Talbot 1986, La Louviere 2000, Nairac 2001

[Blanquito]

I dunno about the rest of the country, but grilling weather has come to Colorado! Mid-50's-to-60 degrees in Fort Collins, and the Weber spitting and hissing in the back. Let's open some classic claret to keep the NY strips company. Oh yeah...

1986 Talbot
A classic wine, a golden oldie, a BWE favorite, a wine all Bordeaux lovers can agree on... this beauty didn't disappoint. A drop-dead bouquet which renders everything sensible in the wine world-- this is why Bordeaux is king. It's all there to be sniffed... sensed... imagined... campfire smoke, seasoned leather, sweet spice, dried blackberries, mashed blackcurrants, classy funk (a new oxymoron?), aged rock, Montecristo cigar, fresh dirt, ground violets, black tea... a 1st Growth bouquet. A wine which purrs, Why drink when you can sniff all night? The palate is wholly resolved and suave for an '86, with excellent grip, good fruit, and classy texture, with a bit of the telltale '86 iron showing up in the finish, but a less complex and layered than the nose. A 98-point bouquet (with wines like the '86 Mouton and the '90 Montrose reserved for 100 points on the olfactory scale), and maybe a 93 palate. Based on this bottle (which supposedly had excellent provenance), drink now and enjoy! 95 pts.

2000 La Louviere
Wow, a bird of a different feather. This Pessac shows young and borderline garish after the stately, buttoned-down, top-hatted Talbot. Seems radically different than my bottle from this summer, with a nose all caramelly from oak and candied from sweetness. The palate is much more middle-of-the-road and reminiscent of what I tried last summer, but still, it seems minty and modern. A bad pairing and I don't think this note does the Louviere justice. Okay, focus...It tastes plummy, grapey, pretty spicey, with hints of creosote, cinder and menthol. Excellent depth, not hard or closed, just young. Oak kicks in on the finish. I still believe in this wine, but its best days are to come. 90-91 pts.

Nairac 2001
Another peek at a Vintage of the Century. This is lovely. A textbook Sauternes bouquet of caramelized sugar, Madagascar vanilla, orange marmalade, goldenrod honey, buttercup flowers, and honey-roasted almonds. The attack is sweet and zesty, but on the lighter side finishing citrusy with nice lift and a lemony note. Seems a tad more advanced than other 2001 stickies, which can be quite primary and closed right now. While it may not have the depth to be transcendent, it is very good now and for another 15 to 20 years probably. 92 pts.

[Houndsong]

I haven't had it in several years but really liked the 2000 La Louviere. Dense but firm and, yes, ripe. I may have to try another soon. The 1998 is more austere.

[Ramon_NYC]

Drinking well over there, Blanquito.
Loved that '86 Talbot, a classic in a very good vintage.
Nice TN on the 2000 La Louviere. I'll keep an eye out.

[oldwinenut]

The '86 Talbot is one of my all time favorites and I am glad it showed well for you. This was my first Talbot and I have had a soft spot for the wine since then. I usually buy some in the vintages I like. The '00 is going to be great with a few more years in the bottle. I think the best since '86. The La Louviere '00 is a wine I have vacillated back and forth on. I ended up with several cases as a local wine merchant was dumping it a few years ago. I have had many bottles and have more and I am not sure that my experiences with it would make me rate it as highly as you. Maybe I opened them to soon?

[Blanquito]

The 2000 Talbot was excellent the one time I tasted it. Unfortunately, it's price has really gone up, so I don't own any. I wonder how the '82 Talbot compares to the '86?

My thoughts on the 2000 Louviere: it's gonna be good, in fact with an aggressive decant it shows well now (for my tastes). It has some warts to outgrow and there may be some bottle variation, but it has the depth to evolve further into something lovely. It wouldn't surprise me if some bottles show great now, while others need another 3-5 years. The 2000 vintage is starting to wake-up for some chateau, but it is still awkward in my recent experiences. I think a 90-92 point range is where the 2000 Louviere will remain, which is excellent value for money. I froze the remaining 2/3 of the bottle, so I'll thaw it later and give an update.

