TN Jason’s 85 Claret @ Noizé

[Simon Grant]

second visit to Noizé this week, and another very successful one. Thanks to all around table 2, and to Jason for organising. One where the hierarchy pretty much held true bar an impressive late entry from the Cru Borgeois.

JASON’S 85 CLARET @ NOIZÉ, TABLE 2 - Noizé, London (02/02/2023)

• 2008 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé - France, Champagne
  Pale straw. Finely chalky. Just starting to open up to a touch of crème pat. Nicely grippy on the finish. **** (93 pts.)

• 1985 Domaine de Chevalier - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  Beautiful full garnet. Bright. Tobacco and a floral note o I g through on the nose. Mellow, absolutely resolved and so smooth. Possibly on a gentle decline and lacking some stuffing but a really lovely drink. **** (91 pts.)
• 1985 Château Malescot St. Exupéry - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Magnum. A huge step up from a previous bottle. Full garnet, still a hint of ruby. Richer on the nose. Palate too. Dark red fruit. A touch floral. With air a little leaner and a nicely fresh finish. Just a bit more oomph upfront cf the DDC, but shown up as more simple cf the next flights. Open and drink as the evolution in glass doesn’t suit it. **** (91 pts.)
• 1985 Château Marquis de Terme - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Somewhat cloudy. Either really quite austere and clipped despite a rich texture, or corked. Apparently this revives, but no benefit of the doubt given. No. NR (flawed)

• 1985 Château Rausan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Light mid-garnet. Savoury, really quite meaty. Robust with a sweet-fruited core. There’s quite a lot here. Sweetens and becomes more elegant with air. A clear step up from a couple of bottles a decade ago. **** (92 pts.)
• 1985 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Mid, slightly cloudy garnet. Beautifully rich and floral on the nose. Rich on the palate too, but perhaps less precision than the best bottles of this. A touch of spearmint. Rich and attractive but lacking some definition. Bottle ten, and it’s a middling showing. **** (93 pts.)

• 1985 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Fuller, almost ruby. Quite dense. Blackcurrant leaf. Quintessential Pauillac. Dense and vibrant. Lots of cassis. There’s a lot here but it does flirt with a sense of being all teeth and trousers. Grows on me though and this is a big step up from a previous bottle. Close to the 89 and comfortably ahead of the 90. ****1/2 (94 pts.)
• 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Slightly cloudy, dense. Blackcurrant and. Touch of mint. A big step up in density cf previous flights. Lots here. A lovely blend of the slightly brutish Bages and the extra lift and energy of the LLC. Best bottle of this yet. ***** (95 pts.)
• 1985 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Slightly cloudy, full garnet. Stands out from the crowd on the nose, a bit spicier, a whiff of smoke, more energy and brighter dark red fruit. Vibrant, fat and leggy in the glass. Density but energy and line. Glorious. A freshness too. This remains a consistent class act. ***** (95 pts.)

• 1985 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Mag. Starts well, but yes, well and truly corked. NR (flawed)

• 1983 Château Suduiraut - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  Mid amber. Nicely restrained botrytis nose of saffron, barley sugar and crème brûlée. Sweetness, line and a touch of custard. Lovely. **** (93 pts.)

• 1985 Château Meyney - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
  Blind. Gloriously elegant, floral, Margaux nose and St Julian elegance and completeness. But no, further north apparently. It’s not Pauillac, so Montrose? That produced a lighter 85. No. Gosh, Meyney. This wouldn’t have been out of its depth in the last red flight, certainly the previous one. Elegant, good body, a sweetness of fruit with some sandlewood and cedar. Really very good and punching well above its weight. **** (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

 

[Raymond Tilney]

As ever Simon Thank you for the wonderful notes.
At an 85 dinner LLC chased home by L-B.
Even with my limited red stuff knowledge I would say that is a running that confirms previous form.

 

[Simon Grant]

As ever Simon Thank you for the wonderful notes.
At an 85 dinner LLC chased home by L-B.
Even with my limited red stuff knowledge I would say that is a running that confirms previous form.

