kirk wallace
kirk wallace
I had the opportunity to share some older (well, middle-age mainly) Bordeaux left bank bottles with a few friends the other night. We had 3 '88s, 2 '70's and 1 '81 and 3 '86s. Incredibly, not one corked, cooked or otherwise flawed. Just the highlights here:
'88 Margaux was clearly the favorite of the '88s; very impressive showing i thought. Utterly complete wine; still many years of development ahead, but definitely showing a vibrant youthful maturity. Think a confident recent college grad, without the brashness or over-confidence. Sweet fruit married with amazing structure. Intoxicating nose.
'88 La Mission, not so far behind, but not quite as compete. Nose is bench mark LMHB. I loved this.
'70 LMHB, definitely mature; i doubt it will get better and if you have any, my guess is drink in the next 3-5 years. most thought this was better than the '81 LMHB served next to it. Certainly a delicious mature Graves, but only for those who like fully mature claret. great complexity; mainly tertiary flavors with just enough secondary to keep it fresh enough for the dinner table.
'81 LMHB, i actually preferred (just) to the '70. lighter than the '70, but i thought it fresher and with a more interesting, less decaying nose and a better, more complete finish. but also not a wine to hold for much longer
('70 Ducru was definitely past its prime; i haven't had a good one in a while, although i dearly loved it in the '90s.)
'86 Ducru was excellent as was '86 Cos, but I was fading; both seemed a bit softer than i anticipated.
I don't know if these houses' wines made in this century will offer the same delights 20-40 years on, but these 12.5% abv wines were delicious testements to time and place.
'88 Margaux was clearly the favorite of the '88s; very impressive showing i thought. Utterly complete wine; still many years of development ahead, but definitely showing a vibrant youthful maturity. Think a confident recent college grad, without the brashness or over-confidence. Sweet fruit married with amazing structure. Intoxicating nose.
'88 La Mission, not so far behind, but not quite as compete. Nose is bench mark LMHB. I loved this.
'70 LMHB, definitely mature; i doubt it will get better and if you have any, my guess is drink in the next 3-5 years. most thought this was better than the '81 LMHB served next to it. Certainly a delicious mature Graves, but only for those who like fully mature claret. great complexity; mainly tertiary flavors with just enough secondary to keep it fresh enough for the dinner table.
'81 LMHB, i actually preferred (just) to the '70. lighter than the '70, but i thought it fresher and with a more interesting, less decaying nose and a better, more complete finish. but also not a wine to hold for much longer
('70 Ducru was definitely past its prime; i haven't had a good one in a while, although i dearly loved it in the '90s.)
'86 Ducru was excellent as was '86 Cos, but I was fading; both seemed a bit softer than i anticipated.
I don't know if these houses' wines made in this century will offer the same delights 20-40 years on, but these 12.5% abv wines were delicious testements to time and place.