What are your 3 best ever young red Bordeaux

[Nicklasss]

Inspired by another thread, and knowing that Bordeaux producers told us in 2015 that a great red Bordeaux is good from day one to day.... what are your 3 best ever young red Bordeaux?

For me:
1. 2009 Chateau Pontet Canet (tasted in 2015 at the Chateau).
2. 2003 Chateau Montrose(tasted in 2004 at the Chateau).
3. I'll stick to a Chateau I like : the 2012 Chateau Léoville Las Cases made a great impression on the group, but especially on me (2015 at the Chateau).

Nic

[JimHow]

1. 2003 Pontet Canet, although it did not achieve the ultimate greatness I predicted. It was best young.
2.
3.

I need to think on 2 and 3, although that 2016 Siran was really nice.

[Blanquito]

Loved that 2014 Calon Segur you brought to BWE SanFran, Jim.
On release, a half bottle of the 2005 GPL was a wow wine.
The 1996 Leoville Las Cases was thrilling in 2008.

[JeanFred]

That a good question

Siran 15 was good saturday night but not as good as Other Margaux we had at the UGC Tasting 2 years ago.

1. At the UGC 2015, Brane Catenac and Rauzan was the best Margaux but my first pick is Rauzan Segla 2015.
2.

As Jim, I will think a bit

JeanFred

[Claudius2]

In my case, I'd have t pick some youngish Bordeaux I had some years ago, and indicate the approx age when I drank them.
I have excluded sips at tastings and limited this to times when I have drunk at least a few glasses of it with friends or family.

1982 and also 1983 Ch Margaux drunk in the early to mid 90's. Exotic, complex, and balanced even young. I wish I could find more at the same price now....
1983 La Mission HB, drunk arguably too young in 1990 but I can still taste it in my mind. Wow. I think the 83 was better than 82 for some Bdx producers, notably in Graves/Pessac and Margaux.
Either 1986 or 1990 Cos D'estournel. 1990 drunk on release, the 86 at least had a few years' bottle age.

Maybe a few honourable mentions would go to 2005 Giscours drunk a few times on arrival, 1990 Latour drunk in (I think) in 1994, which was much more fruity and open than I expected, and 1990 LLC.

I have been to a few large tastings here of 2009s and 2010's, but I really did not drink enough of them to get a full picture but I hope that they will be as good as the best vintages from 1982 to 1990.

Jim
I somehow expected to see 1989 Lynch Bages as you favourite though maybe it wasn't a young wine when you first tried it.
I was also a little surprised at the 03 PC but I do agree that it was very nice on arrival, as was the 03 Montrose.

[RPCV]

I'll play:

1982 Château Beychevelle

Purchased at the CdG airport of all places and consumed in the African bush by pushing the cork through

1989 Lynch Bages

Still the best wine I've ever had but I only have 2 left.....

2005 Bard Haut

A true slut

[Racer Chris]

I don't have to look back very far to find my choices, particularly since I started buying Bordeaux only 5 years ago.
2010 Grand Puy Lacoste
2014 Calon Segur
2010 La Dame de Montrose
Honorable mention goes to
2014 Leoville Poyferre
2014 Grand Puy Lacoste
2015 Cantenac Brown

[DavidG]

1982 Haut Brion
1989 Haut Brion
1990 Margaux
All drunk within a year of release. Back when they were all affordable.

I’m surprised at mention of 1989 Lynch Bages. I just wasn’t able to see into the future with this wine. All my early tries had me wondering if I’d made a mistake going deep on it. There was tremendous power lurking but no joy. Everyone with more experience told me to wait, and they were right.

[SF Ed]

Back when I was a newbie, in 1996 or so:

1990 Angelus
1990 Montrose

And in about 1997 (on release):

1990 Yquem

I liked wines a lot younger then. I could have better young Bordeaux, but I don't think I'll ever enjoy young Bordeaux as much as I enjoyed those 1990s.

SF Ed

[SF Ed]

I just re-read the question and it did say "red". F it - the 1990 Yquem was that good on release.

[jal]

1990 Lynch Bages drunk in 1994
1990 Forts de Latour drunk in 1995
1996 2nd wines of LLC, PL, Lafite were all delicious in 2000 - so Clos du Marquis, Reserve de la Comtesse, and Carruades de Lafite. If I had to pick, I'd say the Clos du Marquis

[JimHow]

Well done on the 1989 Lynch, RCPV, I only have one bottle left myself.
Yes, the '89 Lynch was amazing in the late '90s when I first started getting into Bordeaux.

[OrlandoRobert]

These were epiphany wines for me back in 1993/94:

1990 Lynch Bages
1990 La Louviere

They were beautiful as babies and have loved them throughout maturity. The La Louviere is an all-time great QPR as well.

Will need to think about that third one.

[Blanquito]

1982 Château Beychevelle

Purchased at the CdG airport of all places and consumed in the African bush by pushing the cork through

Like your style!

[Blanquito]

The challenge for me is I didn’t start buying good wine until 1995, and then I only had a grad school stipend to work with.

So the first wines I could try on “release” had been on the shelves a few years, and I couldn’t afford the big names. But there were tons of inexpensive claret from 89 and 90 back then and I was very happy drinking the likes of the 1990 Belgrave, the 1989 Tour St Bonnet, 1990 Fourcas Loubaney, 1989 La Gurgue, etc.

But the wine that really wowed me in that era, and which became my first case purchase ever at $18/per, was the 1989 Meyney. That wine went from strength to strength for years, and well stored bottles are still going strong.

In subsequent years, I rarely drank my bordeaux young, so even though I went pretty long on 96 and 00 bordeaux, I largely just laid these down for a future date.

