Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

With New Zealand rack of lamb, roast potatoes, green beans and designer (long and skinny) carrots.

Youthful maroon with no bricking. Pleasing ripe berry fruit on the nose. Developing some complexity with leather & bilberry/wild fruit notes. Savoury entry on the palate with a thrillingly grippy-ness and raspy tannins, now on the back foot, this has a (down to) earthiness and damp soil. It also has lavender, tobacco, pine needles and pine needle floor enleaving the Margaux berries. This has a powerful dense, intense and raspy mid-palate, which is rather invigorating, complementing the abundant ripe dark fruits.

Smooth is not an adjective that would not sit comfortably with this wine at its current juncture, it is still a bit of a rough diamond. However another five years could do it a lot of favours. It could tame its wild side and allow it to develop more complexity and mellow a bit. Great potential. Definitely accessible today, but the 1996 is more together right now. Both have scope to scale greater heights and neither can compete - yet - with the 1989, the Holy Grail of Cantermerle. I took delivery of three bottles of the Berlin Wall-down-vintage today. My guess is that the 2005 vintage has the best chance, among recent vintages, of emulating the Lafite-like greatness of the 1989.

Give it time and soon it'll be as smooth as me in silk pyjamas

What a legend!

My brother had a white Persian cat dedicated to this legendary crooner- 'Barry' White

And the Cantemerle sings:

Do,
Do do, do do.

Do do do do,
Do do, do do

Well done Comte.
It's bizarre, but Barry in silk pajamas evokes very strong memories of great Bordeauxs of the past, in particular, 1986 Pichon Lalande and 1990 Gazin….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0I6mhZ5wMw

1989 Cantemerle was indeed great, but I have not drunk it for probably ten years. It is still available for not much more than $100. Is it worth that much, Ian?

I loved the 89 in DC '16.

I got some pristine-looking bottles recently for $87 all-in on WineBid, which I consider a steal.

Stefan - based on the bottle we had enjoyed a few weeks ago I would say absolutely yes. I just took delivery of three more, the only ones I could find in the UK. I think I paid £215 all in for three. At the pre-Brexit exchange rates that would work out at a bit over $100 a bottle.

100$ for 1989 Cantemerle? Go for it stefan, a great steal! Same price for the 1990 Sociando is even better, the steal of the century.

I wish we could have prices like that in Canada... What do you think about that dstgolf?

Nic

Ian, has the 1989 still this irresistible, lovely touch of port-like sweetness as in earlier days?

Hi Rudi

Not really anymore. What marked the wine out for me was its lightness in its feet and the refinement of the palate, which reminded me of the Lafite and Margaux.

Plenty of impressions in this thread. Jim I hope you don't mind me copying in this thread.

http://wine-pages.com/community/threads ... post-28201