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TN: 1985 Bordeaux in Midtown NYC

Thursday our longtime group gathered at Uncle Jack's Steakhouse in midtown for a look at 1985 Bordeaux at 30. Nice table in a nook upstairs, gave us a nice view of our friends arriving (and people we thought our friends arriv ing). As we waited, a couple of starters

2007 Remelluri Rioja Blanco- I approached this with a little trepidation, n ot having loved some Remelluri reds before. But this I liked- full, tropica l, exotic with citrus and mineral. Big wine but balanced. B+/A-

2002 Paul Bara Comtesse Marie de France Champagne- very good, in a bigger/h eavier style. Citrus, toast, and apple with faint oxidative notes. I liked, but those who lean more towards Krug might like even more. B+/B

I started with a crab cake (with a "shrimp sauce" that clashed even more th an the crab with the reds, but I just couldn't order bacon or meatballs as starter for a steak) and then had the "Fred Flinstone" (rib chop with exten ded bone).

Right Bank Flight

1985 Ch. Magdelaine- when I double-decanted this at home it seemed thin and angry, but no sign of TCA. A bit more generous at table, it filled out and gave some fruit along with leather, ended up quite decent, but having had several of these I thought atypical. B

1985 Ch. Canon- Darker fruit, leather, cigarbox, good structure, especially acids, bright. A-/B+

Second Flight

1985 Ch. Sociando-Mallet- good fruit, lots of Sociando green/herbal notes, fresh. B+

1985 Ch. Talbot- ripe, friendly, some funk. good length. A-/B+

Third Flight

1985 Ch. Ducru Beaucaillou- full, plump, earthy, I liked a lot. B+

1985 Ch. Leoville Las Cases - I thought this seemed a bit flat next to Ducr u, but others disagreed.B-

Fourth Flight

1985 Ch. Lynch Bages - loaded with lead pencil and cedar, brawny cassis fru it, full and long. A-

1985 Ch. Pichon Lalande- elegant, perfumed, fragrant. B+/A-

1985 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste.- not a bad wine at all, just outclassed to me. No hurry though. B

Fifth Flight

1985 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion = complete and complex, my WOTN A-/A

1985 Ch. Latour - tight, wound up, lots of potential just not very giving a t moment (owner didn't have chance to decant earlier).

1985 Ch. Cos d'Estournel- good showing, held it's own versus the big boys, brawny but balanced. B+

We did our usual 3/2/1 voting, Lynch edged LMHB for first, and Pichon Lalan de edged Talbot for 3rd. I think everything except Magdelaine, Sociando, an d Ducru got at least one top 3 vote. Good showing from wines, good company, good steak, good times.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Reply to
DaleW
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Lynch-bages is my favourite good value Bordeaux. It has an accessible price tag for the greatness of the bottle.

I checked the store that has the lynch bages and they have La mission too, but its like $1000 for 2006 and 1500$ for 2009, while Lynch bages is only $120 for 2011.

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Have not broken into the '85's yet. How do you think they compare to '82? Have had quite a few '82's that I thought were still a bit rich and lush.

Reply to
lleichtman

Since you seem to drink a lot of Bourdeaux, do you know Chateau Croizet Bages 2005? I have one in my collection, and I see notes around the web that it's not a long time keeper, so I might have to put it forward on my to drink buffer.

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Thanks for the notes, Dale, great tasting. We still have a couple of these (Cos, Talbot) in the cellar, single bottles. Almost done with the

85s, though there are a couple of mags of Destieux.

FWIW I found 85 softer than 82 and so less built for the long term. Certainly in the "drink up" window for me now. I fondly remember the wonderful 82 fruit, but all gone now... and of course that was the vintage that Parker came into his own, and so was the beginning of unreasonable pricing in Bordeaux.

Reply to
Emery Davis`

I'm certainly getting the idea to open these.I have 2 mixed cases of '85 so I should be reporting on them in the next 3-6 months. 2 of my friends have mostly first growths from that vintage so maybe I can persuade them to pop them.

Reply to
lleichtman

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