I did try enough young though to realize though how special the 1996s seemed when young, even if they clearly needed lots of time. I can readily call the 96 Left Bank the most impressive young vintage of bordeaux I’ve ever encountered, a statement I think is still true even including the 00, 05, 09, 10 and other vintages of the millennium.

[marcs]

I have a hard time separating how great a wine was objectively from when I tasted it in my personal wine evolution -- do the 2000s stand out in my memory so much because they were truly among the greatest young wines, or just that they were the first super seconds I tasted young from a great vintage? But anyway, 2000 Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages made a lasting impact for me, tremendous young wines.

Tasting the 2001 Conseillante young made me a lifetime Conseillante fan, just tremendous charm and grace and a light touch that I have unfortunately found rare among right bankers in the years since. It's continued to be an excellent wine but perhaps not quite as charming as in its younger days. Also had a 2015 Conseillante young back in 2018 that I loved, and bought half a case of -- we'll see if that holds up.

The 2009 Malescot Exupery was a real knockout when it was young (like 2011-2013 or thereabouts) but in recent years has not lived up that. It was super intense and fruity in a delightful way young but now seems overextracted, we'll see if it comes back.

But the wine that really wowed me in that era, and which became my first case purchase ever at $18/per, was the 1989 Meyney. That wine went from strength to strength for years, and well stored bottles are still going strong.

I

Had some recent bottles of the 89 Meyney, I think I posted here about it, and they were fantastic -- really amazing when you consider that it is not a top classed growth. Great complexity and elegance if not quite the depth of fruit of the top chateau. Still have two bottles left I got from the secondary market.

Interestingly the 1990 Meyney was not so good, pretty mediocre in the bottle I had actually.

[stefan]

1989 was one of the best ever vintages of Meyney. It is nice to know that it is still good.

[OrlandoRobert]

I’m an idiot for my oversight.

Thanks Pat and Stefan! It was the 1986 Meyney. The best QPR in the history of wine, IMHO!

[Comte Flaneur]

My top three actually four favourite young Bordeaux tasted at age five or less date order

La Conseillante 1990 (at the estate with the owner Jean Nicolas in 1993)
Ch Margaux 1996 (in London April 2001)
Ch. Margaux 2010 (with Paul Pontallier in London in May 2013)
Lafleur 2015 (in London poured by Mademoiselle Guinaudeau February 2018)

[Musigny 151]

1. Mouton 2016.
2. VCC 2005
3. Latour 2005

Honorable mention Pichon Baron 2005.

I have high hopes of the Mouton, I can’t remember tasting a young better wine. The VCC quickly ind tasted last year from half bottle is beginning to fulfill some of the promise it showed young. I remember being mesmerized by the young Latour in barrel, and soon thereafter from bottle, but I have not tasted it since.

[JimHow]

Good stuff, Musigny 151, hope you are safe and sound (in Sleepy Hollow?).
We'll have to uncork a fine northern Medoc or two at some point in the not too distant future....

[Nicklasss]

1982 Château Beychevelle

Purchased at the CdG airport of all places and consumed in the African bush by pushing the cork through

Like your style!

Clearly an addition to make to my bucket list. Thanks for the insight RPCV.

And thanks guys for your answers. Very interesting. Other BWEers, what about U?

Nic

[Nicklasss]

1. Mouton 2016.
2. VCC 2005
3. Latour 2005

Honorable mention Pichon Baron 2005.

I have high hopes of the Mouton, I can’t remember tasting a young better wine. The VCC quickly ind tasted last year from half bottle is beginning to fulfill some of the promise it showed young. I remember being mesmerized by the young Latour in barrel, and soon thereafter from bottle, but I have not tasted it since.

Musigny 151, very interesting, after what you posted on the 2003 thread. I'm believing 2005 is a phenomenal vintage. Looking forward to open my next bottle, in like what... 5 years?

Nic

[AKR]

1990 Lynch Bages drunk in 1994
1990 Forts de Latour drunk in 1995
1996 2nd wines of LLC, PL, Lafite were all delicious in 2000 - so Clos du Marquis, Reserve de la Comtesse, and Carruades de Lafite. If I had to pick, I'd say the Clos du Marquis

That's funny I was just thinking how amazingly good that 96 Reserve de Comtesse was in its youth. It ran out of steam by age 10, but really good early on.

Another wine that was fabulous in its youth - it won a beauty contest we held once - was the 2000 Roc de Cambes. I had many bottles over the years, but they never quite compared to that Kerry Wood like entrance.

I also really loved the 2003 Montrose early on, but it seems to have had some differing development paths for folks.

[Harry C.]

1989 Ch Haut Brion- smooth, rich, brilliant (drank at 10 yo)
2000 Ch Margaux at the Chateau-first ever 100 point young red wine I've ever tasted
1990 Angelus-this wine was the best argument that Parker was right on with his Bordeaux reccs and my taste- ( but he did occasionally miss like with the 86 Haut Brion)

[JoelD]

I have yet to commit to drinking any really good bordeaux young.. the closest I have done is the 2005 Pavie in 2018 which is supposed to be fairly backwards.. and I love that wine. Big and great with awesome tannins that integrate perfectly with an hour in glass and a big ribeye. Was able to snag a couple cases at $245 a bottle. Really looking forward to watching them evolve.

I will quite likely break that rule and try some 2016 Calon Sagur soon though, really looking forward to that wine and bought about 15 bottles of it

[stefan]

The best two young La Lagune, which are at least among the best young classified Bordeaux I have drunk, are from 1985 and 1996. The 1996 was so good at age four that I thought it might not hold for a long time, but it is still going very strong. Well stored bottles of the 1985 are still very good.