gamble with this wine. Two of the six I purchased were corked and undrinkable. I'm returning the others for a refund."

"This wine is the biggest disappointment I have had from The Wine Society. I opened two bottles to go along with our Christmas, roast beef and both were dreadful! It is very poor value indeed and, from previous comments as well as my own findings, the producer has a problem with "corking" and possibly also; sanitation. The Society has hyped-up this wine to a misleading degree."

"This wine was on the table Christmas Day. Big mistake sad to say. My first disappointment from the Wine Society and members reviews. As it happens the corks were ok (see other reviews)"

"I ordered 6 bottles of this wine to go with our fillet de boeuf en croute on Christmas Day. We opened two and the corks disintegrated - literally crumbled, the third bottle we managed to get the cork out by being extremely careful, but the wine was undrinkable! I still have to bottle which I will not attempt to open. That makes 5 bottles - and the sixth I gave to my brother in law (also a wine society member) and had the embarrassment of ringing him up to find he too had had trouble opening the bottle and after putting it through his wine strainer, did not drink it! But was too polite to tell me!"

"I had ordered two bottles before reading the 25.12 posts. Had these been available before I ordered them I would probably not have ordered them. However in the light of these comments,I was careful in opening both bottles but have to report that both were corked and undrinkable. Probably passed their "Best Buy" date.A great shame as they were a gift for our family Christmas meal. I cant recommend this wine and am seeking a refund"

"Take utmost care when opening - as others have said, the corks are extremely flimsy. That said, the wine is anything but; this is majestic mature claret with plenty of complexity and great balance. I would imagine it won't improve so would recommend drinking rather than holding. Excellent."

I would recommend this wine

I would recommend this wine

"The cork disintegrated and had soaked up wine. It tasted like petrol and may well be the most 'corked' bottle I've ever opened. However, it s also the only Wine Society bottle I have ever found to be corked."

"My Christmas wine this year for the drinking red. I can echo issue about corks - be very careful. Drink now, risk too great to leave till New year ! Followed advice, decanted and let stand overnight, definitely improved and voila 2 bottles gone pretty quick. Have got production line going so enough bottles ready for tomorrow. "

I would recommend this wine

"Pretty good, but needs drinking now. Echo the comments about the cork, we had this for a dinner last week, and several had disintegrating corks. Wine was fine though."

I would recommend this wine

"Against most reviews I found this very disappointing based on the reviews and TWS hype - tasted like it was well past its best and/or corked. Bought 3 - retuning two."

"Ch Coufran makes some pretty good wine. One of my most memorable was in the County Hotel, Newcastle in the late 70s. Alone on business, having dinner, I looked through the wine list. In the bin ends was Ch Coufran, possibly 1969. It was excellent. it was cheap. Brightened up Newcastle, for a while. This 2001 version is good. A little astringent on opening, but opens out after an hour or two. Mature, but not yet on the slide. Very nice with red meat, ham, chicken. No problem with the cork. We have another 5 bottles to get through so we will see. Very little sediment, less than I expected. I tend to think that some red wines are being over filtered as people do not like sediment? Allocating stars is a conundrum. Do I rate it as Ch Coufran*, or as a cru bourgeois, or against my "best ever" (Ch Palmer 1961, so probably not), or price/quality rapport? I'll go with value for money and call it the lower end of "4 stars". *We had a case of Ch Coufran 2009, but we drank it all up a couple of years ago. It was very good, although we should perhaps have waited!"

I would recommend this wine

"Disappointed when I first tasted this, seemed a bit flabby. Tried it again after being opened 24 hours and it was transformed, a very nice wine for the price, have to be a bit careful with pulling the cork."

I would recommend this wine

"This was a typically excellent wine society find which more than matched its billing. My only caveat, having bought a case for a dinner party (for the young!) , is that so far 10 out of 11 corks have completely disintegrated on uncorking, so the utmost care was needed when opening and decanting. Remarkably, the wine was completely unaffected in almost all the bottles (just one showed some early signs of corking). It was so popular, and undoubtedly excellent value for money, I am about to top up our cellar with another case, but would be interested to hear if anyone else has had a similar problem with the corks? "

I would recommend this wine

"Bought ten bottles based on the fact it was relatively old. Hadn't realised it had a cru bourgeois classification, which is a bonus. It has a very clean palette and I would say the description above is right on the money. I am going to drink a few over Christmas and maybe leave a few for a while for longer yet. "

I would recommend this wine

"This stunning and works wonderfully with beef dishes.A great value red and staggered at how well it drinks!! Try it"

I would recommend this wine

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