1990 Château Magdelaine
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - Normally a blend of Merlot (90%) and Cabernet Franc (10%).
Quite developed, slightly orange-hued garnet red color with pale bricking towards the rim. The nose feels quite restrained and subtle with nuanced, developed aromas of savory blackcurrants and red plums, some roasted smoky character, a little bit of dried cherry and a hint of tobacco. There's lovely elegance here, but the nose feels like it is lacking intensity. However, the things take a turn for the better on the palate: the wine comes across as full-bodied, complex and pretty substantial without feeling big in any way, with intense, complex and beautifully matured flavors of ripe blackcurrants and wizened dark fruits, some herbal bitterness, a little bit of moist pipe tobacco, a hint of dried leather and a subtle touch of minty character. The age has lended lovely, velvety mouthfeel to the wine and although the tannins start to feel pretty resolved at this point, the wine is still quite impressively structured with moderately high acidity and still ample and quite firm tannins. The finish is very long and complex with layered, intense and juicy flavors of tobacco, wizened blackcurrants, dried cherries, some sour cherry bitterness, a little bit of leather, a hint of prunes and a touch of petrichor and autumnal leafy character.
A wonderfully evolved, complex and still impressively structured Saint-Émilion with a lot of weight, fruit and life still left to the wine. The balance between the freshness, depth of fruit and more tertiary characteristics is impeccable here. In our tasting of 12 Bordeaux reds from 1982 to 2000, this was one of the biggest favorites of the night and easily among my top 3 wines. I can imagine there is still a little bit of room for further development and most likely the wine will keep at least a decade, if not longer. A superb wine and although not particularly affordable at 92,50€, it still manages to deliver for the price.
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Comment posted by John Dunlap:
1/25/2018 12:21:00 PM - Thank you for the wonderful narrative on Chateau Magdelaine. Very informative. I worked there during the 1986 harvest, so I've always enjoyed following this "old school" chateau. Sad to learn that this winery is no longer producing under its own name. Trying to collect a few vintages for a vertical tasting one of these days, but finding Magdelaine is becoming more difficult. Thanks again! Cheers, John
Comment posted by forceberry:
1/25/2018 11:31:00 PM - Thanks for your comment John, an interesting piece of information! I guess the wine world and the work in winery must've been really different back then compared to how the things are run now in Bordeaux.
I'm glad my TN was helpful and I hope you the best of luck in finding those older vintages. Based on how this wine was drinking, I can imagine the (normally so backward) 1986 still has the potential to be quite a spectacular wine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed you'll come across a bottle, unless you have on already!