Bordeaux Tasting at Wine Watch

 "...Once upon a time, I drank a little wine,
 was as happy as could be..."

Get Down by Gilbert O'Sullivan

That's why we are so happy here at the Wine Watch, we're always drinking wine!! And we’re starting out the New Year with one of our favorite subjects Bordeaux.

The most expensive wines in the world come from this wine growing region located in the Southwest of France. 

Some of the cheapest wines in France come from Bordeaux as well and the wines are not as far apart as you would think in terms of the proximity from Pauillac to Bordeaux Superior!

You always want to look at the best real estate in town that is close by to the real expensive stuff as you get to enjoy the view at a fraction of the cost.  The same can be said about the appellations of Bordeaux like Medoc, Lussac St. Emilion, Premier Cotes de Blaye and other lesser known regions that are right next to the better known areas like Pauillac, Pomerol and Pauillac which you will pay big money for.

Join us as we explore the last few recent releases from the world's most famous wine region.  With over 300,000 acres of vines Bordeaux is one of the largest in size.  In addition to making some of the best red wines which Bordeaux is most famous for, they also make some of the most age worthy whites and arguably the best dessert style wines in the entire world in the Sauternes region.

We will have all three of these types of wines on the table this evening with close to 30 wines available from both the left and right bank.  This will be a serious education as well as a chance to stock up on one of the most cellar worthy wines in the world.

This is a walk around tasting and is limited to 35 tasters, Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be serving up a few small courses to accompany the tasting wines and the fee for this event is $45 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463. 

Bordeaux wine Tasting at Wine Watch
Wednesday, January 13th
7pm

Veritas

Chateau La Grande Clotte Lussac-Saint-Emilion 2010
Price: $35.00       Sale $30.80          Case $357

(90 Points) From Dany and Michel Rolland, ignore the humble pedigree of this wine, as it is always a beauty, and the 2010 is no exception. With honeyed citrus,-rich fruit, medium to full body, and loads of personality, this is one of the best value generic Bordeaux wines available. It is largely a blend of two-thirds Sauvignon Blanc and the rest Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. Drink it over the next 2-4 years.  Wine Advocate #205, Feb 2013

Chateau Maro de St. Amant St Emilion Grand Cru 2012 
Price: $22.50       Sale $19.80          Case $230

Another Thunevin wine with coffee, leather and a good amount of currant and cassis berry fruit, nice complexity on the nose.  A big and chewy wine with lots of plumy fruit, very rich and fruity with smooth round tannins, nice freshness, a good amount of spice and some earth on the finish 16 months in barrel 1/3 new 4.5 hectare property.  Finish 35+        Excellent

Chateau Tour Haut Causan Medoc 2008                               
 Price: $22.50      Sale $19.80          Case $230

a blend of 50/50 Cabernets Sauvignon and Merlot and this wine has a bit of evolution on the nose with a beef stew like quality, dark plum fruit with notes of tobacco spice and earth.  A light and savory wine on the tongue with smooth tannins and a nice hint of earth on the finish, bright fresh acidity.  Finish 35+        Good +

Chateau Baret Pessac Rouge Pessac Leognan 2009                          
Price: $29.75       Sale $26.18          Case $304

The blend here is Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon mostly with some Cabernet Franc, run by one of the Lurton family and this wine has a good amount of ripe forward plum and currant berry fruit with notes of dark bitter coco and spice, espresso, and a gravelly/mineral note.  A big and fruit forward wine with ripe round tannins and a nice balance and freshness to the finish.  finish 40+            Very good +

Ch Duluc 2nd Branaire Ducru St Julien    2010      
Price: $44.25       Sale $38.94          Case $452

 A bit of roasted coffee, fine herbs, plum and currant berry fruit, strong herbal notes here coming out also.   Nice plum and cherry fruit on the tongue with good structure and wonderful freshness through the finish, this wine much improved on the second day.  Finish 35+          Excellent

Chateau Bonalgue Pomerol 2006             
Price: $50.75       Sale $44.66          Case $518

