1985 Château Bel-Air Lagrave

Community Tasting Notes (38) Avg Score: 88.5 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View NoahCap's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/17/2022 - NoahCap wrote:

  This must have been reconditioned at the Chateau- pristine label and a perfect cork. Beautiful deep garnet core with some bricking at the edges. Riedel Bordeaux stem.
  
  The nose is wonderful and is apparent the moment the cork is pulled. It’s amazingly perfumey- soft sweet pipe tobacco, autumn leaves, catcher’s mitt, cedar plank, whiffs of cigar shop, with a lovely core of both fresh and candied black cherries.
  
  The palate doesn’t quite live up to the nose. The acidity is medium, body is thin, tannins are fading but still present. Up front there, are lovely flavors that mirror the nose: cherries and lovely Bordeaux tertiary flavors. But it kind of falls apart after a few seconds in the mouth. The acidity turns shrill, the fruit disappears, the tertiary flavors persist but turn a little sour and dried out. The finish likewise is not the most pleasant and has a whiff of rancid soy sauce.
  
  This wine is an interesting drink, impressive staying power for a 37 yr old Cru Bourgeois, it’s just that it’s best days are behind it. It’s worth drinking, but not cellaring any further. I had the 1990 vintage of this wine. It also was a reconditioned library release, and it also had a spectacular nose with a less spectacular performance on the palate. The 1990 had a weird unpleasant green note (pyrazines I suspect) that was not at all present in this wine.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View winebytoth's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/26/2021 - winebytoth Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Drank from magnum. Forest floor, mushroom, and dark baking berries. Took about 2 hours in the bottle to open up and soften. Great bottle that showed very well after 35 years

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Rossdhu House's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/31/2021 - Rossdhu House Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Hated to see this one go but it was time, perhaps past time. Wet slippery rock and faded fruit but a fantastic example of a mature Bordeaux. 36 years later it provided a wonderful view into the past.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Myownscale's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/10/2021 - Myownscale wrote: 90 Points

  Nose:
  older but still complex
  
  Palate:
  smooth tannin, lots of cooked fruit, meat, leather.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View havarhar's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/27/2021 - havarhar wrote: 90 Points

  Korken ut i hel forfatning.
  
  Mursteinsrød mørk farge med litt orange i kanten.
  
  God alderspreg på lukten. Krydret. Litt parfymert. God moden mørk frukt. Solbær.
  
  Passe med syre, men fint balansert med litt fruktsødme. God fylde. Konsentrert og smaksrik. Fruktig og moden. Meget god lang ettersmak med litt tanniner. Spennende og god vin.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 38 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.