I’ve never really been enamoured by LB, indeed quite the opposite finding it somewhat stolid and foursquare, but tonight‘s example and a previous 89 transcended my biases. LLC on the other hand has consistently been my wine of the vintage, and tonight’s didn’t dissuade me.

 

[Mike Holliday]

Great notes, Simon - I liked the Lynch a little more than you, but that's probably just personal preference.
One minor point - the Suduiraut was 1983, not 1985.

 

[Simon Grant]

Great notes, Simon - I liked the Lynch a little more than you, but that's probably just personal preference.
One minor point - the Suduiraut was 1983, not 1985.

Thanks Mike, that was careless of me, Duly corrected.

 

[Keith Prothero]

Coincidentally had a 85 Pichon last week with a few SA winemakers , and it was as you described. Certainly impressed the winemakers !!

 

[Dave Dewhurst]

1985 Château Meyney - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Blind. Gloriously elegant, floral, Margaux nose and St Julian elegance and completeness. But no, further north apparently. It’s not Pauillac, so Montrose? That produced a lighter 85. No. Gosh, Meyney. This wouldn’t have been out of its depth in the last red flight, certainly the previous one. Elegant, good body, a sweetness of fruit with some sandlewood and cedar. Really very good and punching well above its weight. **** (93 pts.)

I too have found Meyney to be a bit of a surprise stayer with the 89 being quite glorious a few years back. Not quite as old as this one but a good effort nonetheless.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Geordie Torr]

The 1988 Meyney was lovely from magnum a few years ago.

 

[Ian Hampsted]

Thanks Jason for organising this event. And to Mathieu and the team and my tablemates. These 1985s generally showed extremely well notably better than some of the 1982s last November in the same room, albeit with one or two notable disappointments.


Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 2007 - 80/20 Chardonnay Pinot Noir. Enjoyable fizz, though a bit meaty and clunky, not very finessed? - 90 pts

Chateau Canon - soft, a bit diffuse, some mocha, faint cherry and plums with tobacco notes. Low key and lacking vitality. Not a great bottle, but not corked either as some round our table initially suggested. Disappointing but was enjoyable enough to finish what was in my glass - 88

Chateau Palmer - sadly corked

Domaine De Chevalier - this was a great bottle firing on all cylinders, quite thick textured and medium to full bodied with glorious savoury gravesy gravel and tobacco notes. Perfectly resolved - 93

Off the subs bench: L’Arrivet Haut Brion 1985 - similar aromatics to the DDC but a much leaner palate profile. This played to its advantage after a while as it grew on me as it came across as a gloriously dexterous wine, which suddenly made the DDC come across as a bit soupy and even clumsy by comparison - it at least caught up with the DDC and possibly pipped it to the post - 93

Chateau Beychevelle en magnum - very excited to try this after Tom Cannavan’s glowing review. Dusty with saddle leather and tobacco, and a pervasive bell pepper green streak to go with its cool-fruited, old school, persona. This bottle was not a tip top example - Beychevelle from this era can be highly variable - but one thing I can say - having quaffed three glasses of it - was that it was not corked! I really enjoyed it but it was not a contender for wotn - 91

Chateau Leoville Barton - youthful, taut and expressive; just a great bottle and notably better than the magnum we had in December, which was showing its age. This bottle was impeccable in every way and supremely quintessential claret - 95

Chateau Langoa Barton - the sibling was another flawless and youthful bottle but is a notable step down in quality, lacking the detailed complexity of the Leoville and coming across as monolithic by comparison - 90

Lynch Bages - I was confident that the Leoville Barton could not be bettered but this pristine bottle of Lynch did exactly that. A wine notorious for its bottle variation this bottle was not only immaculate like the Leoville Barton it had fireworks too, an alluring rocky minerality and exhilarating energy. Simply brilliant - Lynch Bages 1985, what a legend! 96

Cos D’Estournel - another pristine bottle, this was surprisingly closed, and difficult to coax apart from graphite and charcoal notes. Similarly structured to the Lynch but without the thrills, but nevertheless a very good wine - 92

Suduiraut 2009 - no notes, excellent - 93

Table one scores on the doors:

 

[Chris Smith]

This was something like a Platonic ideal of a Bordeaux tasting, starting off very well but building over the night to an absolutely fabulous final flight that was close to as good as it gets. And all bookended by a very nice Champagne(!) and dessert wine.

