TN: Medoc 1996s in London a 30 year appraisal

[KevinH]

Eight of us gathered at Piccolino’s in London to taste some 1996 Medoc wines in their 30th year. Food was simple, charcuterie, steak and French fries, followed by cheese. It was all about the wines. And it was a great opportunity to try some 30 year old Medoc wines from Margaux, Pauillac and St Julien in particular.

These wines are still drinking quite young. The wines from Margaux were the most exotic with violets intermixed with cassis, the Pauillacs were full of cassis and a touch of blackcurrant leaf while the wines from St Julien were the most complex with tobacco, leather and cedar all there. In all a very classic Bordeaux vintage of the old school. Apart from a slightly corked Ch Leoville Las Cases they all showed really well. The Champagne and Sauternes were interesting too and from the same vintage.



Champagne

1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Millésime Blanc - France, Champagne
Not much of a pop, nor much fizz on pouring, just a faint few bubbles. Golden colour. Honeyed nose with apple, a bit like a mature chenin. Mix of honey, apple and a little orange in the flavour, some dried fruit. Still drinkable and interesting. (89 pts.)

Margaux and Southern Medoc

1996 Château Rauzan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
A mix of cassis, red plum and violets on the nose. At first quite matt and a little closed but it opened up. Youthful black fruited wine, a bit of leafy cassis develops, good wine but showing quite young for me, needs a few more years but should come good. (92 pts.)

1996 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Bold youthful cassis but a bit of tobacco too, good ripe fruit aromas with a bit of complexity. Dense cassis fruit, a hallmark of this vintage, still a fair amount of tannin, linear, but good depth of fruit. Opens up to be a bit more nuanced, more tobacco showing, very fine, still a few years off its peak I think. Classy wine. (93 pts.)

1996 Château Cantemerle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Second time in a month with this wine. Held itself well against some classy wines and not outshone. A great Cantemerle, cassis nose, sweetly fruited, shows some maturity. Still a bit of beef stock but opens up into blackcurrant and lovely creamy cassis. The nose, especially, is superb. Not the best wine tonight but the most ready for drinking now. (93 pts.)

Pauillac

1996 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
I’ve had this a few times and it is a really good GPL. Creamy cassis nose, hint of beef but that fades. Drinking very well, rich creamy blackcurrant fruit, simple, uncomplicated but very fine. A classic Pauillac with time in hand. (92 pts.)

1996 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Textbook Pauillac in a great vintage. Intense cassis nose with a hint of smoke. Bold blackcurrant fruit that opens up well in the glass. Great depth of fruit, creamy, with a sweetening finish. Time in hand but drinking very well. (94 pts.)

1996 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Very black fruited, beef stock nose, just a bit of cassis showing. So young. Black fruit, bit of liquorice, just starting to show a bit of cassis. Beefy. There is a great wine in the making here but it tasted some way off maturity for me. Needs more time. In a decade this could be stunning. (92 pts.)

Saint Julien

1996 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
My third time trying this wine and the best so far. Big blast of cassis on the nose, simple but good. Still a bit young and beefy with some red fruit mixed in with blueberries. Quite tight and tannic but it did quite a lot of development in the glass. Very drinkable by the end, very classic claret with nice depth of fruit. (93 pts.)

1996 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Nose is quite leafy, tobacco, hint of beef stock on the nose, some red fruits lurking at the back. Flavour has a bit more cassis, quite tannic still and a bit unyielding. Fruits developed but the tannin still there, a touch dry on the finish. Good acidity but a touch austere still, beef stock develops more as it opens up, for me a sign of a wine that is still drinking young. I think it needs more time. (91 pts.)

1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Beautiful nose, so fine, cassis, tobacco, leather armchairs, dried currants. Long rather than deep flavours, cassis, sandalwood, more tobacco, really complex with a great finish. Some tannin, so a long life ahead but drinking really well. This is a serious, complex, evolving classy wine. Best of the tasting for me. (95 pts.)

1996 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Very leafy nose. Gets worse and a bit musty, sadly slightly corked. Just realised, in writing this note, I once had a case of this but sold it in 2013. I have no recollection of that at all! (FLAWED)

Sauternes

1996 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
I only got a quick taste of this as I had to leave for my train. Dark colour, nose of almond, beeswax and barley sugar. More of that in the flavour, fully mature on this showing, moderate sweetness. Needs drinking. (89 pts.)

My top 3

Ducru Beaucaillou
Pontet Canet
Palmer

[JimHow]

Nice. That was the vintage of course that Parker called the best cabernet vintage in 50 years. Too bad about the LLC, that was the wine he described as "Wow! Wow! Wow!" If I'm not mistaken it's the wine I drank with Comte in NYC the first time I met him (or was it the PLL?).

[Comte Flaneur]

Nice. That was the vintage of course that Parker called the best cabernet vintage in 50 years. Too bad about the LLC, that was the wine he described as "Wow! Wow! Wow!" If I'm not mistaken it's the wine I drank with Comte in NYC the first time I met him (or was it the PLL?).

I remember well Jim - it was LLC and we also had a 96 Lagrange which ran the LLC close.

I was at the dinner last night with Kevin and others and it really was an absorbing and enjoyable evening. My take on the vintage is that the Medocs are mostly in the sweet spot now with a few exceptions like Palmer - but also the first growths - which could use a bit more time even though the vintage is now three decades to the good. I think Kevin prefers them slightly older than me.

