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Ian’s unfashionable 80’s Bordeaux

Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London

Tasted March 12, 2020 by SimonG with 239 views

Flight 1 (2 notes)

White
1986 Château Carbonnieux Blanc France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
90 points
Very pale. Fresh, slightly herbal nose with a good whiff of oyster. Fresh, nicely mineral on the attack, and then a pleasing, slightly waxy mid palate. Still quite light but harmonious and certainly not mean. Nicely persistent. ***1/2
White
1983 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
91 points
Similar very pale straw as the 86 Carb. A touch more weight here, texturally too, more lanolin alongside the wax. After a couple of hours lots of vanilla and custard apple. Overall, ****

Flight 2 (3 notes)

Red
1981 Vieux Château Certan France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
91 points
Nicely cedary, herbal and with a core of dark red fruit. Softly velvety. Pencil lead too. Savoury with a green streak adding freshness and some complexity. Very satisfying. ****
Red
1983 Château Petit Village France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
88 points
Mid garnet. Bright. Quite flat and mute on the nose,but nicely smooth on the palate. Sweetens up a little. Pleasant but unmemorable. Fading gentility. ***
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
1981 Château Figeac France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
flawed

Flight 3 (4 notes)

Red
1981 Château Haut-Bailly France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
92 points
Gorgeous nose. Tobacco, warm cobbles and mellow autumnal loveliness. Similar on palate. Fresh, lovely line. Lighter bodies as one would expect for the vintage, but lovely. Balanced. ****
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
1981 Château Giscours France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
70 points
Not fully d.o.a., but well past it.
Red
1988 Château Lascombes France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
90 points
Cigar, a touch of licorice.cool. Quite a lot here. Picks up and puts on weight with air. A bit of a dark horse in this flight. ***1/2
Red
1988 Château Cos d'Estournel France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
92 points
Consistent with previous bottles.bright mid ruby. Cedar and cigar. Smooth, fully resolved, nicely sweet fruit.good line. Lovely wine. ****

Flight 4 (4 notes)

Red
1983 Château Talbot France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
92 points
Savoury nose. Ruby to deep garnet. Dry smooth and attractive. Clean. Some cedar. Dark red fruit. Harmonious. ****
Red
1988 Château Talbot France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
88 points
A bit fuller and dustier and slightly flatter than the 83, or indeed a previous 88. Harder work. ***
Red
1983 Château Léoville Barton France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
86 points
Slightly sludgy. Relatively mute on the nose. Mid velvet. No great co 0.exity or verve, but harmonious and resolved. Down from a previous bottle.Bare ***
Red
1983 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
90 points
Mid ruby. Savoury nose. Just a little wordiness on the finish. Otherwise it’s all here and potentially a nice wine.Almost. ***1/2
1 person found this helpful Comment

Flight 5 (2 notes)

White - Sweet/Dessert
1983 Château Coutet Barsac France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
90 points
Old gold to mid amber.nicely sweet. Lacks some energy to lift it above the slightly stolid, but it’s very nice old school Sauternes.***1/2
White - Sweet/Dessert
1988 Château Coutet Barsac France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
90 points
Lovely bright full straw to gold. A slightly medicinal edge. Foie gras rather than tart statin but none the worse for that. Finely crystalline. ***1/2
1 person found this helpful Comment
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