1985 Horizontal Bordeaux (+ Champagne)

Melee
Tasted Saturday, October 4, 2025 by canan with 142 views

Introduction

All wines were served blind

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 1985 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    From MG and in a wonderful condition with plenty of bubbles.
    Yellow and red apples with lovely crispness, toast and a refined acidity running through it. It is clearly oxidized but in the "good" way where it becomes integrated into the wine giving a very balanced expression. It appears as fully mature but does not seem to be declining.

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Flight 2 (1 Note)

Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 1985 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    Lovely density and a good mix of lemon and yellow apples without appearing oxidized. Should have plenty of years left.
    It is very classic and it is so impressive that it retains this high level after so many years in the bottle.
    I simply adore the youthfulness and depth combined with the complexity. 95-96p

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  • 1985 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 98 Points

    France, Champagne

    Extremely impressive and youthful showing almost no visual indications of age. The palate is open but in a very young and expressive way but still with some aged complexity.
    Packed with lemon and green apples combined nuts and freshly baked bread. Tightly wound and piercing acidity providing a wonderful length and depth. Stunning wine, that can age for a very long time.

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  • 1985 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil 100 Points

    France, Champagne

    This is a wine that it very difficult to explain as it just melts your senses. It seems very young with green apple, lemon and just a touch of age.
    The acidity is crisp, packed with lemon flavor, and the length is unreal. Absolutely stunning and it clearly one of the best Champagnes I have ever tasted.
    It continues to evolve in the glass and just gets better and better.

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Flight 4 (1 Note)

  • 1985 Château Montrose La Dame de Montrose 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Fully mature with and intense and expressive nose. The palate is light and packed with mushrooms, wet leaves and dark spices.
    The nose dominates the palate a bit but overall an impressive wine that is at its peak!

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Flight 5 (8 Notes)

  • 1985 Château Haut-Brion 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Youthful black currant and blackberry fruit combined with leather, mushrooms and coffee. There is a good structure that is well integrated into the wine combined with a piercing acidity.
    Despite having a "dark fruit" expression there is a beautiful cleanness to the wine that really lifts its expression. It seems perfectly mature but I suspect that this will stay strong for a very long time.
    Hugely impressive wine and a real treat.

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  • 1985 Château Margaux 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Standing in between two "powerful" wines, it took a bit of time for me to fully understand the elegance and purity that this wine had!
    Freshly smashed black and red currant fruit with a lovely acidity and solid length. It is all about elegance and refinement which I simply adored.

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  • 1985 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Dark, complex and structured but still expressive and refined. Everything screams mature Bordeaux but it has an almost insane intensity that lifted this wine over all others in the lineup.
    For me, it was a huge surprise that this wine performed at this level but the proof was in the glass. An absolute stunning and explosive wine.

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  • 1985 Château Mouton Rothschild 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Classic expression with some refinement and depth but it lacked a bit in length and intensity. Still, a classic wine with lots of complexity.

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  • 1985 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Ripe fruit but with a lovely mineralic touch and lead pencil combined with a wonderful refinement.
    Had a touch of green bell pepper which was quite refreshing and in general had a lovely herbal touch. Beautiful and refined.

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  • 1985 Château Latour Grand Vin Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    It wasn't corked as such, but it did not perform as expected. It seemed watery and without depth, so it is assumed that it was an off bottle.

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  • 1985 Château Cheval Blanc 99 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Just smelling the wine first indicated that this is truly a special wine. It is packed with intense fresh fruit combined with loads of complexity.
    Flavors are packed with red currants and bright cherries while remaining vibrant. Green and dark spices are coming through combined with coffee and a touch of mushroom soup.
    An absolutely stunning wine with great length, complexity and acidity. It is one of those wines that still feels very young while retaining a aged complexity without loosing its personality. Stunning!

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  • 1985 Pétrus Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

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Flight 6 (1 Note)

  • NV Château d'Yquem 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Packed with both brown sugar, toffee, a touch of orange but still packed with youthful acidity. The balance is unreal when reflecting on how this wine was assembled!
    The wine is a mix of the following vintages: 1945, 1947, 1949, 1963, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000
    These wines were blended, from a tasting 20 years ago. After the tasting, the wines were blended and stored under cork. The approach really shows how well the wines from d'Yquem holds up and their truly legendary aging potential.