Here are notes:

F1 Fizz

Moet Chandon Champagne Millesime 1996

Darkish colour and no bubbles, brown sugar, burnt orange/marmalade and some toffee notes. Really expressive, but I declined a second pour…90 pts

F2 Margaux & Environs

Cantemerle

Enticing nose of berries and cedar, less density on the mid palate than the bottle I opened the other day after Kevin’s Cantemerle dinner, but fully resolved, beautifully balanced and at its peak…92 pts

Palmer

This wine has taken a long time to come round – five years ago it was closed, and conspicuously more backward than Chateau Margaux 1996 – but this gradually unfurled during the evening and got better and better. It has a signature Palmer Margaux berry nose with cassis, cedar and cigar box notes, while it is structured and intense on the palate, but has notable finesse and a long finish. This wine should continue to improve over the next decade…94 pts

Rauzan Segla

Attractive berries, violets, and cedar on the nose with some mineral oyster shell overlay. Starts out slowly and is a hypothetical mix of its flight mates; it is a bit less open that the Cantermerle but with a bit more class, finesse and complexity. Not as backward as the Palmer it has entered its drinking window but has more upside. Quite a mesmerising wine…I went back for a second pour…93 pts

F3 – Pauillac

Grand Puy Lacoste

This wine has been drinking well for 15 years or more in my experience and continues to do so with super Pauillac nose with some cassis, cedar and incense. On the palate it is now fully resolved, with cool cabernet fruit, and a bit less grippy than it was, but it should hold on for several more years. An excellent GPL…93 pts

Pontet Canet

Like the bottle we had in October, nicely resolved old school claret with soy, saddle leather and a hint of brett and barnyard, which adds to its charm rather than sullies the overall experience. It is now more in the tertiary spectrum but has a few more years in hand…92 pts

Pichon Baron

Classical Baron entry with cassis and some coffee notes, with Pauillac leitmotifs of cassis , graphite and cigar box on the palate, it is now fully resolved, medium to full-bodied, and I thought had a little bit more finesse, precision and class than its flight mates...93 pts

F4 – St Julien

Beychevelle

Surprisingly big, full-bodied and backward for a Beychevelle, with tobacco/cigar box and earthy beefy notes, a bit ponderous and lacking in charm for a Beychevelle, but finishes quite well…91 pts

Ducru Beaucaillou

This just gets better and better with every outing, and is such a complete wine, with its captivating nose, power and intensity, finesse precision and complexity on the palate – with lead pencil, leather, cassis and tobacco notes – thrilling tension and its lingering finish. This is really getting in to its stride and is one of the top 1996s…95 pts

Leoville Barton

This wine is finally beginning to open having in my experience been frustratingly reticent for so long. It really spoke to me for the first time last night. Black pastille fruits and notable heft on the palate, still somewhat austere, but serious and satisfying claret, with cassis, cigar box cedar and minerals. A really good showing and my third placed wine…93 pts

Leoville Lascases

This is normally big, strapping, full-bodied, expressive, backward and tannic, and I knew we were in trouble with this as it was mute, blocky and wooden. After some time in the glass it became clear it was corked…NR

F5 – Sauternes

Lafaurie Peyraguey

Quite evolved with enticing bitter marmalade notes…91

[Comte Flaneur]

My rankings
1.Ducru - 95 pts
2. Palmer - 94+
3. Barton - 93
4. Baron - 93
5. Rauzan - 93
6. GPL - 92/93
7. Pontet - 92
8. Cantemerle - 92
9. Beychevelle - 91

[Nicklasss]

Very nice report. I would like to have access to that type of tasting here, but impossible.

1996 is one of my favorite Médoc vintage, and liked everything i had from that vintage. I think that 2016 is an improved 1996, as better in Médoc, but also Right Bank and Graves.

Last 1996 i had was the 1996 Lafite that Jim opened at his place last summer and it was just phenomenal. Also a 1996 Ducru Beaucaillou offered by JeanFred at one of our dinner, and it was excellent.

When i think about it, all the 1996 i liked, proving it is a great Cabernet vintage : Sociando Mallet, Cos d’Estournel, Montrose, calon Segur, Lafon-Rochet, Lafite, Latour, Mouton, both Pichon, Pontet Canet, GPL, Lynch Bages, Duhart-Milon, Clerc Milon, Armailhac, Gruaud Larose, the three Léoville, Ducru Beacaillou, Lagrange, Rauzan Ségla, d’Issan, Palmer, Cantemerle. The other i just can’t remember if i have taste them.

[stefan]

What a fun tasting!

For my taste, all of these '96s other than Palmer are in their peak drinking time. My favorites are Ducru and Baron, but all are very good and worthy of being the star of a dinner.

Note to self: Search for more '96 Medocs.

[KevinH]

I think the reason I still had some of these as young tasting is that a few had a slight beef stock note on the nose and were quite black fruited - both of which I generally see as markers of a young Bordeaux. In several cases (Cantemerle, GPL, Leoville Barton) that disappeared in the evolution in the glass meaning they were, for me, ready and open for business. In others (Beychevelle, Rauzan Segla and especially Pichon Baron) it remained throughout so I thought they needed a bit more time yet.

[DavidG]

Yumm, that’s a tasting I could get into! Shame about the LLC.
My remaining ‘96s are the Ducru, Barton and Las Cases.

[KevinH]

No rush with any of those.

[Claudius2]

Great tasting.
Pity the LLC was off but seemed like the others were all good.

What is notable is that after 30 years, a few are not at their peak and none appear to be worn out.

Cheers
Mark

[JCNorthway]

I have about two cases of mixed 1996s that I have been holding off on drinking. Sounds like it's time to enjoy them.