Wine List

100

ROBERT PARKER

This wine remains one of the legends of Bordeaux. It has thrown off the backward, youthful style that existed during its first 25 years of life, and over the last 4-5 years has developed such secondary nuances as cedar and spice box. The creme de cassis, underlying floral note, full-bodied power, extraordinary purity, multilayered texture, and finish of over a minute are a showcase for what this Chateau accomplished in 1982. The wine is still amazingly youthful, vibrant, and pure. It appears capable of remaining fruity and vibrant in 2082! Thank God it is beginning to budge, as I would like to drink most of my supply before I kick the bucket. This is a great, still youthful wine, and, on occasion, one does understand the hierarchy of Bordeaux chateaux when you see the complexity and brilliance of this first-growth. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050+ Release price: ($350.00/case) Wine Advocate.June, 2009

A massive wine that is clearly of first-growth quality in this vintage, the 1982 Gruaud Larose remains a youngster. A broodingly dense, thick, unctuously textured, inky/plum/garnet/purple color offers up scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco, and underbrush. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage (as well as one of the most concentrated Bordeaux’s I have ever tasted), it is a huge, full-bodied, weighty, rich wine whose tannins are getting silkier and silkier. It appears set for another 30-40 years of life. This behemoth is a singularly profound example of Gruaud Larose that continues to justify its legendary status. Anticipated maturity: now-2050. Release price: ($140.00/case) Wine Advocate.June, 2009 R Parker

This was consistently a perfect wine early in its life but seems to be going through a stage where the tannins are more present, and the extraordinarily exotic opulence the wine had young, while still present, is not as dominant a characteristic. Nevertheless, there is plenty to admire in this full-bodied, very lush Cheval Blanc that has reached full maturity. Sweet notes of red and black fruits intermixed with licorice, spice box, and incense jump from the glass. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, layered, very rich, and seems to develop interesting nuances the more it sits in the glass, and then suddenly take a dive. A very fascinating Cheval Blanc, and certainly the greatest Cheval Blanc after the 1964 and before the 1990. Rating: 96 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

As this wine sat in the glass aerating, I began having some doubts about whether it merited a low-90s point score. I think it does, but the fact that it deteriorated more quickly than some of its siblings (even those from more challenging vintages) gave me pause. Nevertheless, I have to assume that most people will decant all of these wines (as I did) and consume them within an hour of opening. On that basis, this 1985 is clearly a low-90 point wine. The problem is that for the most part, 1985 does not have that extra level of concentration possessed by the great vintages. However, it offers a softness to go along with the fragility of the wines as most 1985s, including this La Mission-Haut-Brion, are fully mature. A dark plum/garnet color reveals a pinkish lightening at the edge, and the bouquet reveals plenty of smoke, camphor, charcoal, graphite, sweet kirsch and blacker fruit aromas intermixed with meaty, sauteed mushroom, cedar and spicy notes. The lovely aromatics are followed by flavors that do not quite match the intensity of the bouquet, a sign of a fully mature wine. This medium-bodied effort has plenty of glycerin, low acidity and not a trace of tannin. While not terribly generous, it is a soft, round, charming, delicious, very good La Mission, but not a great one. Drink it over the next decade.

Score: 92 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (202), August 2012

Rating

95

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2015 - 2030

Reviewed by

Neal Martin

Issue Date

29th Jul 2016

Source

Interim End of July 2016, The Wine Advocate

Tasted blind in Bordeaux, the 1985 Château Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf has evolved into quite a stunning manifestation of everything great about François Mitjavile's property. Clear ruby in color, the bouquet is entrancing straight from the off, almost like a Vosne-Romanée grand cru in terms of its purity: small red cherries, kirsch, rose petals and a touch of warm gravel. The palate is beautifully balanced and typically for a 1985, its texture is captivating, velvety smooth and sensual. It just glides across the palate and caresses the senses until you are in the palm of its hand. Probably at its peak at 30 years of age, yet showing no sign of waning, enjoy this glorious Saint Emilion over the next few years. Tasted April 2015.

Score: 88 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

Score: 87 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

Score: 88 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (129), June 2000

This wine was tasted from my personal collection, following the Latour tasting. The 1985 Latour is a soft, open-knit example, without much structure, delineation, and depth. The dark ruby color displays amber at the edge. The bouquet of tobacco, black fruits, herbs, earth, and new oak is pleasant, but neither intense nor persistent. The wine is medium-bodied, with sweet fruit on the attack, but it narrows out to reveal dry tannin and herbaceous notes. Anticipated maturity: now-2012.

