6 bottles per lot
Details
THE 1985 VINTAGE
I have been 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 favorite vintage of this splendid decade typifying claret at its best. But why, and how? Quite simple really: after one of the coldest winters on record, happily when the vines were dormant, but with considerable frost damage in some districts, there was an early and substantial crop. Following a long, hot summer, the harvest took place in ideal conditions. Only the unlucky or incapable made a mess of their '85s. Having re-read all my notes, I am more than ever convinced that this is one of the most perfect vintages, both for drinking now and for keeping. MB
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1985
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Levels: bottom neck
"Well, what is the '85 Lafite like? At Lyod Flatt's monumental Lafite tasting in 1988 I gave it one of my highest marks (19/20). At the age of three it had a very deep, lovely purple colour; sweet, rich, very fragrant nose and, on the palate, good fruit, with all the component parts in place. Not too massive, not too dry, not too anything; just with excellent potential. It has progressed steadily, with scarcely a note out of place. It is, however, like so many good vintages of Lafite, if not actually withdrawn, certainly not an extravert. It is a wine that does a sort of slow striptease, revealing more each time one sniffs and sips. It is still fairly deep in colour, with a dark velvety core; still a fairly youthful 15-year old, with the inimitable bricky, oyster shell nose which unravels in the glass. Perfect weight, balance, texture and control. Still fairly tannic and though it makes a delicious drink, still needing more time. My penultimate note: a delicious magnum at a dinner party at home, but still with time in hand. Most recently, a surprise - to say the least - bottle brought by my friend Christian Sauska from his cellar in New York via his apartment in Budapest, and drunk with his winemaker, Zanos Arvay in a roadside restaurant between Tokay and Saraspatak. It had travelled well. Last noted (in Hungary) August 2000 ****(*) Delicious now but another effortless 20 years. MB, Vintage Wine
6 bottles per lot
I have been 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 favorite vintage of this splendid decade typifying claret at its best. But why, and how? Quite simple really: after one of the coldest winters on record, happily when the vines were dormant, but with considerable frost damage in some districts, there was an early and substantial crop. Following a long, hot summer, the harvest took place in ideal conditions. Only the unlucky or incapable made a mess of their '85s. Having re-read all my notes, I am more than ever convinced that this is one of the most perfect vintages, both for drinking now and for keeping. MB
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1985
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
Levels: bottom neck
"Well, what is the '85 Lafite like? At Lyod Flatt's monumental Lafite tasting in 1988 I gave it one of my highest marks (19/20). At the age of three it had a very deep, lovely purple colour; sweet, rich, very fragrant nose and, on the palate, good fruit, with all the component parts in place. Not too massive, not too dry, not too anything; just with excellent potential. It has progressed steadily, with scarcely a note out of place. It is, however, like so many good vintages of Lafite, if not actually withdrawn, certainly not an extravert. It is a wine that does a sort of slow striptease, revealing more each time one sniffs and sips. It is still fairly deep in colour, with a dark velvety core; still a fairly youthful 15-year old, with the inimitable bricky, oyster shell nose which unravels in the glass. Perfect weight, balance, texture and control. Still fairly tannic and though it makes a delicious drink, still needing more time. My penultimate note: a delicious magnum at a dinner party at home, but still with time in hand. Most recently, a surprise - to say the least - bottle brought by my friend Christian Sauska from his cellar in New York via his apartment in Budapest, and drunk with his winemaker, Zanos Arvay in a roadside restaurant between Tokay and Saraspatak. It had travelled well. Last noted (in Hungary) August 2000 ****(*) Delicious now but another effortless 20 years. MB, Vintage Wine
6 bottles per lot