1986 Château Meyney

Community Tasting Notes (164) Avg Score: 90.6 points

• Options

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

  3/28/2024 - SpenceP wrote: 95 Points

  It's hard to believe a mere Meyney can be this good--but it is. This was lovely even immediately after opening, a rich mix of coffee, tobacco, and blueberries, but at that early stage the aftertaste faded quickly. Over the next hour or so, the wine became longer and even more complex, with blackberries, leather, licorice, baked plums, cocoa, and smoke gradually joining in, becoming wonderfully rich in the mouth and with a long long long and gorgeous aftertaste. This wine still has significant tannins. [Tasted over seven hours from the Jancis Robinson glass, and yes, it was still going strong at the seven hour mark! The score reflects the wine at its very best, after about an hour in the glass. I gave this bottle 10 days upright for the sediment to settle out.] The cork was in decent shape for a bottle this old. My guess (only a guess) is that there's no hurry with this wine. Previously tasted 4/5/2023, 7/21/2021, and 11/30/2019/

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

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Guillaume-en-égypte's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/6/2024 - Guillaume-en-égypte Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Very different experience, but similar conclusion / score to the reviewer below. Bottle, which I bought last year from a reputable wine dealer (for a song) had a fill to base of the neck and no issues with the cork. Retained a core of dark ruby in the glass and most surprisingly a core of deep cassis / dark brambly fruit on the palette. The lovely tertiary notes were their too - cigar wrapper, cured leather, dried violet, smoke, earth... with no hint at all of unwanted oxidation. Good body, very harmonious and well integrated with no part out of place. Drinking very well and showing no sign of imminent decline.

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

• Options

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

  10/2/2023 - Bjweiss Likes this wine: 93 Points

  ‘86 Meyney tonight. I gave this one a 25% chance it was still alive…top shoulder fill and signs of past seepage. When I removed the capsule there was a layer of heavy sludge sitting on top of the cork. The odds were quickly dropping, but I figured what the heck, let‘s keep going. The Durand was absolutely required to get the cork out, which was completely soaked through, but still in one piece. Decanted to remove sediment, and holy cow, this wine is still alive and kicking. There’s not a sign of fruit left here, it’s all secondary and mostly tertiary notes. It’s like smelling a massive bouquet of flowers, stems and all. The aromatics are intense, complex. Tannins have fully resolved here to the point that the wine is light bodied at this stage. Wow.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)

• Options

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

  4/5/2023 - SpenceP wrote: 94 Points

  Not quite as stunning as the bottle of 7/21/2021, but still a wonderful wine in its own right. Enjoyable even immediately after opening, the wine gradually develops in power and complexity and length over the next hour or more in the glass. Rich black plums, cocoa, tobacco, a faint hint of lemon peel, leather, figs, coffee, licorice, a whisper of incense, a touch of dried cherries, followed by an extremely long and powerful aftertaste ending on a gently tannic note. My guess (only a guess) is that the difference from the 7/21/2021 bottle is the result of minor bottle (cork) variation and not a sign that this is past its peak, and that this wine will continue to be a joy for some years to come--but the cork was in very bad shape, so I wouldn't suggest waiting too long! (Tasted over two and a half hours from the Jancis Robinson glass. The bottle was kept upright for two weeks before opening, to allow the sediment to settle out.)

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

• Options

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

  2/14/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine: 95 Points

  What can one say? I so seldom drink such an old Bordeaux that I lack reference points. Uncorking was a struggle but no signs of oxidation. A good brick red still and a restrained but decent nose. Not much fruit left in the mouth, but harmonious with very soft tannins. Accompanied a rare filet mignon perfectly.
  Last bottle.RIP!

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

View all 164 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.