Delamotte 2008: I arrived 40 minutes late by which time this had lost much of its fizz, which is obviously the ideal state in which to drink Champagne. But even so you could tell it was an extremely vinous wine with a fair amount of red fruit and in a nice spot of maturity. Full and rich. Very tasty. 6-/7

Domaine de Chevalier (Rouge) 1985: Bright nose, the most classic of the flight but a tiny bit narrow and quite light - possibly starting to fade a little. But an extremely nice wine and once the overt charms of Malescot begin to pall, my favourite of the flight. 5+/7

Malescot St Exupery (magnum) 1985: Odd nose - combination of slight greenness (very 85) but also, with time, some sweet/confected notes. Again sweet and lush on the palate, a bit fat. the flavours become a bit artificial, even new world. Crowd pleasing. Nick came up with "pink blancmange" which to my taste is spot on. 5/7

Marquis de Terme 1985: Light but quite fine and delicate. Slightly metallic finish and takes on that cola/coffee note of mishandled or disintegrating oak. Not a great wine but not a bad one. 5-/7

Rausan Segla 1985: Really driven nose, meaty, complex, undergrowth, herbal, very interesting. Palate a notch below that - needs a bit more intensity and is slightly loose. But delicious. 6/7

Palmer 1985: Richer nose but more restrained, touch iodine. More complete but also has quite a tannic structure still - it works brilliantly with the food but is slightly drying without. Grows on me (from a strong start) and feels young. One to have in the cellar. 6+/7

Leoville Las Cases 1985: As always with LLC as very deep nose that doesn't feel fully open. Totally immaculate build, smooth as silk. All about reserved power and classicism, this really is a fabulous wine. Love it. 7/7

Pichon Lalande 1985: Of course much more flamboyant than LLC, that green pepper thing, fragrant, very PL, very 85, exciting and enticing. Richer feel than LLC, this is an arrogant, showy wine without losing its line and length - in fact fans out beautifully on the end. Just adorably drinkable. 7/7

Lynch Bages 1985: Even better nose, intense, multi-dimensional, something like a cross between LLC restraint and PL flashiness. Truly a spectacular bottle of this wine it has build and precision but also vitality and fun. Close to a perfect Bordeaux. Matthieu was absolutely raving about this bottle as we paid and left. 7+/7

Meyney 1985: My back up wine. This really is a super, Bordeaux that's around Rausan quality but is much more classic and correct. Really lovely. Sadly my last bottle from a case bought in 2019 at the princely sum of £18.23 per bottle all in. That is a bargain. 6/7 or even 6+.

Suduiraut 1983: Proper mature Sauternes, quite a bit of weight here. Slight touch of sweatiness but doesn't detract much. Still sweet and very long, extremely good. 6/7

The votes from the Table 2 jury tell you what you need to know...

 

[Nigel Palesford]

Lovely notes gents. One of my most memorable magnums was a splendid Palmer 85. Had a L'Arrivet Haut Brion 85 recently which was remarkably similar to the notes above. A wonderful wine.

 

[Ray Queley]

Thanks for organising Jason.
And thank you Simon for putting the wines into a perfect order.
Agree with what's been said in the usual excellent notes (I was on the same table as Simon and Chris)
I agree with Chris on the de Terme, it wasn't pristine but perfectly drinkable. Probably just not as sensitive to the fault as Simon.

 

[Neil Holland]

1985 BORDEAUX HORIZONTAL - LONDON - Noizé, London (02/02/2023)

Fizz
With Gougeres and Cheddar

• 2007 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
  This opens up with some gooseberry skin, some white currant and some yeasty sourdough breadcrumbs. With time some lemon oil and the faintest hint of pineapple juice. The palate is beautifully taught with a refreshing twist of lime cordial. (90 pts.)

