1986 Château Haut-Bages Libéral
Community Tasting Note
red_man Likes this wine:
92 Points
Saturday, January 18, 2020 - unexpectedly found another bottle in the cellar, level base neck, perfect long cork, some brown at rim but good colour for age, nose fine, complex, subtle and nuanced, classic Pauillac cedar and lead pencils, palate has just perfect balance, medium weight but with concentration and intensity, again like the nose very fine and subtle, just lovely, a great Haut Bages Liberal, if I remember correctly this was a Claire Villars wine and it is a great compliment to her feminine touch, excellent ‘86
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2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (1,463 views)
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Comment posted by jh270457:
4/24/2020 12:24:00 PM - red_man....it was Claire Villars desert island wine....it is a bit of a zombie winw in my opinion...always good, not yet great, and never will be great....but always be good
Comment posted by red_man:
5/20/2020 12:25:00 PM - jh270457 thanks for the comment. ‘86 is a year that I bought extensively en primeur - L. Barton, Cos d’Estournel, Cos Labory, Mouton Baronne, Clerc Milon, Gruaud Larose, Talbot, Lagrange etc and my personal preference has turned out to be for those with a light touch so that the typical vintage austerity did not dominate - and this could not be achieved by simply ramping up the fruit extraction. So perhaps surprisingly my favourites in the year are Prieure Lichine, Haut Bages Liberal and (surprisingly) Cos Labory - for all of which the cases are now gone and enjoyed.
Comment posted by jh270457:
5/20/2020 12:47:00 PM - 1985 Hautes Bages was the 1st serious wine I ever bought. Bought from Byrne & Co in Clitheroe. Thought it was fantastic and nothing would ever taste as good. I was invited to be a best man, so I gave him a gift of a vertical tasting of HBL. 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991...and 1982. 1982 was the best Hautes bages I have ever tasted. If you get chance treat yourself...its rare but still occasionally available