Mostly Merlot, a good amount of fresh earth and tobacco spice, tobacco.  Smooth and silky texture on the tongue with a good hand of fresh earth, tobacco spice on the finish drinking very nicely right now, nicely balanced with good freshness on the finish.   Finish 40+ Very Good +   

Southern Wine & Spirits

Talbot Caillou Bordeaux Blanc Blanc 2012            
Price: $43.50       Sale $38.28          Case $444
                                               
Tasting note: 74% Sauvignon, 26% Sémillon. Matured for eight months in 35% new oak barriques, 35% one-year old barriques and 30% third fill. (03-Jul-2014) Jancis Robinson

Poujeaux Moulis 2008  
Price: $43.50       Sale $38.28          Case $444

Truffle, earth, cassis, licorice, smoke and oak aromas pair well with the medium/full bodied, soft textured, spicy, cassis filled finish. Poujeaux is a clear contender for one of the best Bordeaux value wines from the Medoc, year after year.    91 points - Tasted Feb 17, 2012

Read more: http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/haut-medoc-lesser-appellations/poujeaux/#ixzz3wVUhvLC1

Olivier Pessac Leognan 2011      
Price: $45.00       Sale $39.60          Case $459

Score: 91–94
This is very plump at the core, offering lots of citrus oil, almond, straw and melon rind notes, with plenty of brisk quinine and fleur de sel along the edges. Shows lots of range, with a lovely herb-driven finish.—J.M. WINE SPECTATOR

                                               
La Croix St. Georges Pomerol     2010     
Price: $87.00       Sale $76.56          Case $888

(90-93 points) "Rich, but very juicy, with lots of bittersweet ganache, cassis, linzer torte and dark spice notes driving from start to finish. The powerful finish has lots of flesh." (03/10) Wine Spectator:

                                               
Clos L'Oratoire St. Emilion 2003               
Price: $60.00       Sale $52.80          Case $612

Some blackberry and earthy fruit character with hints of herbs. Medium-bodied, with good fruit... Best after 2008." (03/06)

Lusseau St. Emilion 2009             
Price: $39.00       Sale $34.32          Case $398

(90 Points) The cellarmaster of all the Gerard Perse properties, Laurent Lusseau, makes a small quantity of hedonistic St.-Emilion from a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2009, which only has 13.8% alcohol (relatively modest by the norm in this vintage, particularly on the Right Bank), is a dark ruby/plum-colored wine with notes of sweet raspberries, black cherries and even a hint of strawberry jam. Some licorice, forest floor and underbrush are also present in this medium to full-bodied, silky-textured, lush wine, which is meant to be drunk in its first decade of life.  Robert Parker

                               
La Sirene De Giscours Margaux 2012      
Price: $37.50       Sale $33.00          Case $383

The second wine of Chateau Giscours this wine is a blend of Cabernet sauvignon (~55%), merlot (~40%), cabernet franc (~5%)

Connetable de Talbot St. Julien 2011     
Price: $40.50       Sale $35.64          Case $414

This is the second wine of Chateau Talbot and in vintages like 2011 these second wines are ready to drink upon release.  This is a very forward and easy drinking wine with a short finish.

               
Tronquoy Lalande St. Estephe   2008      
Price: $75.00       Sale $66.00          Case $765
                                               
(89 points) Medium/full bodied with notes of earth, stone, blackberry, black cherry and leafy, forest aromas. Still young, there is a nice softness to the fruit and the tannins. I'd give it a few more years. Produced from a blend of 50% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Petit Verdot.  - Tasted Jul 17, 2013

Read more: http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/st-estephe/tronquoy-lalande/#ixzz3wUo6iE6B

D' Armailhac Pauillac 2012          
Price: $69.00       Sale $60.72          Case $704

(90-93 points)  Features a solid core of anise and plum, with a briary frame and light tobacco shading that should emerge with time. Shows good substance and weight. Tasted non-blind. (4/2013) Wine Spectator