Right Bank and Graves
Wild mushroom risotto, red wine sauce

• 1985 Château Canon - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  This is a little understated to begin with, there is some plum fruit. Later some fraise de bois too. The palate is compact but all in proportion with some some subtle spice complementing the red fruit core. With some time in the glass there is a little fudgy sweetness to the nose and hint of lavender. Not flawed to my palate, just a wine that might have been better a few years back. (89 pts.)
• 1985 Domaine de Chevalier - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  This is terrific, the nose opens with a powdery blue fruited character. There is some elderflower lift as well. Palate is cool fruited and long, beautifully fine tannins and just a hint of smoky tea. One of the best DdCs I've had. (94 pts.)
• 1985 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Annoyingly very mildly corked. I keep a glass on the table over the course of the evening and it doesn't fall apart but a fine thread of TCA persists NR (flawed)
• 1985 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  Some Morello cherry and sweet meats on the nose here. A little green tobacco leaf both on the nose and the palate, a very savoury wine that develops a little cranberry jelly sweetness to the nose after 30 mins in the glass. A great backup for a corked Palmer generously opened. (91 pts.)

St Julien
Duck breast, prune puree, pearl barley

• 1985 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  This treads the very fine line between green fruited coolness and very mild cork taint and there are a range of opinions around the table; I don't think it's TCA after a little umming and ahhing. Palate has some tobacco and also a peppery rocket character on pouring which gives way to a more classic cigar box and a spine of charming dark berries. Tannins are a little grainy (possibly magnum effect) but this is bright and fresh. With some time there is some blackcurrant leaf and a little crème de cassis sweetness and lift. (90 pts.)
• 1985 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Another cracking bottle from this case. There is a richness and basil pungency to this that charms. Almost a visit to a warm summer greenhouse with the tomato leaf and the flesh of a tomato that has fallen to the path and been trodden on. Palate has cocoa dusted blackcurrants with a little damson and a faint star anise spiciness. Top drawer. (94 pts.)
• 1985 Château Langoa Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Comes out of the blocks quickly and initially only a couple of strides back from the Leo B it is served with but air is not its friend. There is a pleasant meatiness to this and a little overdiluted cherry cordial on the nose. Palate has more of the same and nicely resolved tannins. Suspect on its own this would have shone more but the company was very blue blooded. (89 pts.)

Pauillac & St Estephe
Venison wellington

• 1985 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Wow what a great bottle. Starts with a Quink ink and graphite nose with some blueberry coulis and a little subtle smokiness. A little nutmeg too. Palate is outstanding with real length and precision, no jagged edges at all here and beautiful tannins. With time a couple of pipettes of blood orange juice appear on the palate and a little brazil nut. Awesome (95 pts.)
• 1985 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
  This is the most youthful of the wines we've tried tonight. The nose has a lovely brandy snap character that complements a core of cool dark fruits, the gingerbread and the dark chocolate. This also feels very together and a little aloof as its rival Montrose can also be. Had the palate delivered on the promise of the nose I would have scored more highly but the palate is tight and doesn't give much away at this stage. Needs another 5 year at least to my mind. Great promise, mind. (93 pts.)

Sauternes
Fresh house cheeses

• 2009 Château Suduiraut - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  Charred pineapple with freshly squeezed lime on the nose here. Some passion fruit too, some light honey and some some white flowers, acacia? There is also a lovely fresh chamomile infusion character. And the texture. A great Sauternes year and a top chateau. Lovely. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

 

[Neil Holland]

Big thanks to Jason for pulling together, to my table mates for some lovely wines and Noizé for their usual excellent service.

 

[Jason Michelle]

Thanks for the great notes. A really enjoyable evening as always. General consensus around the table on the top performing wines with the Lynch and Barton in absolutely tip top shape. I had a bunch of wines vying for third place but the Domaine de Chevalier edged it.. just in a perfect place right now.

Food was excellent as usual with the duck and pearl barley being my favourite. Super service too.

