1982, 1985 & 1989 Bordeaux Super Seconds, with Richard Brazier

Handford Wines, London
Tasted Wednesday, October 14, 2015 by Papies with 368 views

Introduction

A great opportunity to revisit these 3 beautiful vintages. Presented by Richard Brazier of Ancient and Modern wines ( http://www.ancientandmodernwines.co.uk/index.htm)

Flight 1 - The 1989s (3 Notes)

  • 1989 Château Gruaud Larose Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    A touch cloudy on the colour and a bit maderised on the nose. Having tried this wine a few times ( Rated 93-95) this dull and off exhibit coupled with the light maderised nose points to a bad bottle. Shame.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1989 Château Cos d'Estournel Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Corked and not really worth a TN. Shame as we have always rated this 92-93 so far and wanted to check it again.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    beautiful and classic wine, quite secondary and evolved with hints of discoloration. A lot older than we expected it to be and especially when compared with the beautiful 82 and 85 we had with it. Very much alive and healthy, well evolved but full of life and with a nice finish. A joyful wine but feels to be evolving fast so we would suggest one drinks it sooner than later. 93

    Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 2 - The 1985s (3 Notes)

  • 1985 Château Gruaud Larose 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    A wine we have tried almost 10 times now and always rate it between 94-96.
    Once again had a very healthy dark colour. Currants, fruit driven nose still, leafy and herby style of cabernet. A touch secondary at the end but fruit driven for most times. HAs so much life in it still and is a joy to cross paths again with it. Very solid once again. 93-94

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1985 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Still quite a fresh red colour. Vibrant in colour. Classic nose, leather, mushrooms, but with very healthy fruit interlaced. Quite alive, balanced and elegant (a 1985 hallmark) , good length. A few harsh notes here and there but a pretty solid, nice wine. Soft and elegant Cos and seems to still be going strong. 92-93

    Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A lot better than the 91 we rated it a couple of years ago.
    Still a good healthy red colour. Quite alive and fruit driven on the nose, subtle nose but very elegant and classy. Very much alive and singing at this stage, rich core of fruit still here, great length and just beautiful. A great Pichon Lalande and just on the money now. 94-95

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 - The 1982s (3 Notes)

  • 1982 Château Cos d'Estournel Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Another miss here and we have had a couple of great bottles (rated 96) but our fair share of flawed ones too. This one was a flawed one. Shame.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1982 Château Gruaud Larose 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Having not had this wine a for a good 6 years (Papies 94 in 2009) it was a joy to cross path again. And it did not fail.
    Still has quite a bit of colour, not showing much evolution on the colour front to be honest. A touch reserved but fruit driven nose. Still very much alive and vibrant wine. elegant, classy, subtle beauty. Well evolved but a real beauty for those who love old school classic and well aged Bordeaux. 94

    Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Our first encounter with this beautiful wine.
    HAs a bit of evolution on the colour, but not much. Quite evolved and classic on the nose, still a good healthy dose of fruit though. Secondary on the finish. Alive and complex, joyful, well balanced and pure. An excellent wine. 96

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Closing

A bit of a shame we had so many bad bottled but a great opportunity to witness the elegance of 1980s Pichon Lanande!

×
×