Stacole

Chateau St Jean Des Graves Blanc 2013
Price: $15.50       Sale $13.64          Case $159

Average vine age is 30 years, planted at 5,500 vines/ha and yielding 50 hl/ha. Soil is red sand/gravel over clay and limestone. Situated in the Graves region in a small village called Pujols-sur-Ciron, the Château is family-owned and has 9 ha planted with white grapes. Hand-picked and put into stainless-steel vats, cold-soaked for 12 hours followed by gentle pressing and fermented at 18 °C for 15 days, then left on fine lees for three months with a daily bâtonnage. No oak or malo and then a light filtration... Luscious, spicy, round with a tart finish. (10/2012) Jancis Robinson

Dom Courteillac Bordeaux Superior Rouge 2011
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16          Case $199

Stéphane DERENONCOURT. is the consultant here, a blend of 70 % merlot, 10 % cabernet franc, 20 % cabernet-sauvignon
Average age of the vines 25 ans.  Dark and deep color. Well developed, fruity and elegant aromas. The attack is round, firm and fruity. The wine is tasty, well balanced, silky and complex, with notes of small red fruits. The final is firm, long and elegantly oaked.

Chateau Teyssier St. Emilion Grand Cru 2011     
Price: $24.50       Sale $21.56          Case $250

(90 Points) "A wine showing lovely integration of fruit and tannins, with cedar, berry and hints of cocoa and hazelnuts. Full but balanced and very refined. Better in 2016 when it all comes together in the bottle, but very pretty now."  James Suckling

Chateau De Parenchere Raphel 2010       
Price: $24.50       Sale $21.56          Case $250

(88 points) A plump, fleshy style, with lots of plum skin, crushed currant and macerated cherry notes backed by a note of pastis that nags through the briary finish. Lacks a bit of refinement, with the plum skin edge lingering, but this is solid enough. Drink now through 2015. 15,750 cases made. Wine Spectator (2013)

Chateau Fourcas-Borie Listrac Medoc 2011           
Price: $28.50       Sale $25.08          Case $291

Easy drinking, forward styled Medoc, with a good nose, palate presence and it sells for a fair price. Uncomplicated and already open, this is a wine to drink over the 5 few years. The wine was produced from a blend of 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot.  87 points - Tasted May 20, 2014

Read more: http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/haut-medoc-lesser-appellations/chateau-fourcas-borie-haut-medoc-bordeaux-wine/#ixzz3wVCgicJj

Chateau Beau-Site St. Estephe 2005       
Price: $45.50       Sale $40.04          Case $464

Château Beau Site is located outside the village of St. Corbian, which is at the northern extreme of the St.Estèphe appellation. There are nearly 100 hectares of vines with a high average age of 35 years. The wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It is vinified traditionally and is then matured in oak casks (50% new) for 12-15 months.

La Fleur D'Or Sauternes 2011 (375ml)    
Price: $19.75       Sale $17.38          Case $202

This sublime luscious Sauternes is a very characterful sweet wine. Warm, dry vintage conditions have given a concentrated Sauternes, with rich peach and Victoria plum fruit accented by notes of honey, caramel and toast. The sweetness at the very start then gives way to a refreshing medium-dry finish.

Vine Craft

2013 Gazin Rocquencourt Blanc Pessac Leognan
Price: $39.00       Sale $34.32          Case $398

Gravelly mineral notes lemon and white grapefruit green melon and hints of onion skin and sea mist.  This wine seemed light and refreshing at first but needed a day to open up and is really amazing on the second day with tangy citrus fruit, green melon candy and that briny minerally nuance from the nose through the finish. I would like to try this in 10 years.  Finish 45+    Excellent +

