TN 1986 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Seemed like textbook aged claret. Base neck fill, cork separated 2/3rds the length but the end came out in one piece. Nice dark color. Mainly cedar in the bouquet, cedar and a vinous, winey sensation. The attack was of mild yet firm, dry tannin. Well-balanced and with plenty of flavor and body. No tail-off or fading over a couple of hours. Claret-scaled, nice wine that seems to have held up well over its 33 years.

[DavidG]

Sounds delish, Hound.

[JimHow]

Well done, Hound.
1986 was such a great vintage in the Medoc that even GPL made a decent wine, it is probably the best GPL of the decade.
I think the 1986 left bank rivals the 1982 left bank.

[Racer Chris]

I'd be willing to bet the '85 I had last month was better than the '86.

[JimHow]

The ‘85 GPL I had in Nashville with Nic was pretty good for a while during dinner but then it fell off a cliff.
It was pretty hard to make bad wines in the ‘80s but GPL was able to accomplish that feat.
I think the real decline in GPL occurred from about 1990 until 2014.
I think i had a good GPL or two from the 70s.
We know the terroir is there, it has just underperformed its terroir, like the guy from MacArthur's told us.

[JimHow]

Also, as Nic will tell you, the 1986 Leoville Barton trounced the 1985 GPL at a dinner in Napa back in 2002.
It was 18 years ago but instructive nonetheless.

[Nicklasss]

That dinner in Napa in 2002, where we had a blind tasting of 1985 GPL vs 1986 Léo Barton, has been exactly like the last Presidential election in the U.S.: the worst candidate won, and you'll never understand or know why.

I had the 1985 GPL and the 1986, and agree the 1985 is the better wine.

Nic

[Nicklasss]

Art, this is what I thought about the 1986 last summer:

1986 Chateau Grand-Puy Lacoste: this was an ok bottle. Ready to drink, I would not keep it longer. Bloody red color. Nice nose with something green, tea leave, light redcurrant fruit, redberries, sweet fruit too, and light cedar. In mouth, light, tannins fully resolved. Good ethereal fruit flavors, with some light licorice and light spices. Caressing but fragile. Very good but better days are behind. Seems light and a bit old for a 1986. Tn: 89-90.

And this is what JimHow thought about the 1985 (or is it an imposter that stole his avatar?), in 2016 in Nashville:

Nic brought a BWE legend, a 1985 Grand Puy Lacoste, the cork was in rough shape but it showed appropriate evolution. It was a great 1980s GPL, back in the days when they made good wines. It reached a great peak during the meal then started a slow fade. A real great Pauillac treat. 93 points.

But I agree with Jim that the 1985 faded quickly 75 min after opening.


Nic

[JimHow]

Thanks for your note on the '86 GPL, Nic, yet ANOTHER disappointing GPL note from a vintage in the golden decade of Bordeaux that should have blown you away.

[AKR]

As we often say in the old country, nothing is grand without grand puy lacoste.

[Jürgen Steinke]

!982, 1985 and 1990 are superior to the 1986 GPL. The well known Swiss wine critic René Gabriel opened a bottle of the 1985 last week and postet a note and a score on his website weingabriel.ch. He loved the wine and rated it 18/20. I fully agree.