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Flight 7 (1 Note)

  • 1985 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Rare 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Brown and red apple fruit with toffee, coffee and a touch of vanilla. It has a great definition and a lovely acidity and just shows a wonderful balance.
    A huge surprise to me that this wine has retained its freshness and balance. Loved it!

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Flight 8 (3 Notes)

  • 1985 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Mature but still with plenty of yellow apple fruit and a touch of toffee and toast. Juicy acidity and a good balance.
    It has aged very nicely but it still feels fairly young and fresh.

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  • 1985 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque 92 Points

    France, Champagne

    Lovely and mature but also at its peak. There are some toast and mushrooms but it has help up very nicely and was a lot better than I would have expected.
    For me, it lacked a bit of length and personality but still, it is a very solid wine.

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  • 1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    Toast, red apples and lots of depth and acidity. Has a lovely note of minerality running through the long and expressive aftertaste...
    By far, the best bottle I have tried of this wine. It felt very young despite being mature and when the bottle is in this condition, it can easily age longer. But, it is at its peak right now!

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Flight 9 (4 Notes)

  • 1985 Château Lynch-Bages 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Blackberry fruit combined with tobacco, leather and a touch of lead. There is a fine structure which lifts the wine nicely and overall, it has a fine balance.
    A solid and mature wine with lots of complexity. Impressive.

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  • 1985 Château Palmer 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Restrained and balanced with a lovely elegance to it. Some dark chocolate and minerals but also a touch of dark flowers. Lovely wine.

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  • 1985 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

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  • 1985 Château Pontet-Canet 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Not quite clear if this wine was defective or not. It had a small TCA-like note on the nose but nothing on the palate. It seemed a bit disjointed and not a bad wine. It just wasn't expressive and lacked a bit of balance.

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Flight 10 (5 Notes)

  • 1985 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark cherry and plum fruit with wet leaves and mushrooms. Some minerality and "animal cage" showing nicely and overall a good density combined with loads of freshness.
    Great balance and structure.

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  • 1985 Château Léoville Poyferré 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Classic but with a bit muted flavors. It seemed a bit disjointed and lacked balance.

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  • 1985 Château Montrose 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

    Packed with flavors of dark cherries, plum and black tea. Feels quite young in structure and acidity but fully open and mature.
    Wonderful wine with personality and balance despite being fairly compact.

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  • 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

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  • 1985 Château Figeac 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Black and red currant fruit mixed with a fine touch of green bell pepper combined with wild spices.
    Elegant and intense flavors and a wine with an absolutely stunning nose. Extremely refreshing and easy to drink without any edges while still maintaining its personality.
    Absolutely loved the expression of this wine.

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Flight 11 (4 Notes)

  • 1985 Château Talbot 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

    Dark and brooding blackberry fruit with a lovely complexity of wild mushrooms and black tea.
    Very surprising for this wine to perform at this level but it was truly a stunning performance.

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  • 1985 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

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  • 1985 Château Rauzan-Gassies 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    This was a bit funky but not in a bad way (for me). There was classic flavors but the lack of balance and depth made it lack a bit.

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  • 1985 Château L'Evangile 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Dark and compact. Dark fruit flavors and a touch of chocolate and wet leaves. Solid and classic wine.

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Flight 12 (1 Note)

  • 1985 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Oily apricot and orange flavors with plenty of sweetness left. There is a decent balance and it is certainly a solid wine. 94-95p

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Flight 13 (1 Note)

Flight 14 (1 Note)

  • 2014 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

    Very impressive and ethereal nose with an aggressive intensity.
    Intense strawberry and raspberry fruit flavors with complex notes of tea leaves, vanilla and rose petals.
    The palate is open and smooth with a lovely mature level. Has notes of aging but the fruit is still very primary. Amazing wine.

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Closing

The conclusion is, for me, that 1985 Bordeaux is a vintage that should taken seriously and has many high-points across the different levels.
It was such an amazing experience to be able assess these wines which are at a very high level!

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