2010 Chateau Aimee Medoc
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16          Case $199

Proof that there is value to be found on the left-bank of Bordeaux as well, Chateau Aimee is a gem discovered at Vinexpo 2011. After tasting through literally hundreds, if not thousands, of wines Aimee was a welcome, refreshing surprise. Aimee is a juicy blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet, which is a bit unusual for a left-bank wine. The relatively large helping of Merlot gives this wine a great sense of fruit, and the Cabernet keeps everything in check with solid tannin and structure. Wine Watch Review:Red currant and plum like fruit on the nose with notes of dried tobacco and coffe notes from an estate in the northern Medoc, a blend of 60/40 cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. Very full and rich on the palate with currant and plum cherry fruit very ripe tannins with notes of chocolate graphite and fresh earth on the finish nice length and fairly complex. Finish 40 Excellent

2003 Sarget de Gruaud Larose St. Julien
Price: $54.00       Sale $47.52          Case $551

This, the second wine of Gruaud Larose, provides value and drinkability for those looking for a classic though ripe St-Julien. Named after Baron Jean Auguste Sarget, one of the men who purchased the Gruaud-Larose property in 1812 and whose family managed the estate for the following fifty years. Over the next century, the estate would be divided, with a portion being controlled by the Sarget family. The estate has since been reunited and the château that Sarget built stands as the centerpiece of the property. The estate introduced the second wine in 1979 and produces approximately 16,000 cases per year. Wine Spectator gives this vintage 95 points and granted the 2003 grand vin 92 points; this is the second wine, a killer value.

2009 Chateau Grand Mayne St Emilion
Price: $82.50       Sale $72.60          Case $842

(93 points) Another St.-Emilion smart buy for consumers, Grand-Mayne has made a number of top wines (except for a short period when they had some TCA issues). This is a full-throttle effort filled with blueberry and black raspberry fruit, perhaps slightly more oak than oakaphobes would prefer, but a full-bodied, concentrated, ageworthy style. Sweet tannin, low acidity and ripe fruit suggest this well-made St.-Emilion should drink nicely for 15-20 years. Wine Advocate #199 Feb 2012

YES WE ARE SHOWING ALL OF THE ABOVE WINES AT THIS TASTING!!

Menu

Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche

Duck Confit Springroll with spicy mustard Sauce

Beef Empanadas

Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Slider

We have a GREAT selection of vintage Bordeaux in the store right how with quite a few selections available by the case from outstanding vintages like 1982 and 1986!

1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $895.00    Sale Price: $749.00
Quantity in Stock: 5

(96 Points) All in harmony. Deserves its reputation. Dark ruby. Smoke, black truffle, berry and cherry. Full-bodied, velvety and fine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2005. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Jun 30, 2001

1982 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou St. Julien
Price: $420.00    Sale Price: $300.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(96 Points) At a charity dinner in Charleston, SC, the 1982 Ducru Beaucaillou from my cellar was the only corked bottle out of twenty-two. A subsequent tasting revealed one of the all-time great Ducrus, probably matched or eclipsed by several recent vintages (i.e., 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008). The 1982 is still 5-8 years away from full maturity, but it exhibits a dense ruby/plum/garnet color to the rim as well as a sweet perfume of forest floor, spice box, cedar, and copious quantities of black fruits. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully pure with sweet tannins, this wine has aged more slowly than I initially expected. It is the finest Ducru Beaucaillou produced after the 1961 and before the 2003. With respect to the 1990, I do not own any of this wine, but it was the last of a series of vintages between 1986 and 1990 that were affected by the TCA-like contamination in the estate’s chai, which was completely destroyed and then rebuilt, eliminating the source of these smells. Not every bottle is affected by this, but I do not have any source for this vintage. Release price: ($140.00/case) Wine Advocate # 183, Jun 2009