Score: 88 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (129), April 2000

Score: 94 James Suckling, Wine Spectator, August 2000

Almost as great as the 1982. Dense and luscious with amazingly deep plum, blackberry and chocolate aromas and flavors. Full-bodied and full tannins. A wine with a terrific future. Try after 1998.--The Bordeaux 50. (JS) 95points

  James Suckling, Wine Spectator

Served from ex-chateau magnum at Taillevent. This ’85 Domaine de Chevalier is a respectable offering for the vintage. It has a ripe, fleshy, soft, almost Burgundian nose that I personally find more attractive than the ’83. Good purite and sense of terroir here. The palate is full-bodied with ripe, supple tannins and more glycerin than noticeable in other vintages. Silky smooth in texture but very good weight with a hint of black truffle on the harmonious finish that would benefit from a little more length. But overall: very attractive, if not profound. Drink now-2015. Tasted September 2009. NM 

Wine Advocate: 100

Wine Advocate August, 1996 After stumbling over some wines I thought were high class Bordeaux, I nailed this wine in one of the blind tastings for this article. In most tastings where a great Bordeaux is inserted with California Cabernets, the Bordeaux comes across as drier, more austere, and not nearly as rich and concentrated (California wines are inevitably fruitier and more massive). To put it mildly, the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild held its own (and then some), in a flight that included the Caymus Special Selection, Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23, Dunn Howell Mountain, and Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard. Clearly the youngest looking, most opaque and concentrated wine of the group, it tastes as if it has not budged in development since I first tasted it out of barrel in March, 1987. An enormously concentrated, massive Mouton-Rothschild, comparable in quality, but not style, to the 1982, 1959, and 1945, this impeccably made wine is still in its infancy. Interestingly, when I was in Bordeaux several years ago, I had this wine served to me blind from a magnum that had been opened and decanted 48 hours previously. Even then, it still tasted like a barrel sample! I suspect the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild requires a minimum of 15-20 more years of cellaring; it has the potential to last for 50-100 years! Given the outrageously high prices being fetched by so many of the great 1982s and 1990s (and lest I forget, the 1995 Bordeaux futures), it appears this wine might still be one of the "relative bargains" in the fine wine marketplace. I wonder how many readers will be in shape to drink it when it does finally reach full maturity?

Rating

92

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2003 - 2025

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

1st Jan 2003

Source

Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition, The Wine Advocate

Here is a classic example of a wine that is showing significantly more complexity and richness from the bottle than out of cask, although it was certainly a potentially outstanding wine when tasted from the barrel. In a vintage that produced a number of enormously structured, rich, concentrated wines, Lagrange is another of the blockbuster wines that seems capable of lasting 30-35 years. Black/ruby in color, with a closed but burgeoning bouquet of spicy new oak, black fruits, and flowers, this muscular, full-bodied, tannic wine is packed with fruit and is clearly one of the great long-distance runners from this vintage. I admire how the significant investment made by the Japanese owners in this property has paid off with a thrilling, albeit amazingly backward, wine. The finest Lagrange to date! Anticipated maturity: Now-2025. Last tasted, 1/97.

The 1989 Gruaud Larose is a wine that I have tasted a dozen or so times since back in 2001, most recently in 2012. The bottle was poured against several Californian wines that might be unfair, however, I do feel that this vintage has maybe peaked several years ago. Here it was well defined on the nose as usual, with scents of undergrowth, sandalwood and a touch of sage. It certainly lacks the joie-de-vivre that I expect. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, nicely judged acidity and quite compact black fruit, though this is a little more staid than before, certainly lacking the flamboyance of the 1990 Gruaud (for example). It is a thoroughly decent Gruaud that just fails to engage the same way as previous examples. Tasted over dinner at Chez Bruce. 2018 - 2030

Score: 90 Neal Martin, Vinous Table (vinous.com), July 2018

Tasted at The Ledbury Gruaud Larose lunch, the 1989 was one of the standout wines of the tasting. It displays wonderful definition on the nose, more clarity than the 1990 alongside, with hints of sandalwood, Provencal herbs, white fennel and a touch of mint. The palate is medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, demonstrating a tad more composure than the 1990 with good weight on the linear finish. I like the control here, the sense of finesse. Drinking perfectly now.

