6 magnums per lot
Details
1985 Vintage Report: I have been very much looking forward to reviewing this vintage, hoping that a reappraisal of my notes would confirm my perceptions. It seems to encapsulate all that is good about Bordeaux, the wine, not the city: its weight, its balance, its character. It is certainly my favourite vintage of this splendid decade typifying claret at its best. Following a long, hot summer, the harvest took place in ideal conditions. Only the unlucky or incapable made a mess of their '85s. M.B.
Château Latour--Vintage 1985
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Tasting note: Latour 1985: A 'Reserve tasting of Premiere Bordeaux Wines' I conducted at the first, and the last, Palm Beach International Food and Wine Fair, in February 1998: medium deep and mature-looking, with a mahogany rim; bouquet low-keyed at first but which opened up marvelously; gloriously sweet and full of fruit. Good length and finish. Still tannic. Most recently, in first-growth company at Stephen Kaplan's 1985 vintage event: bouquet by now ripe, almost meaty, opening up beautifully in the glass and after an hour, fully evolved, 'biscuity'. I do not leave the wine untouched. By the time that hour has elapsed, little remains in the glass! On the palate a full, rich, almost mocha-flavoured wine, with an excellent dry finish. Last tasted at the Four Seasons in Chicago, April 2000 ****(*) Lovely now but so much more to come. M.B.
6 magnums per lot
Château Latour--Vintage 1985
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Tasting note: Latour 1985: A 'Reserve tasting of Premiere Bordeaux Wines' I conducted at the first, and the last, Palm Beach International Food and Wine Fair, in February 1998: medium deep and mature-looking, with a mahogany rim; bouquet low-keyed at first but which opened up marvelously; gloriously sweet and full of fruit. Good length and finish. Still tannic. Most recently, in first-growth company at Stephen Kaplan's 1985 vintage event: bouquet by now ripe, almost meaty, opening up beautifully in the glass and after an hour, fully evolved, 'biscuity'. I do not leave the wine untouched. By the time that hour has elapsed, little remains in the glass! On the palate a full, rich, almost mocha-flavoured wine, with an excellent dry finish. Last tasted at the Four Seasons in Chicago, April 2000 ****(*) Lovely now but so much more to come. M.B.
6 magnums per lot
Special notice
Offered duty paid, but available in bond. VAT at 17.5% will be charged on the hammer price on removal of the lot from bond.