1982 Chateau Haut Brion Pessac Leognan
Price: $1250.00    Sale $1100.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 points) I know Jean Delmas, whom I respect as one of the world’s greatest wine producers, has always thought the 1982 Haut Brion was similar to the 1959, but I have yet to see that. It seems to me the 1989 is closer to the 1959, another perfect wine and one of the all-time great Haut Brions. While the 1982 is a beauty, it has never hit the highest notes this vintage or terroir can achieve. Complex aromatics of scorched earth, smoked herbs, and sweet red and black currants are followed by a full-bodied, silky-textured wine, but I have never felt this offering has possessed the concentration, texture, or multidimensional personality found in such vintages as 1989, 1990, and more recent years. Nevertheless, this is essentially splitting hairs as the 1982 remains a superb Haut Brion. Seemingly less evolved than the 1990, it is capable of another 20-30 years of longevity. Perhaps there is something in reserve that will reveal itself in the next decade. Drink now-2035. Wine Advocate #183 Jun 2009

1982 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion Pessac Leognan
Price: $1200.00    Sale Price: $995.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

(100 Points) The greatest La Mission Haut Brion made between the 1975 and 1989, the 1982 is, stylistically, a dead-ringer for the ethereal 1959. One of the most massive wines of the vintage, it remains an adolescent in terms of evolution, but it can be drunk with great pleasure if it is decanted 2-3 hours in advance. A thick, unctuously-textured wine with massive richness as well as abundant notes of black fruits, truffles, creosote, scorched earth, smoke, and camphor, a colossal mouthfeel, a layered texture, incredible depth of fruit and glycerin, and copious, but well-integrated tannins that are largely concealed by the incredible amount of fruit. An old school La Mission, it is a tour de force that should continue to age effortlessly for another 40 years. A monumental wine! Wine Advocate # 183 Jun 2009

1982 Chateau Margaux Margaux
Price: $950.00    Sale $836.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(94) Of all the 1982 first-growths, Chateau Margaux has been the most variable from bottle to bottle. At the Philadelphia tasting, the bottle was maderized, the only truly bad bottle in the impeccable collection assembled by local wine connoisseur Randy Feinberg. From my cellar, the 1982 Margaux exhibits a dark, murky ruby/purple color with a touch of lightening at the edge. Earthy, truffle, black fruit, underbrush, cedar, and spice aromas are followed by a ripe, full-bodied, chunky wine. This fleshy, powerful effort is somewhat disjointed and rustic at present. Interestingly, I have had bottles that merited nearly perfect scores, and others that were typical of this tasting. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035. Wine Advocate #129 (Jun 2000)

1982 Chateau Mouton Rothchild Pauillac
Price: $1469.00    Sale Price: $1175.00
Quantity in Stock: 30

(100 Points) Opaque purple-colored showing absolutely no signs of lightening, Mouton's 1982 is a backward wine. Still tasting like a 4-5 year old Bordeaux, it will evolve for another half century. At the Philadelphia tasting, it was impossibly impenetrable and closed, although phenomenally dense and muscular. However, on two other recent occasions, I decanted the wine in the morning and consumed it that evening and again the following evening. It is immune to oxidation! Moreover, it has a level of concentration that represents the essence of the Mouton terroir as well as the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon it contains. Cassis, cedar, spice box, minerals, and vanillin are all present, but this opaque black/purple Pauillac has yet to reveal secondary nuances given its youthfulness. It exhibits huge tannin, unreal levels of glycerin and concentration, and spectacular sweetness and opulence. Nevertheless, it demands another decade of cellaring, and should age effortlessly for another seven or eight decades. I have always felt the 1982 Mouton was perfect, yet this immortal effort might be capable of lasting for 100 years! Readers who want to drink it are advised to decant it for at least 12-24 hours prior to consumption. I suggest double decanting, i.e., pouring it into a clean decanter, washing out the bottle, and then repouring it back into the bottle, inserting the cork, leaving the air space to serve as breathing space until the wine is consumed 12-24 hours later. The improvement is striking. The fact that it resists oxidation is a testament to just how youthful it remains, and how long it will last. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2075. Wine Advocate # 129 June 2000