Score: 92 Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, January 2012

The 1989's aroma (believe it or not, the first bottle in the blind tasting was badly corked) jumps from the glass, offering up pure scents of flowers, black-raspberries, currants, vanillin, and truffles. Full-bodied, with a seamless texture, fabulous concentration, a massive degree of richness, but no heaviness or awkwardness, this remains one of the most profound young wines I have ever tasted. Its sweetness of fruit and layers of flavor, combined with its remarkable texture are the stuff of legends. Both of these wines are approachable (their high Merlot content ensures them softness), yet they remain largely unevolved. If readers like them young, do not hesitate to drink a bottle or two. Ideally, both the 1989 and 1990 vintages will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring. Given the 1989's additional flavor extraction and length, it is a 25-30-year wine. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.100/100 Parker

Robert Parker Multi-millionaire collectors will have fun comparing the 1989 and 1990 Petrus. The 1989 has a slightly more saturated color, and seems more tightly knit both aromatically and on the palate. However, this is splitting hairs, as this is another stunningly opulent, rich, full-bodied, amazingly concentrated, exotic, flamboyant Petrus that remains remarkably youthful, and in need of 7-8 more years of bottle age. Additionally, the tannins are slightly more elevated, at least from a tactile impression. However, the 1989 looks to be another 30-year wine, with extraordinary equilibrium between all of its component parts. An amazing effort!

A great Angélus and one of the two or three best wines of the vintage made under the talented young Hubert de Bouard, this wine still has a youthful, saturated ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of melted licorice intermixed with crème de cassis, tapenade, cedar, spice box, and vanilla. Very full-bodied, opulent, and rich, it is one of the 1989s that justifies the lofty reputation of the vintage. Extremely thick, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for at least another 10-15 years.

Score: 96 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

The 1989 possesses a huge finish, with more noticeable tannin than in the 1990. Picking a favorite between these two fabulous examples of their respective vintages is - for me - presently impossible. I will probably end up drinking the 1990 before the 1989, but both are 25-30 year wines, with the 1989 possibly reaching full maturity in 5-6 years and the 1990 needing several more years of cellaring. Last tasted, 11/96.

Score: 96 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

Tasted at Farr Vintners’ vertical from ex-chateau magnum. One of the finest vintages made at the estate, the Chateau Angelus 1989 has a very intense, powerful bouquet with blackberry, cedar, cooked meat and a little Christmas cake. Whereas the 1990 gives you everything up front, the 1989 is far more coquettish and takes time to unfold. The palate is very smooth on the entry, beautifully balanced with filigree tannins. There is an edginess to the 1989, much more feminine with a touch of truffle, coca and pepper on the finish. Wonderful, a wine at its peak, although it shows no signs of flagging. Tasted October 2011. Drink 2015-2035.

Score: 97
 

ROBERT PARKER: 97

WINE SPECTATOR: 92

A sensational effort, and one of the two finest Clinets made before the 2008, this prodigious wine made by the late Jean-Michel Arcaute has always been a sprinter out of the gate. Even at age 19, it continues to strut its stuff. A dense blue/garnet/purple hue exhibits slight lightening at the edge, and the gorgeous nose offers up aromas of sweet blueberries, licorice, smoke, acacia flowers, and camphor. Full-bodied with silky tannins, low acidity, and terrific purity, this 1990 has hit its plateau of full maturity where it should remain for another decade.Release price: ($425.00/case) Wine Advocate.June, 2009

Deep garnet-brick colored, the 1990 Latour displays mature sandalwood, leather and cigar box hints over dried berries and kirsch. The palate is evolved, offering a wonderfully spicy richness coupled by powdery tannins and finishing long and savory.

One of my favorite Cheval Blancs, it remains to be seen if the 1998, 2000, and 2008 will live up to this offering. It is the ripest wine of the aforementioned vintages, with a complex bouquet of tobacco leaf, Christmas fruitcake, sweet black fruits, bordering on fig and plum, but no hint of overripeness, and notions of new saddle leather, mint, and incense. The gorgeously expressive aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine revealing abundant glycerin as well as elevated alcohol, but it is not hot, and nothing is out of place. Expansive, rich, and revealing the nuances and complexity that come from bottle age, it is at its peak of maturity where it should remain for another 10-15 years. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate June 2009