30 years of 1985 Bordeaux at The Papies

1985 is a one of our great loves when it comes to classic well aged Claret. We loved them from the start and we have not been disappointed in the last few years that we have been running into each other. Especially St Juliens are great and in many cases underrated. In many ways this is our favourite vintage of the 80s.

Thus it was only normal that we would do a 30yr anniversary of 85s at our place.

Wines were double decanted and were all healthy with the exception of the Ducru which was lightly corked. Still given the age we believe not a bad result. We toyed a lot with serving them blind or not but in the end we went with non blind.

Nothing says welcome like Dom.

• 1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Two very consistent bottles (we were a bit worried about them to be frank) and a great way to kick off our 1985 Dinner.
  The colour shows the age, dark, golden but glossy and vibrant. The nose is rich, complex, yeasty, light honey notes. Open and expressive. Similarly the palate carries the same tune and is surprisingly energetic and with great length. Beautifully aged wine for the lovers of mature champagne. Drink now. 94-95

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Paired with a selection of charcuterie

• 1985 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Double decanted and left to rest for a good hour till it was served. Good level and cork.
  Definitely the colour shows its age. Still very healthy. The nose is of a true claret, light dark fruit, peppery and as expected with a nice secondary side too. Cedar notes too. Where it stood out vs the rest of the wines on the day was the mineral side of it, true St Estephe, had a solid firm core and was jus a beauty. May be lacked a bit of finish but this for old school mature claret lovers (and Cos Groupies) like us was a beauty. 93 and drink now.

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• 1985 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Unfortunately carried a hint of cork, not a lot, but just enough to spoil the parade. Below this the wine felt pretty solid and one could see the beauty of it. It is a 1985 St Julien after all. Shame for the TCA but D-B is a bit hit'n'miss in the 80s. for the record Last 2 tastings of this we scored 93 (Oct-13) & 92 (Nov-10).

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Papies signature 12 hour slow roasted Pork Shoulder, braised greens, smoky sweet potato/potato/carrot mash

• 1985 Château Talbot 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Double decanted and left to rest in the bottle for a good 2 hours. Very good level and cork.
  The beauty that is the Talbot 1985. A true master class of a wine and a must buy for all lovers of mature, pure & old school claret. Very consistent too as we have tried this 3 times in the last 3 years and performed between 95-96. Today it was easily along with the other gem the 85 Gruaud Larose the red wine of the night. Our previous TN from 3 months ago hold true . " Beautiful, evolved, open nose, complex, cedar, light leather, light fruit. Harmonious wine, balanced and a true Gem". Once again a 96+ and we repeat a must buy.

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• 1985 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Double decanted and left in bottle for a good 2 hours till we came round to serving it.
  This was definitely not a characteristic 1985 LLC. We have been lucky to try this wine on a few occasions over the last 4 years and true bottles of this are stand outs 97s and 98s. Not this one though. felt like a 90-91 wine but we will not rate today as we feel its not a Par bottle. Gladly we have 3 more that are ex-chateau so hopefully those will sing.

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• 1985 Château Léoville Poyferré 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Double decanted and left to res in the bottle for 2 hours or so. Solid cork and very good fill.
  3 years since had this last (same batch) and it performed very well indeed albeit not our top wine of the evening. Richer and denser than expected, very lively wine and does not seem to let go at the age of 30. Silky but firm tannin, lots of substance, good acidity and for more than a few of our friends a favourite. Very good wine and very enjoyable. Was Consistently a 93 from us but today a 95. Would suggest drinking it now.

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• 1985 Château Gruaud Larose 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Double decanted and left in the bottle to rest for 2 hours. Good level and cork.
  Another masterful performance for this underrated Gem of a wine (for lovers of classic, pure and mature claret) and along with the 85 Talbot (Papies 96+) were the wines of the evening.
  The colour shows the age but this is still very healthy and vibrant. The nose is not as open as the Talbot but on the palate this is a master class of a wine. Well matured, secondary notes but with a solid core of fruit, good structure and acidity. Nice depth and complexity and a true gem. 96+ and drinks beautifully now.

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• 1985 Château Beychevelle 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Double decanted and left to rest in the bottle for almost 3 hours. Good cork, base of neck fill.
  The underdog in our line up on this evening but this beauty can easily hold its own in any line up. It is after all an 85 St Julien and for lovers of well aged classic claret this would bring a big smile. It certainly did for us.
  Well aged and the colour shows it. On the nose very much a classic Bordeaux, light cedar, light pepper, good dark fruits and well secondary. On the palate it is still very much alive and vibrant with very good core of fruit and great length. A very good wine indeed. 94-95 and no reason to wait.

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• 1985 Château Mouton Rothschild 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Double decanted and left in bottle for 2.5 hours till we got round to it. Cork was very good base of neck fill.
  Not a singing Mouton and albeit not a bad bottle it was not great either. A friend who tried this wine before said usually its a lot better. On this occasion though it was not at par with the pedigree (and the price..). Good fruit still but just felt a lot more evolved than it should have been. Hopefully we will come across a more lively bottle of this in the future. Felt like a 91 today though.

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• 1985 Château Palmer 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Double decanted and left to rest in the bottle for almost 3 hours. Good solid cork and in neck level.
  A very good performance albeit it was eclipsed by the beautiful Talbot & Gruaud Larose. Still a very solid and healthy wine. Open nose well secondary, classic nose. Cedar, earth, light minty at times. On the palate it was well round, healthy and still with good acidity, decent core of fruit, and was just very nice to drink at this stage. Soft tannins but very much present. Feels at peak now but still very solid. 92-93

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• 1985 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Double decanted and left to rest in the bottle for a almost 3 hours. Solid albeit well wet cork, in-neck fill.
  With the Mouton not at its best it was left to the GPL to carry the Pauillac flag something that it did very well. Compared tot he St Juliens with their juicy core of fruit this was a lot more focussed and firm. The nose is very much a classic mix, of light pepper, cedar, light floral at times and dark fruit. On the palate the tannin if firm, the acidity keeps the wine together nicely and has a pretty good finish. Very good wine. 93

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Could not think of a better way of finishing the dinner but with a bit of liquid gold.
Paired with Gildine's Tarte Tatin and of course Canele de Bordeaux.

• 1985 Château d'Yquem 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Such a beauty and really underrated. Granted not the most dense Yquem nor the most expressive but this had a beauty in its lightness, a purity and felt very much complete. It also came after a long flight of other red 85s and instantly shown which shows the quality and beauty of this wine. Great now but it will last for sure. Vintages come and vintages go. Yquem is Yquem. 95-97

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