Big Bordeaux VIII: 1990 Retrospective with Montrose, LMHB, PB, LP, and more

Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)
Tasted Saturday, October 11, 2014 by rocknroller with 769 views

Introduction

This was my semi-annual Bordeaux event. This event featured a 1990 left bank retrospective with some of the finest examples from the vintage.

Flight 1 - Welcome Wine (1 Note)

  • 2005 Château de Fieuzal Blanc 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Deep gold color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 30 minutes. This certainly improved with time in glass and displayed some charming complexity. The nose is citrus, citrus zest, nutty. The palate is full bodied and bold with citrus, apple, nutty, and an oxidative character. Large scaled and burg-like.

    Read 2 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

Flight 2 - Champagne (1 Note)

  • 1990 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Medium gold color, PNP, 52 degrees, drank 1 glass over 40 minutes. This was in very good shape with plenty of exceedingly fine bubbles. The nose has green apples, nicely toasted, fine roasted nuts, dry forest floor, and white flowers. The palate is full bodied but not heavy, leesy, toast, roasted nuts, apple, mineral. This was very complex, elegant and had a long finish. Impressive.

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

Flight 3 - 1990 Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 1990 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Dark red to very dark red color with a mildly bricked 2-3mm margin. Slow-O for 1.5hrs and decanted for 75 minutes; drank 1 glass over 3 hours plus. This was beautiful and open from the start, setting the bar very high indeed. A gorgeous nose with lovely cedar, very floral and perfumed, with graphite, a touch of funk, blueberry, cassis, dry earthy notes, and hints of balsamic. The palate has medium body, finesse and poise, saddle leather, funk, cassis, graphite, licorice, mineral, and a very long finish. Fabulous, elegant, and probably at peak but there's no hurry at all. 94+pts.

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

  • 1990 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Very dark red-purple color, subtle clearish 2mm margin. Slow-O for 1hr and decanted for 1hr 45 minutes. Drank 1 glass over 3+ hours. The nose is reticent at first, wood spice, toast, dry leaves, which then evolves to show black currant, kirsch, graphite, and some earth. The palate is full bodied and dense, with lots of anise, cedar, kirsch, black cherry, cassis, spicy, wood, and fuller firmer tannins. This was pretty long and rich. It drinks quite young yet, and I don't believe it has reached peak.

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

Flight 4 - 1990 Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Very dark red color with a 1mm clear meniscus. Slow-O for 2hrs and decanted for 1.5hrs Drank 1+ glass over 3+ hours. WOW, this has an incredible nose, very powerful, perfumed, floral, big pencil lead aromas, Beautiful bright fruit dark fruit, cassis, creme de cassis, mulberry, truffle, and wood spices. The palate is silky and and caressing, with the gorgeous fruit showing through, creme de cassis, bright berries, plum, French oak, pencil lead, florals, and a crazy long finish of 90-120+ seconds. This was so impressive for its fruit and impeccable balance. Just in a wonderful place right now and a very long future ahead of it. MY #2 WOTN and group #3. 96+ to 97pts.

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

  • 1990 Château Léoville Poyferré 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Very dark red color. Slow-O for 2.5hrs and decanted for 1 hour. Drank 1 glass over 3 hours plus. As good as this was early in the evening, it was really coming into its own by the end of the night suggesting this can go a long way. Yet right now it is utterly beautiful with resolved tannins and sheer elegance on the nose and palate. The nose is wonderfully perfumed with florals, leather, damp earth, cassis, blueberry, cherry, chocolate, cedarbox, and fine graphite. The palate shows finesse and balance, velvety texture, a mix of red and black fruits, cassis, cherry, cuban cigar, graphite and a long finish. While this continued to take on depth on the nose and palate it seemed perfectly integrated now. 95+ to 96pts.

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

Flight 5 - 1990 Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 1990 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Very dark red-purple color. Slow-O for 2hrs and decanted for 2hr and 15 minutes; drank 1+ glass over 3 hours. This was the biggest and tightest on opening and perhaps could have benefited from an even longer decant. It strikes me as very young in its evolution. The nose is more brooding with leather, black licorice, tobacco, tar, blackberry, blueberry, brambly black fruits, dry earth. The palate is powerful and deeply concentrated, full bodied and chewy, layered, blackberry, currants, blackberry liqueur, firm tannins, graphite, copious anise and wood spices that leads into a long finish. This was quite different from everything else. Group #2 WOTN, 95pts(+?)

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

  • 1990 Château Montrose 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Very dark red-purple color with no bricking. Slow-O for 3 hrs and decanted for 75 minutes; drank 1+ glass over 3 hours. WOW, what a nose, incredibly powerful, focused and pure. The fruit is out of this word, a cornucopia of ripe black fruits, cassis, boysenberry, sweet mulberry, floral, leather, fresh tobacco, and a subtle earthiness that evolves gradually in the glass. The palate is a lush, sexy, hedonistic treasure trove of texture and opulent black fruit, pencil lead, tobacco, and minerals that is deeply earthy and slightly savory. The tannins are velvety and tangy and the finish is very, very long, 120s plus. This is a glass that is almost impossible to put down and it screams perfect balance. Seductive and intense, but oh so elegant and suave. This has a very long life ahead of it, and I NEED to revisit it down the road 5 years or so. My and group WOTN in a landslide with 9 of 10 first place votes. 97+ to 98 points.

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

Flight 6 - Dessert Wine (1 Note)

  • 1990 Château Rieussec 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Deep amber color. PNP, drank 1 glass over an hour. Well, talking about seductive and hard to put down, this follows suit perfectly as an utterly harmonious wine with impeccable balance and finesse. The nose is bright with orange, apricot, orange zest, caramelized sugar, honey, vanilla creme brule, and honeysuckle. The palate is unctuous, perfectly textured, sweet but delightfully balanced by riveting acidity, apricot, tangerine, orange peel, spices, honey, caramel, and long intoxicating finish. This was splendid mature Sauternes that can go for 20 years easily.

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

Closing

These wines were truly youthful at 24 years of age and quite memorable with all showing incredibly well. This is a vintage to seek out. The '90 Montrose was the near unanimous winner of WOTN.

WOTN Voting: As usual a 3-2-1pts for first through third place

#1 WOTN: 1990 Montrose: 29pts (3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+2=29pts) My 1st
#2 WOTN: 1990 La Mission Haut Brion: 15pts (3+2+2+2+2+2+1+1=15pts)
#3 WOTN: 1990 Pichon Baron: 10pts (2+2+2+1+1+1+1=10pts) My 2nd
1990 Leoville Poyferre: 3pts (2+1=3pts) My 3rd
1990 Lagrange: 3pts (1+1+1=3pts)
1990 Grand Puy-Lacoste (0pts)

×
×