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks Patrick - Good showing for the Talbot '86, seems like it is at ist apogee now

"Aged rock"... "Madagascar vanilla" - getting a bit fancy aren't we? - Michael M eat you heart out

[Houndsong]

The Tabot is Precambrian or so. The Louviere is probably Quaternary in origin.

[Blanquito]

I was definitely channeling the vocabulary of Michael M last night...

[oldwinenut]

I have had the '82 & '86 multiple times. IMHO the '86 is the better of the two as it has the structure and backbone that the '82 dosen't. Early on the '82 was a joy to drink as the '86's were in their tanic shell, but for the last 7-10 years the '86 has been their finest wine. I haven't poped an '05 or '03 yet but the '86 eclipses them all. Currently my second place Talbot would be the '96 which I love because of the Cordier funk that I associate with all great Talbots. The '00 will be great and probably surpass them all but needs another 5-7 years in the cellar to reach those heights.

[DavidG]

Patrick, I felt like I was right there with you on that '86 Talbot note. It helped that I have had it and loved it many times. Sadly, my last bottle was consumed last spring. In fact, we had the '82 and '86 side by side at a dinner and tasting hosted by Tom in DC, and here are my notes:

1986 Talbot: Fill to within 1/4" of cork. Dark red core, minimal lightening at rim. Moderately intense nose with minimal barnyard, plenty of leather and game, pencil shavings,great sweet ripe concentrated fruit, excellent balance and length, retaining some mellow tannins, more structure than the '82 Talbot, should last many years, outstanding. (May 2010)

1982 Talbot: Fill to within 1/4" of cork. Dark red core, ruby red at rim. Great nose of sweet aged dark Bordeaux fruits, leather, earth, cassis, medium-full body, lush ripe fruit on palate with resolved tannins, nice balance, less structure and tannin than the '86 Talbot, long lush finish, outstanding. I liked this better than the '86 now, but was in the minority. (May 2010)

My last bottle of '82 Talbot was consumed in October, with almost identical notes.

[Houndsong]

I tried the 2000 La Louviere last night. I concur in some of Patrick's sentiments, with a proviso. On opening I was struck with the whole garish thing. Straight off the wine showed a lot more acidity compared to my impression of maybe five years ago. So much for 2000 being too ripe or low acid (which I never thought anyway and I'm not sure it was ever an opinion held by a sizeable proportion of people). The fruit was prominent and prickly. That must have been "baby fat" in my first bottle. It has plenty of sweetness to go with it though and I think it's just a matter of time. In fact, I decided to decant this and with some vigorous aeration at intervals, in about three hours this baby was not unworthy of the dinner table. It definitely lost a good deal of spikeness, gained a good deal of density and dark fruit flavors to go with the charcoal/graphite thing, and broke out some appealing band-aid aromas in the bouquet. Appropriate tannin. And I don't see where this is oaky at all. Actually, at one point I was vaguely reminded of the 2000 Lynch-Bages I had at Jim's this fall. Anyway I won't open another for five years or more. Plenty of material here for a 20-year wine I'd say. But it does point to the stages of evolution and that they're not linear or even unidirectional.

[AKR]

We finished our last split of the 01 Nairac [Barsac] over the weekend, and the SO kept checking to see if the bottle was really empty, like college students optimistically inspecting pizza boxes in a common lounge. It was really good, but sweeter than many others from its region. Doesn't have the exceptional acidity of Rieussec, Suduiraut etc. in this vintage, but its still a winner. Lots of complexity on the nose and palate.

A lovely wine from an estate that should probably get a little more attention. I've got an 86 on deck for sometime this year, when we have a dinner party or something. MichaelP's magnum of 86 Lafaurie Peyreguey -- which was brilliant -- inspired me to nibble on 86 again. Mostly I've been 'cleaning up' all the pre 2001 Sauternes, so I can rationalize picking up a few of the modern odd numbered years which all seem great in quality and value.