1986 Chateau Beychevelle Saint Julien
Price: $175.00    Sale Price: $139.00
Quantity in Stock: 9

(91 points) Deep ruby/purple in color, with a sweet nose of black currants, earth, licorice, and mineral, the 2000 is relatively powerful and dense for the normally restrained and elegant Beychevelle. Medium to full-bodied, dense, and chewy, it is showing even better out of bottle than it was from cask. While it appears to be the finest example made at Beychevelle since the 1989 and 1982, patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020. Wine Advocate #146 Apr 2003

1986 Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac (high shoulder)
Price: $119.00    Sale $104.72
Quantity in Stock: 3

1986 Chateau Cos D'Estournel St. Estephe
Price: $215.00    Sale Price: $175.00
Quantity in Stock: 14

(95 Points) The 1986 is a highly extracted wine, with a black/ruby color and plenty of toasty, smoky notes in its bouquet that suggest ripe plums and licorice. Evolving at a glacial pace, it exhibits massive, huge, ripe, extremely concentrated flavors with impressive depth and richness. It possesses more power, weight, and tannin than the more opulent and currently more charming 1985. Anticipated maturity: 1996-2010.  Wine Advocate #95, Oct 1994

1986 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien
Price: $195.00    Sale Price: $164.00
Quantity in Stock: 15

(90+ points)  At 16 years of age, this wine continues to taste more like a 5 to7-year-old Bordeaux. The color is a handsome dark ruby with just a bit of pink at the edge. The wine exhibits sweet red and black currant fruit intermixed with wet stones, spice, and flowers. Medium-bodied and still moderately tannic, but very concentrated, this firmly structured, slightly austere wine has tremendous upside to it. By the way, this was the first vintage where I began to notice on some bottles the wet cement/damp cardboard aromas that were far more increasingly evident in the subsequent vintages, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. Interestingly, the last five times I have tasted the 1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou, they were totally pristine bottles. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2030  Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition   Jan 2003

1986 Chateau Figeac St Emilion
Price: $225.00    Sale Price: $185.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

1986 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Paulllac
Price: $3500.00    Sale Price: $2750.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(99 Points) The 1986 possesses outstanding richness, a deep color, medium body, a graceful, harmonious texture, and superb length. The penetrating fragrance of cedar, chestnuts, minerals, and rich fruit is a hallmark of this wine. Powerful, dense, rich, and tannic, as well as medium to full-bodied, with awesome extraction of fruit, this Lafite has immense potential. Patience is required. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030. Wine Advocate # 95 Oct 1994

1986 Chateau L'Eglise Clinet Pomerol
Price: $205.00    Sale Price: $169.00
Quantity in Stock: 12

(90 Points) This wine has become a bit more attenuated with cellaring, and yet while it tastes young and capable of lasting another two decades, I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as I once was. Nevertheless, it is an outstanding effort and certainly one of Pomerol’s top performers in this vintage that favored the Medoc. Still deep, dense ruby with some purple, the aromatics require coaxing from the glass. Notes of cedar, sweet plum, Christmas fruitcake, and black cherries and berries finally emerge with a hint of licorice and mushroom. The wine has excellent concentration, a medium to full-bodied, layered mid-section, and moderately high tannins in the finish. It was the relatively dry, hard tannins in the finish which lowered my score over previous tastings. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2020. Last tasted, 5/02.

1986 Chateau Margaux Margaux
Price: $695.00    Sale Price: $549.00
Quantity in Stock: 24

(98 points) A magnificent example of Chateau Margaux and one of the most tannic, backward Margauxs of the last 50 years, the 1986 continues to evolve at a glacial pace. The color is still a dense ruby/purple with just a hint of lightening at the rim. With several hours of aeration, the aromatics become striking, with notes of smoke, toast, creme de cassis, mineral, and white flowers. Very full-bodied, with high but sweet tannin, great purity, and a very masculine, full-bodied style, this wine should prove nearly immortal in terms of its aging potential. It is beginning to budge from its infantile stage and approach adolescence. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2050. Last tasted, 12/02. Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition Jan 2003

