Mini 1986 horizontal

[mek]

1986 Saint Julien versus the big boys Saint Estephe: A mini horizontal.

Gruaud Larose
Deep garnet robe. Wow! What a wonderful nose. Concentrated. Cassis. Cedar. Graphite. Concentrated plum and blueberries on the palate with hints of tobacco.

By far and away my favourite of the four, a delight to drink, cedar, tar, tobacco finish. Great structure, concentration, balance and backbone.

96 points

Cos d'Estournel

The deepest colour of the four.

Deep, rich, foursquare. Tannic. Big. Powerful. Less fruit more earthiness and lead pencil on the palate. Bit of tobacco and graphite on the finish. No fruit.

92 points

Talbot

Garnet robe, narrow rim. Wonderful plum and sweetness of ripe fruits. Tar. Meaty. Herbs and spice with white pepper. Juicy on the palate, fine, not hard, tannins.

95 points.



Montrose.

Ruby/ garnet. Quieter on the nose with evidence of black fruits. Not as tannic as the Cos, still big, chewy.

93 points.

Saint Julien outclassed the Saint Estephes, with their alluring, mature, cassis notes, definition and character, and simple charm.

[JimHow]

Mmmm 1986 northern Medoc.
One of my top 4 favorite vintages.

[DavidG]

I can see how you fit in just fine with this group! I havent had them lately but your impressions match mine quite closely.

[stefan]

Ooh, nice horizontal, Maureen. Do you predict that G-L will still be ahead of Cos and Montrose in five years?

EDIT: I misread and thought your note was about 1996. I agree that the 1986 G-L is fantastic and will continue to hold for years.

[JimHow]

That '86 Talbot is a great wine as well

[mek]

Ooh, nice horizontal, Maureen. Do you predict that G-L will still be ahead of Cos and Montrose in five years?

Yes, I think there is enough stuffing in the G-L to continue to outclass the Cos and/or Montrose; for me, there is not enough fruits left to balance these big, chewy and tannic St Estephes. A function of the vintage?

[mek]

That '86 Talbot is a great wine as well

I agree, a real treat to taste the Talbot and G-L. I loved the G-L. I went back for second helpings.

[JimHow]

I'm a huge fan of the 1986 GL, I think it approaches the epic 82.

[JimHow]

I had the 86 Talbot one with some friends, matched up against some heavyweights from other vintages, including Mouton, and the 86 Talbot was the wine of the night. I don't recall all the wines we drank but my memory is that conventional wisdom would have considered the Talbot the lesser breed among the group, but it pulled off the big upset.

[Comte Flaneur]

Those impressions I think are consistent with what we enjoyed at Fabios in NYC in October 2008 and my experiences since.

The big over achievers in 1986 were Talbot and Rauzan-Segla. And then there is Gruaud-Larose. Those of you who were there may remember that we put these three in the same flight and the Gruaud out muscled the other two to take the honours, excellent as the Talbot and Rausan were. The G-L's defining quality for me was its mid palate density. Good bottles of Talbot have lavender notes. Rausan is just beautiful.

Regarding the St Estephes based on my experiences it is one of Cos's best ever wines. It is foursquare but brutal and thrilling at the same time. Montrose 1986 has widely been reported to have had a TCA problem.

[Claret]

I have singles of 86 LLC, Montrose, Lagrange, GL and Sociando Mallet. Agree Rausan Segla is a star.

[dstgolf]

86 holds a special spot being our anniversary date and we've enjoyed many of the 86s over the years but some are still showing that tannic backbone. G-L without a doubt is fabulous and one of our favourites. Rauzan Segla you've summed up well and the Pape Clement has served us some fond memories as well. Still waiting to pull the first growths for future celebrations. Maybe the Mouton this summer on our 30th. Last time about 5 yrs ago it was too early and have held off dipping in to the lineup. Any advise on how the Mouton is drinking now or do I wait some more time?

Danny

Thanks for the notes MEK

[Comte Flaneur]

Danny - for your golden wedding anniversary crack the Mouton. You both look in fine fettle, so it is worth the wait! Margaux? You may have to wait even longer...

Seriously I love 1986 Bordeaux. Not just the ones mentioned above.

Sociando Mallet, Beychevelle, Ducru, Figeac, Conseillante...the dirty little secret is that there are some great right bankers...Cheval Blanc which Alex served a few years ago was brilliant.

[JCNorthway]

Comte, so are you saying that the 86 Margaux is still tannic and surly? We were gifted a bottle of that for our wedding in 1989, and I passed on opening it for our 25th anniversary because of reviews I was reading. What is your take on that wine?

[Comte Flaneur]

Jon in my opinion Chateau Margaux is the greatest of all the 1986s, when it is on song. Unfortunately it can be variable and like Mouton and LLC is very backward. I think good bottles will easily last 100 years. In my experience it has done very well in comparative tastings. I was in a small minority preferring it to Mouton and Lafite at the BWE event in NYC in 2008. In a Margaux tasting in 2006 in easily outgunned the 1982 and 1983...but again I was in a minority. It really is hard core, in fact as hard core as it gets. Three and a half years ago Neal Martin's bottle of 1986 Ch. Margaux blew my bottle 1989 La Mission out of the water.

[Blanquito]

My top 3 at the 1986 Fabio's tasting (in order):
Mouton
Lafite
Rauzan Segla

But there were so many great wines that night: the Gruaud, Talbot, Pichon Baron, Beychevelle, Cos, and Margaux were awesome. The P. Lalande was not on top form and the LLC was slightly corked.