 

[Nick Amis]

Well, that was pretty great - thanks Jason.

1985 BORDEAUX-O-RAMA - Noize (02/02/2023)

No reason needed, this was obviously a good idea!

Gougeres

• 2008 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé - France, Champagne
  More like the bottle I had in 2021 than the one I had last year, lacking the latter's exquisite creaminess. Still good though - deep citrus, a sort of sauna-like hot pine, plenty of dough, and fine poise. (92 pts.)

Wild mushroom risotto, red wine sauce

• 1985 Domaine de Chevalier - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  Slightly chloriney on the nose at first, but that blew off quickly enough and things became smoky and alluring. Lots of deep red fruit, and savoury too, with Heinz Cream of Tomato and some clove. Mature, elegant, food-friendly; in a good place, but compared to a bottle last year (whose flavour profile was certainly similar) this seemed to be slightly faded, suggesting it is probably time to drink up. (92 pts.)
• 1985 Château Malescot St. Exupéry - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Magnum. This was a really singular wine, and went through three phases. Initially it seemed straightforward and vigorous, and certainly much more robust and fruity than its flight-mates (albeit in a powdery, beefy fashion). Things then picked up and the aromatics became spectacular for five minutes, with notes of violets and orange peel and particularly lovely strawberry - like the sort of nose a Barolo would die for. Then, bizarrely, the wine collapsed into a parody of its prior phases, the sweet fruit becoming concentrated and confected, and I was brought back to 1980s desserts like pink blancmange... just bizarre! But the middle phase was superb. (92 pts.)
• 1985 Château Marquis de Terme - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  There was some debate as to whether this was slightly corked, or just OTH. Initially chemical nose developed after 20-30 minutes into something deeper, like espresso, but the palate never offered anything other than 'old wine'. NR (flawed)

Duck breast, prune puree, pearl barley

• 1985 Château Rausan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Some concern as to whether this wine would wither in the company of the Palmer, but it put in a good performance. That said, it was certainly mature, with a soft and resolved texture and lovely scents of cassis, menthol and pine forests. Seamless and pretty long finish, too. Any Bordeaux-lover would enjoy this. (93 pts.)
• 1985 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  A full nose, with subtle truffle, plum and biscuit notes - mmm. More piquant on the palate than I expected, with red berry and red apple fruit, but overall still a powerful wine that really filled the mouth. I couldn't decide whether this wine was at peak or will have more to give. My #3 tonight. (94 pts.)

Venison Wellington

• 1985 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  This was great, and made me grunt with satisfaction when I sniffed it. Very Pauillac, with its deep black fruit and woody hints. A hint of fenugreek to add interest. Soft, bright and classical on the palate, full of flavour, with a savoury, chewy finish. Yum. Wonderful with our Wellington. My #2 and the group's joint #1. (95 pts.)
• 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  More elegant than its full-bodied flight mates and perhaps slightly suffered as a result. Undergrowth and truffle on the nose, but quite a bit of fruit on the palate, which felt clean, precise and effortless. I wasn't as impressed with the finish, though, which was slightly subdued. Still an excellent wine though - voted the group's runner-up (after its flight-mates). (94 pts.)
• 1985 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Oh boy. Very youthful, and with really intense brambly fruit that had an almost liquorish quality. Super clean, and perfectly formed, all its elements turned up to 11 but seamlessly integrated. Somehow still felt fresh despite everything (including a gravy note on the finish). A real treat - my WOTN and joint group #1. (95 pts.)

Fresh House Cheeses

• 1983 Château Suduiraut - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
  Icing sugar, orange blossom and a touch of botrytis on the nose, then some delicious grilled pineapple on the palate. Very tasty, but seemed slightly subdued; I often can't help thinking the sweet wine is my favourite of the evening, but that didn't happen this time. (91 pts.)

Bonus!

• 1985 Château Meyney - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
  Served blind. We didn't expect lowly Meyney to be showing this well still! Juicy with plentiful dark fruit and, for the first time this evening, some pencil lead as well as undergrowth. Clean and sleek and rather delicious - excellent, although it did fall away a little in the glass. (93 pts.)

