Mostly Older Bordeaux

[MikeEvans]

I decided that a fitting first post here would be a recap of a terrific tasting in November, so here we go.

MOSTLY OLDER BORDEAUX - (11/5/2016)

A member of one of the tasting groups I belong to hosted a tasting in honor of his wife's birthday with an announced theme of Bordeaux. He outdid himself with his generosity, opening braces of 1961s and 1964s that he acquired on release and possibly a few of the other wines as well, and the rest of the group's contributions weren't too shabby either. It was a tremendous afternoon of friendship, fellowship, and great wine.

• 1961 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Drinking very well, with leather accenting ripe curranty fruit, it isn't showing its age and blind I'd be inclined to guess it was the 1982 (until I had a 1982 later in the tasting). (94 pts.)
• 1961 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Stunning intensity and complexity, loaded with fruit with some earthiness and leather buttressed by nice acidity. Showing magnificently well but with a lot of gas left in the tank. (97 pts.)
• 1964 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Corked. NR (flawed)
• 1964 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  Elegant, with ample red and black fruit that plays second fiddle to the intense tobacco, minerality, and lawn fertilizer complexity that make Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion my favorite Bordeaux. (95 pts.)
• 1966 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  A little floral, fresh crushed vine, spice, beautifully elegant and holding up well, but it was better 10 years ago. (92 pts.)
• 1979 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Very pure currant fruit, elegant, fading a bit, but still quite pleasant. (89 pts.)
• 1979 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  More black fruit, more youthful, and more intense than the Pichon Lalande, which I've generally found to be one of the wines of the vintage. I was quite impressed with how well this was showing. (91 pts.)
• 1982 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Still a baby, showing lots of black fruit and lots of structure. A little more blocky, youthful, and monolithic than some other bottles I've had, it could still use some time in the cellar. (94 pts.)
• 1985 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  A very unusual showing, this bottle was off and showing a lot of greenness instead of the pure red fruit I normally find in the 1985. As disappointing as the 1979 was surprising. (81 pts.)
• 1990 Château L'Evangile - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  Incredible, spice, rich plummy fruit but carried with great class, with ample but supple tannin lurking below. The best 1990 Right Banks are so exotic and beautiful but still subtle and balanced, the proverbial steel fist in a velvet glove wrapped in a silk handkerchief, and this is one of the best (95 pts.)
• 2002 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  From magnum, coffee, violets, and perfumed black fruit, it is drinking very well now. (92 pts.)
• 2000 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Slightly corked. NR (flawed)
• 1999 Château Moulin Saint-Georges - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  In a good place, but a little stemmy and simple, just outgunned today. (89 pts.)

[JimHow]

Wow! A Bordeaux Wine Enthusiast indeed!
Welcome to our site, Mike!

[AlexR]

Hi Mike,

I remember you kind invitation to dinner in Atlanta many moons ago, and I'm glad to see you here.

Fascinating range of wines. What it makes one wonder is: what is the sweet spot for fine Bordeaux?
Obviously, this is going to vary, but IMHO few wines deserve more than about 25 years.
Oh, of course there are exceptions, and great Bordeaux declines slowly and gracefully.
But there is that pesky notion of "peak"...

All the best,
Alex Rychlewski

[AKR]

old stuff indeed. thanks for sharing.

[DavidG]

Welcome Mike! Well done and thanks for a great report. That 1990 L'Evangile sounds like it's still a stunner. It was awesome 10 years ago - been that long since I've finished all my 1990s - couldn't keepands off.

I've e-known Mike since the Compuserve and Prodigy wine fora days, when a 1200-baud dial-up modem was a fast connection and there was no World Wide Web. I had a chance to finally meet him and some of the Atlanta crew a couple of years ago. We had a great time and dinner with a few wines that didn't suck. He's definitely got the BWE spirit of sharing and camaraderie.

[Nicklasss]

Great first post Mike and welcome to BWE.

The 1982 Chateau Lynch Bages might takes some more years, but I had it last summer and thought it was ready, complex and great.

Nic

[tim]

Thanks Mike. It is a shame the 1964 Cheval Blanc was flawed, that was my wine of the year last year. Truly spectacular when it is up to par and authentic!

[jckba]

I have had some variability with the 85 Lynch as well. Had a marvelous btl in Maryland 5 years ago in a 80's Lynch Bages vertical so when I saw that Max @ Wine Connection had some last year at $145/per on a Bdx odds and ends offer I pulled the trigger. The first btl was tired and underwhelming but here's to hoping that the remaining ones show better ...

[JimHow]

It's been years since I had the 1985 Lynch but I always remember that WS Wine of the Year as being something of a disappointment. I have it well behind the 89, 88, 90, 86, and 82 from that decade. It had that '85 elegance but was maybe too elegant, with not enough stuffing.

[robert goulet]

Mike please invite me to your next tasting

[JimHow]

The 1961 Lynch I've had a couple times, it definitely had that old school leathery, tobacco, coffee thing going on as I recall. Very rustic. A different animal from the modern Lynches starting in the mid-1980s.

The 1961 Ducru I had in Boston about ten years ago with SF Ed and a couple other BWEers. It was glorious then but I have no doubt it has continued to age well.

I always thought the 1982 Lynch was more like the old school Lynches than the modern Lynches.

Interesting note on the 2002 VCC, I wonder if the 2002 right bank, like the left, might not be underrated. It seems to me we have seen moe than one positive report from the right bank from 2002.

[robert goulet]

Jim...When I hear old school leather

You have my attention

[MikeEvans]

Thanks for the warm welcome, and it is great to see old friends like Alex and David.

Jim, I've found Lynch to have split personalities, with vintages like 1985 and 1990 to show more red fruit and elegance, while 1986 and 1989 are more dark, brooding, and show more tannic structure. 1982 has been a wild card, blending the two styles, though some bottles of the 1982 will show much more of one style or the other. Thie 1982 from this tasting showed more like the 1989 than most bottles I've had, while others have showed more like 1990s. I've never loved the 1988, but Inhaven't had one on at least a decade.

I don't have many reference points for 2002 or younger Bordeaux in general, as I took an extended hiatus from following wine discussion and from wine buying beteeen about 2004 and 2011. This VCC definitely piqued my interest in exploring more 2002s from good and non-spoofy producers (finding them may be the challenging part).