1986 Chateau Montrose St. Estephe
Price: $195.00    Sale Price: $159.00
Quantity in Stock: 10

(95 Points) Wonderful clean berry fruit with currant, light mint and mineral following through to a full, firm palate with long, silky tannins and a mineral, berry and spice aftertaste. Lovely wine. Firm. This is squeaky clean and beautiful. Enjoyable now but better to wait a few years still.--Non-blind Chateau Montrose vertical. Best after 2007. “JS Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2006

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac
Price: $995.00    Sale Price: $825.00
Quantity in Stock: 13

(100 Points) After stumbling over some wines I thought were high class Bordeaux, I nailed this wine in one of the blind tastings for this article. In most tastings where a great Bordeaux is inserted with California Cabernets, the Bordeaux comes across as drier, more austere, and not nearly as rich and concentrated (California wines are inevitably fruitier and more massive). To put it mildly, the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild held its own (and then some), in a flight that included the Caymus Special Selection, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23, Dunn Howell Mountain, and Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard. Clearly the youngest looking, most opaque and concentrated wine of the group, it tastes as if it has not budged in development since I first tasted it out of barrel in March, 1987. An enormously concentrated, massive Mouton-Rothschild, comparable in quality, but not style, to the 1982, 1959, and 1945, this impeccably made wine is still in its infancy. Interestingly, when I was in Bordeaux several years ago, I had this wine served to me blind from a magnum that had been opened and decanted 48 hours previously. Even then, it still tasted like a barrel sample! I suspect the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild requires a minimum of 15-20 more years of cellaring; it has the potential to last for 50-100 years! Given the outrageously high prices being fetched by so many of the great 1982s and 1990s (and lest I forget, the 1995 Bordeaux futures), it appears this wine might still be one of the "relative bargains" in the fine wine marketplace. I wonder how many readers will be in shape to drink it when it does finally reach full maturity? The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore. Wine Advocate # 106, Aug 1996

1986 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
Price: $275.00    Sale Price: $219.00
Quantity in Stock: 21

(94 Points)  Just now emerging from a very clumsy dormant period, Pichon-Lalande’s dense ruby/purple-colored 1986 still has the color of a 4 or 5 year old wine. This is the most tannic and backward Pichon-Lalande after 1975 and before 1996. The wine was completely closed down until just recently. The wine shows notes of cedar, black currants, earth, spice box, and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, very concentrated, intense palate with a still noticeable tannic structure, a relatively big, muscular style for Pichon-Lalande. Anticipated maturity: Now-2015. Last tasted, 5/02.  Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition, Jan 2003

1986 Chateau Talbot St. Julien
Price: $195.00    Sale Price: $159.00
Quantity in Stock: 12

(96 Points) A fabulous wine, and one of the two greatest Talbots of the last 50 years, this wine still has a very murky garnet/plum/purple color and a spectacular nose of sweet creme de cassis intermixed with freshly ground pepper, melted road tar, herbs de Provence, and beef blood. It is followed by an enormously concentrated wine of full body, layers of concentration and sweet tannin. The wine seems to be just hitting its plateau of maturity, where it should last for at least 10-15 more years. A prodigious Talbot. Anticipated maturity: Now-2020. Last tasted, 6/02. Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition, Jan 2003

1986 Vieux Chateau Certain Pomerol
Price: $250.00    Sale Price: $199.00
Quantity in Stock: 7

93 points Wine Spectator: "Big, generous and concentrated, supple in texture underneath the firm tannins, with distinctive black cherry, vanilla and smoke aromas and flavors that hold their own against a strong background of wood. This will age a long time; hold until at least 1995." (06/89)

1986 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes
Price: $95.00    Sale $83.60
Quantity in Stock: 1

(91 Points) The 1986 is a complex and elegant wine, with plenty of smoky almonds, peaches, and honeyed apricot fruit in the nose and flavors. In the mouth, the wine has a certain elegance, and perhaps not quite the punch one normally expects from Rieussec. Nevertheless, it is a compelling Sauternes that should age magnificently... The Wine Advocate