Mission accomplished, then - in particular with the towering third flight of reds. Awesome stuff! And the Wellington and duck weren't bad either.





(PS - that Beychevelle was definitely corked!)

 

[Peta Radford]

Wonderful evening and excellent notes all round. I’ll get to adding my meagre scratching this weekend.

Thanks Jason for organising

 

[Richard Zambuni]

Sorry that I'm late to the party with my notes, but I thought that I'd post them nevertheless. Thank you very much Jason for organizing this very enjoyable evening. The 1985 train is still rolling, although one or two carriages may be becoming unhitched.

Champagne Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée Premier Cru 2007 ***
This wine has a gently autolytic nose together with a hint of freshly cut and poached pear. Nice rounded on the mid-palate, probably around 5g dosage. A little straightforward and crowd pleasing if I’m being harsh, but certainly not overly simple. Tastes nicely mature – no upside here though. A good opening to the evening.
Château Canon St. Emilion 1985 **½
Well, the stakes have been raised in writing about this wine, but who cares since it is only what I experience that is being recorded here, not some universal truth. The nose is musty and green, with a touch of swimming pool coming through beneath the general mustiness. There is also a brewed tea character which dulls any more lifted aromas. Is it TCA? It could well be at a lowish level, but I’m not sure. Either way this is a muted and rather ungiving wine. It does have elegance and a little bit of merlot gras on the mid palate, but it is frankly disappointing. Château Canon can be outstanding, so again this is not a wider critique of the château. I imagine there are better bottles of 1985 out there, but prior to the château being bought by the Wertheimers there was systemic TCA in the chai. Half a million dollars was spent ripping out all the structural wood and all the vats and barriques were burned apparently.
Château Palmer Margaux 1985 NR
Clearly corked.
Domaine de Chevalier rouge Pessac-Léognan 1985 ****
This was my last bottle from a case bought after the DdC vertical dinner at the Ledbury in 2011. It has aged well and although it is now fully mature it still has a lot of energy and drive on the palate. The nose opens with dusty red fruit and a sense of the soil as so often with DdC. There is a hint of baking spices too after time in the glass. Where this wine excels is on the mid palate where the wine has real substance without any heaviness, the fruit just rolls on unstoppably. Finishes well. Classic Graves here and probably only 12%.
Château Larrivet Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 1985 ***½
This was kindly opened by Steve M as the Palmer was completely hors combat and the Canon was firing on two cylinders only. This was a really good wine from a less heralded property in Graves. It had a different profile to the DdC being a little darker fruited and having a little more apparent acidity. The nose showed both blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf – unusually for a Graves. It also differed from the DdC in being a little simpler overall. A really solid wine and unexpectedly good.
Château Beychevelle St. Julien 1985 en magnum ***
Well, I didn’t get TCA on this wine, but I am open to admitting I could have been wrong. I did note a green leafy note intertwined with tobacco and cedar on the nose. Delicate and elegant on the palate with a tobacco leaf note continuing through to the finish. Leafy on the finish too.
Château Leoville-Barton St. Julien 1985 ****½
This has a dark and reticent red fruited nose together with some smoke and cedary elements. Very attractive aromatically. This is a long, deep, substantial and cool fruited wine that unwinds slowly on the palate. This is a very good bottle of a wine at its peak.
Château Langoa-Barton St. Julien 1985 ***½
Not unlike the Leoville-Barton on the nose, with green notes combined with tobacco and cedar. Quite darkly fruited on the palate but with less intensity then the previous wine. However, with air the wine gets a little broad and less interesting with brewed tea and a faint bouillon note becoming apparent. Better in the first 15-20 minutes in the glass. The star rating applies to this initial showing.
Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac 1985 *****
I have been lucky enough to drink this wine across many years and it has aways been an over performer. Did it ever shut down? I’m inclined to say no. There are graphite and cedar on the nose together with blackcurrant leaf. It is energetic, long and substantial on the palate and has the feeling of grand vin. The fruit has proper complexity too. Just lovely.
Château Cos d’Estournel St. Estèphe 1985 ***½+
This was the only wine during the evening that may not yet be at its peak. It does have a more modern style of fruit and aromatics opening with obvious ripeness and hints of cola and a general glossiness. My goodness, this is almost like a 2003 aromatically. After time, there is an unusual note of chrysanthemum. It is ripe and glossy on the palate too with quite sweet fruit. It feels more worked than the wines coming before it. Fortunately, it does tighten up a little with air. An interesting showing.
Château Suduiraut Sauternes 2009 ****
This is just a great chateau for sweet wines. This has notes of butterscotch and pineapple on the nose together with something floral, but difficult to describe. Elegant and delicious, and drinking well already.

