The La Tache 1986 was bottle 12348 out of 20328 bottles. I bought it shortly after release and it has been stored properly. The cork was sound and the fill was high. It is interesting to note that this was shipped by Leroy. It was imported to the west coast of the US, and Leroy was supposed to sell DRC wines only in Europe back then. It could have come by way of Switzerland as some did at the time, but that was not specified on the label. I tasted and gave notes here on another bottle quite a while back. At that time it was very good, but the curtain had not completely lifted. Now it has, and the wine likely is at the peak.
In general the 1986 DRC wines turning out to be highly successful, although many others were so-so in this rather difficult year. The
1986 La Tache has matured more rapidly than the great 1985. I think the 1985 likely needs at least 5 more years to peak. However the 1986 is now a better red Burgundy than many other highly rated ones from the 1980s. The 1986 sells for much less than the 1985 now. It is selling for about 2640 Pounds per case of 12 in the UK according to Decanter. However the 1985 is selling for 143854 Pounds for 12 bottles. Of course this pales in comparison to the 34100 Pounds charged for 12 bottles of 1985 Romanee-Conti. I bought my 1986 and 85 La Tache when the price was still semi-reasonable.The color is still relatively dark for a Burgundy and there is little evidence of age around the rim. Everything has now come into balance. The fruit in bouquet and taste has become quite intense and complex - perhaps red cherry, black cherry, cassis, and blackberry or mulberry. I would not have thought of mulberry, but I read a review that mentioned it. Many in the US likely never have tasted mulberries. One of my grandmothers had a mulberry tree (fairly small) in her back yard when I was very small. When the berries were ripe, hundreds of stinging insects would swarm around it. Despite warnings to stay away, I was stung several times. The best I remember, the mulberries were very dark and were somewhat like blackberries, but they had a rather funky wild taste and were extremely sweet. Thus I could see why someone might mention mulberries in relation to a Burgundy. Then the wine had the hints of spice usual in top DRC wines.
At the present cost quoted in Decanter, and likely much more in a restaurant, I do not think using relative value in connection with the
1986 La Tache is justified - it is still expensive. However it is not extremely behind the 1985 in quality, and one can have several bottles of the 1986 for the cost of one bottle of the 1985.