 

[Thom Blach]

Château Canon St. Emilion 1985 **½
Well, the stakes have been raised in writing about this wine, but who cares since it is only what I experience that is being recorded here, not some universal truth. The nose is musty and green, with a touch of swimming pool coming through beneath the general mustiness. There is also a brewed tea character which dulls any more lifted aromas. Is it TCA? It could well be at a lowish level, but I’m not sure. Either way this is a muted and rather ungiving wine. It does have elegance and a little bit of merlot gras on the mid palate, but it is frankly disappointing. Château Canon can be outstanding, so again this is not a wider critique of the château. I imagine there are better bottles of 1985 out there, but prior to the château being bought by the Wertheimers there was systemic TCA in the chai. Half a million dollars was spent ripping out all the structural wood and all the vats and barriques were burned apparently.
Château Palmer Margaux 1985 NR

Sounds corked to me..

 

[Mark Palmer]

Sounds corked to me..

Sure…..but then a little extra context adds to our understanding.

Firstly, the proprietor had begun to neglect the property at this stage and undoubtedly selection became a problem as funds were used elsewhere. Subsequently there were reports (sadly not enough at the time) of some bottles beginning to consistently show “not so well” from this period onwards up until the sale.

Secondly, parcels of cabernet franc were subsequently ripped out as drainage was a problem, resulting in underripe and obviously ”green” flavours. You will note with a little research that the 2005 vintage is almost pure merlot, with the replanted cabernet franc only being dribbled back into the blend a few years later.

Thirdly, the problems with wood and barrels in the chai, noted in Richard’s post.

So you had problems of neglect, poor selection, green fruit and TCA-like problems in the cellar.

I bought a case of the ‘95 and found the wine to be consistently poor, showing all of the above problems in every bottle.

Difficult to know if the wine was corked or otherwise, however to the casual observer it may well have appeared so.…

 

[Jasper Morris]

The TCA in the wood issue was touched on in the other thread. It was quite a significant issue, affecting many more chateaux than just Ducru. By no means all, and Ian cited some names which were on great form in this period and to my knowledge never did succumb. I never found it in Leoville-Barton either but Anthony Barton assured me that it had been an issue with them too, but they reacted quickly enough that any affected wine did not get through to the market.

After Ducru, the next worst cases were Canon, St Pierre and Gloria, and I remember Marquis de Terme being affected too. No memories either way for Beychevelle. Even one of the first growths was affected in around 1993-94, followed by a big shake up of the team and once again a ripping out of the wood etc.

 

[Steve Matteo]

Thanks to Jason for organizing a lovely evening. Richards notes capture my thoughts pretty well, tho the DDC was such a good bottle I felt obliged to make it my wine of the night : ) It had a certain floral element that I loved which Neil called as Elderflower, and who am I to argue!! I thought the Palmer was corked from the start, and while it did sort of come and go I find that your first instinct is nearly always right in these cases. I cant remember having the Beychevelle before so there may be better bottles but for me it wasnt corked, but of course I could see why others might think it was. Not sure if Beychevelle ever had a TCA cellar problem, but I wonder if TCA taint that's endemic in the winery itself rather than the cork shows itself differently??

 

[Jasper Morris]

I think it does, Steve - my memory from that period is that it was much more likely to flow in and out - sort of come and go as you say - compared to cork TCA which just seems to get worse with air.